Dreamcast Magic

Welcome to Dreamcast Magic

Note: these pictures are in low resolution and the game looks much better on a TV.

Storyline: 9/10
You're Jill Valentine of the S.T.A.R.S. team. Your mission: Get out of Raccoon City ... alive. Sound simple? It's not. The storyline of this game is basically the same thing as RE2. Even the timeline of the game intertwines with RE2. Basically Raccoon City has been overrun by blood thirsty zombies and other undesirables...your job is to get the hell out of there. There are quite a few complications along the way, though. Like the group of mercenaries you'll run into, there are quite a few roadblocks which prevent you from just strolling down Flatbush Ave. to the city limits, oh yeah, and there's also this 8 foot tall bioweapon who's around seemingly every corner that wants to rip your cute little head off of your little body.

Graphics: 6/10
The graphics are barely better than it's old PS counterpart. The polygon count is exactly the same, the only real improvement graphically is the higher resolution character and enemy models. The prerendered backdrops also got a hi-res makeover. A pretty 'bleh' job on Capcom's part. The graphics are decent, but they're sure not up to normal Dreamcast standards.

Controls: 8/10
This game introduced the 180 quick turn, the dodge button, and ammo creation to the RE series. These new features are so important to the game, without them, you'd probably be dead in no time. Why do I say that? Nemesis. That's why. He's the 8 foot tall bioweapon that I mentioned earlier. He's fast, he's strong, he has a rocket launcher, and he want's you dead. Without the dodge button and 180 quick turn fighting Nemesis would be damn-near impossible. Other REs have bosses that just stand there, in this one the boss comes at you! Now, I'm going to talk briefly about the ammo creation. As you walk around the ruins of Raccoon City you'll find small bottles of gun powder. You can actually mix these items together to get different types of ammo, which basically means that you can have whatever kind of ammo that you want which is a great idea.

Sound: 7/10
As with most RE games the music really sets the mood, most of the time it isn't noticeable but when you encounter Nemesis, or some other pivotal point, the music becomes very tense. As with other RE games, the most noticeable track is the ''Save Room'' such beautiful music compared to the hell you'll meet outside of the tranquil room. The sound effects are standard RE, they're loud, true, and pretty believable. But as always the voice acting is terrible.

Game Play / Replay Value: 8/10
The extras here are the exactly the same as the PS version. You've got the Mercenaries minigame, which is very similar to the Extreme Battle Mode of RE2, and you've also got a neat little feature called ''Epilogues''. The numerous epilogues are very interesting if you're willing to unlock them all. There are also a set of extra costumes for Jill to wear during the game, from her default blue tube-top and mini skirt, to a leather cat-suit, to a full blown Regina (Of Dino Crisis fame) costume. The outfits/costumes are kind of cool but don't really offer anything important to the game besides seeing Jill in sexy outfits (which is definitely what Capcom was aiming for). The only real differences between these extras for the DC and the extras for the PS version are that the DC's come unlocked, unlike the PS which I think is a big help. For the DC, the Mercenaries mode comes unlocked, as do all of Jill's outfits, and she gets 2 new outfits for the DC version. The only things that need unlocking are the Epilogues, which you receive one for each time you beat the game. It's still different from the PS version, though, in the PS version you'd get an Epilogue for beating the game on Hard, in the DC version, you get an Epilogue for both difficulty levels.

Overall: 7/10
It offers the most advanced gameplay in the RE series and it's also one of the most action packed. Nemesis is a great enemy and really gets your blood pumping. The music's flawless and so are the sound effects. Resident Evil 3 melts together into a digital masterpiece.

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