In fact, despite extra enemies, more ammo and a few new ideas (most of which I’m either not allowed to talk about or don’t want to spoil) Resident Evil 3 works best when it sticks to what made Resident Evil 2 so good - settling into a hub-like area to unravel it tracking from one objective to the next to progress further is just as good here as in the last game. Usually in tighter spaces where you don’t always have the room to keep the distance you need to survive too. On the one hand it makes them a genuinely terrifying encounter in a game with some already strong jump scares, but it can be irritating to die instantly. The blind frog-like Hunter Gammas can swallow you whole, while the Hunter Beta can tear your throat out with zero warning.
These are true insta-kills too that can spell death even if you’re at full health. Tighter spaces can also expose frustrations with the Hunter enemies who use insta-kill attacks suddenly and without warning. There are generally more zombies in any given area so it’s best to blast everything that moves to avoid getting overwhelmed. Old habits meant I initially played with the old Resident Evil 2 mindset of making every shot count and avoiding rather than fighting enemies for a while, but that actually makes things more tricky.
There’s plenty of ammo this time but it might take a while to realise that you can pretty much go weapons free on any threat you find. Having plenty of weapons and ammo to deal with the Nemesis’ initial (and, really, only) face to face encounter is part of getting your head around the fact that this is a much more shooter-focused Resident Evil experience, keeping with the more action focused shift in the original game. Black Friday game deals: see all the best offers right now!.However, what is surprising is that after this opening encounter, the Nemesis never really appears in this way again and, instead, the focus shifts to more compartmentalised, structured encounters. Partly because when you first encounter the creature there are plenty of grenades and explosive barrels to knock him down for the minute or two’s respite you need to tick off your apocalypse to-do list. But as it turns out there’s far less to worry about in the full game. When I played the game at preview stage I wasn’t entirely sold on the mechanics because having an unkillable enemy that’s always in your face can only hold your interest for so long.
Once he arrives you are constantly on the run, or at least trying to be as he leaps in front of you or lashes out with long range tentacles. This city street section is the only place where the Nemesis really appears as you might expect - a constant, lumbering, trench coated danger.