Resident Evil 3 gives the die-hard gamer plenty of zombies to shoot at, as well as other mutations, several of which are definite bosses. Toss in confused mercenaries, a double agent, and one mean, nasty, and totally obsessed boss, and you have the makings of several hours worth of great playing.

The story line ends the Raccoon City angle. Much like Stephen King's destruction of Bangor, Maine in "Something Wicked This Way Comes," Resident Evil 3 seems to be more a clean up of the story line's loose endings so Capcom can get on to bigger and better places to infect. The easy mode has unlimited saves and plenty of ammo laying around for the player, as well as multiple maps and puzzles to figure out. The only caution this reviewer had was not enough health kits. I barely made it by the skin of my teeth, and had to restart the game once I figured out just what to do with the combinations of herbs. If used the herbs wisely, then there is plenty to keep you healthy. The difficult mode forces you to find saves, has less ammo lying around, and definitely makes you save your health kits and herbal combinations.

For those who have not played the first two Resident Evils, there is a short prologue to get you up to speed. It doesn't exactly explain WHY Nemesis wants a piece of STARS, but gives you the general impression that Jill really pisses off this Boss by breathing, and that it is wise NOT to take him dead on. As far as the mercenaries go, I found them to be pretty wimpy. Carlos, one of the mercenaries, will irritate you by the time you are finished, and you half wish Nemesis would just get him. He does save your butt a few times, however, so he can't be all that bad.

The only gripe I have about this game is when you begin playing; you have to sit through the introduction each and every time. There is no way to bypass the 30 second cut scene. While this may not seem like much, try restarting the game a few times…you will see what I mean. Shortcut key help here: if there is a cut scene you just do NOT want to go through again, hit the "M" button. Works in the game, but not beforehand. Oh, by the way, both Fireflash and I looked for several hours (ok, Fireflash looked, I griped) there is no Godmode cheat out there to help you. You are basically on your own in this game.

The game does double back on several paths for different inventory items you have to have, and there is one place in it where, halfway through, you find you have to go back clear to the beginning to find some items. Of course, after doing this, destruction occurs and changes some of the maps, so it isn't totally deja-vu. And of course you have the trademark of the Resident Evil series…plenty of critters jumping, falling, grabbing, and just freaking out on you from every angle. I recommend the game for two types of players…those who are following the series, and those who enjoy good adventure/horror styles. Once more this game is not for amateur players, or they will be frustrated. The controls are intricate, as this is not click and play. And the game is unforgiving in shooting, angles, and areas you have to stand in to open or retrieve inventory items.

There is another added bonus to the Resident Evil CD, a quick and dirty game called Mercenaries. Basically you are playing one of the three mercenaries from Resident Evil and have a time limit to get from point A to Point B. By the way, you have had a bomb inserted under your skin somewhere. And they really do not point out exactly WHERE this final destination is. You have limited ammo, but for every zombie you kill there is time added to your clock. After playing this for a while, you can buy more ammo or better weapons. To be honest, I never made it past the "F" grade. There are a few other goodies on the CD, but I will leave that to you to discover.

All in all I found this to be a good addition to the Resident Evil Series. I'm just itching to get my hands on the next one…CodeName Veronica looks good!

Final Grade: B

System Requirements:

O/S Windows 95/98.
Pentium II 266mhz minimum recommended.
CD ROM 4x speed or faster.
Video/Audio card must support Direct 6x or higher
Display must be 640X480 pixels or higher (high color 16-bit minimal required)
3D card is a MUST for the game
System must also support DirectSound and DirectDraw.