Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles

"Pretty good on rails shooter with a big name attached"

Gameplay - 8/10. The gameplay pretty standard for an on-rails FPS. Co-op mode is by and far the best part of this game. Sadly, only about half the scenarios are available with co-op play.
The game is very much about pointing and shooting, with extra damage being done for shooting critical areas. The controls are very intuitive, and the game is very easy to get into. That's the good news. The bad news is, there are lots of tiny nooks and crannies you have to shoot to get items to improve your mission rank, several times the camera blows past things you may want to pick up but can't react fast enough to grab, and there are a number of action scenes when in you have to press a combination of buttons or shake the wii mote. Generally, these sequences aren't so bad, and not reacting in time will only result in a bit of damage to the player. There are a few times when failing flat out kills you and you have to restart from the nearest save spot. These instances are few and far between however, and aren't nearly inconvenient enough to become any more than an annoyance.


Story - 6/10. If you got this game for an exposition on the story of Resident Evil, you will be severely disapointed on several fronts. While elements of the previous games are present, any story takes a back seat to to the reality that this game IS a shooter on rails. Under normal circumstances, this wouldn't be much of an issue, but considering Resident Evil was originally a great story supported by mediocre (but fitting) gameplay, long term fans may be disapointed that the game follows more of a format of great gameplay but a mediocre (and severely retconned) story. Still, the new story elements presented are interesting enough to overlook the fact that Barry Burton has been reduced to a file you find hidden in some level or other.


Graphics/Sound - 8/10 The graphics are pretty standard for what you would expect of a Wii game. Nothing stands out as particularly good, but nothing is particularly bad either. The only real issues here are three fold.

First, the script and voice acting is horrible. This may be good, or may be bad, depending on how you like your setting. While nothing as classic as the "Jill Sandwich", there are a few lines that strike a B-movie chord. Wesker does sound like he should trade in his sunglasses for a tophat, monocle, and handlebar mustache though.

The second major issue is the limited number of zombie models included in the game. While not so noticable in most of the chapters, the zombies in Racoon City leave one wondering why most women were wearing black miniskirt-dresses, as well as questioning the possible racism of affirmative action zombies that all look alike.

The third arrives in the final chapter. What is tauted as a new setting in the Resident Evil universe is really some new backgrounds with a melting pot of enemies from the first three chapters. While not surprising that we would see a rogues gallery of enemies from the resident evil games, the final chapter seems to go out of its way to say "Hey, you've killed all these things before! Time to do it again!".


Play Time/Replayability - 10/10 The basic game can be completed in 4-5 hours if all you're interested in is playing every level once. There is a high level of replayability though, as there are plenty of hidden items to find, as well as improving your rank for the missions. In particular, the levels can be quite fun to replay through once you know the basic path, order of enemies, alternative paths, and looking for the little nooks and crannies you may have missed on your first play through.

Final Recommendation - A must have for any hardcore Resident Evil fan. A very good buy if you are looking for a co-op game to play with a friend/family member. A great rental as well; short enough to feel like you've experienced most of the game, and fun enough to not leave you wondering if you should just return it early so you don't forget.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 11/19/07

Game Release: Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles (US, 11/13/07)