Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles

"A great summary of the resident evil series"

Umbrella Chronicles is one of those games that just gets it right. It replaces the slow pace, dumb combat, and ridiculous puzzle solving of the original Resident evil games, with a fast paced on-rail shooter, and does it well. Some initial views of this were a bit skeptical but once it all came down to it, what we have in front of us is one of the longest running, still intriguing stories in gaming, completely rehashed for a much less patient gaming community in little bite size chunks that don't completely dive into the storyline, but tell you enough to know what's going on. This review may be a bit critical, but so much should be expected from a loyal fan.

Story: 8/10
Considering the Resident Evil storyline extends over a decade and more then ten different titles this game does a good deal of coverage of the original storyline. The basis of Resident Evil is there is an evil corporation (Umbrella) who manufactures B.O.W. (Bio Organic Weapons). There is an incident where the companies T-Virus leaks out into Raccoon city and turns the inhabitants and creatures in to hideous monsters and zombies. You take up the role of S.T.A.R.S. (Special Tactics And Rescue Squad) who are trying to get to the bottom of the incident. Resident Evil Umbrella Chronicles deals solely with the original series, I.E. Resident Evil 0, Resident Evil, and Resident Evil 3:Nemisis. It covers each of these games well enough that you can understand how and when each event happened, excluding some details such as certain characters and events. Although the game does mix up some storyline pieces it doesn't affect the overall message to the point where it doesn't make sense. This is defiantly a refresher with its own spin at times. Umbrella Chronicles main highlight is that it delves into pieces of the story that are not discussed in the original versions of these games, specifically those dealing with Umbrella's side of the story as well as the events that took place with the games highlight character Albert Wesker. The player gets to experience this area of the game through secret single player missions that are unlocked throughout the game. There are also included missions that show you what was happening to certain characters while they were not present in the original games. There are also story elements that can be found in hidden files you find throughout the game. What's cool is that a lot of the files in Umbrella Chronicles are actually the same files you find in the original titles, kind of a throwback to the fans. With all this in mind, it is not to say that the story element is perfect. The game blatantly over looks Resident Evil 2 in its entirety, aside from a short file discussing Leon S. Kennedy. This in itself is an atrocity to the series being that Resident Evil 2 is revered as one of the best, if not the best game in the original series sporting some of the most important facts that come from the Resident Evil saga. The only other major fault is that most of the fine point information found is located in the files, the unfortunate part is no one really feels like sitting down and spending an hour reading files. At it's core the storyline presented suit's the game very well and gives the player great insight on what is going on behind the scenes and makes the player strive to unlock the next point in the story.

Gameplay: 9/10
As stated previously, this game is an on-rail shooter, meaning you have no control of where or how fast you move, the game glides along while the player blows things out of the way. By today's standards the on-rail shooter is all but nonexistent, but Umbrella Chronicles is a great throwback for this kind arcade experience. It supports the play style very well and doesn't get boring easily. Once you get the controls down you find yourself into a very fast paced shooter that ties closer to precision aiming than randomly firing everywhere. While playing through a mission you have a few goals in mind, aside from staying alive that is. You are rated on how fast you complete a level, how many enemies were taken down, how many critical hits (head shots) you performed, and how many objects were destroyed, considering all this you are given a rank at the end of each level. While traveling through a stage you need to consider all these elements, so as you go you need to worry about shooting every breakable anything you see (some holding secrets and items behind them), killing as many enemies as you can, and trying to aim right for the hairline to crack perfect headshots. It can be a lot to take on at first but the more you play, you will get better at it. Through each mission you have your health and ammo to consider, you always start with a pistol with unlimited ammo but can also bring a secondary weapon only with an allotted amount of ammo (as well as what you find throughout the stage). These secondary guns can also be upgraded outside of missions to make them have more ammo, more capacity, or hit harder. All this blends together to make one really fun and exciting experience that you will want to play through till the end.

Controls: 7/10
There are two different ways to control the game, you can either play with the Wii Remote and nunchuk, or play with the newly designed Wii Zapper, there are pros and cons to either control style you choose. While using the Wii Remote and nunchuk being able to twist you wrist gives you a finer point of control but anyone with shaky hands makes this control style pretty difficult. The Wii Zapper allows the player to be fully immersed into the gameplay with a gun shaped peripheral. Unfortunately while you do have finer aiming with it and makes the experience more fun, the zapper itself is a rather strange peripheral with a very illogical layout which does not feel comfortable any way you hold it, it takes quite some time to get used to using. Which ever style you end up choosing fit's the game rather well and gives you a good experience overall.

Graphics: 9/10
The visual style of Umbrella Chronicles is centered around dank dark hallways of creepy mansions, trains, basements, and labs. It does give an overall creepy tone and sets up the rest of the scares in the games well. The scenery defiantly puts you in the mood for a scary experience and some of the situations you find yourself in compliment that very well. Easily one of the best looking games on Wii right now, the amount of detail in each level defiantly puts it over the top. The details for each character and zombie are very fine and make each individual look believable.

Audio: 9/10
The game sports a very spooky soundtrack that suit's the game very well. You can feel the difference between a light and high stress situation by house the audio changes. Every time you hear an enemy get close you do tense up a bit and wonder where they are coming from, especially during certain surprise situations. Even the “Clats” from each gun blast sounds believable as it travels through the speaker in the Wii Remote. Solid audio.

Overall: 9/10
Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles is defiantly a pleaser for the Wii audience. It's a little more violent then what else we have seen on the console but it defiantly need it. As one of the premier games that is sporting the Wii Zapper it uses the peripheral fairly well once you get used to it, but provides an overall fun experience. The additions to the storyline is welcomed and plays up the games novelty well. The gameplay although at times may be frustrating, provides an enjoyable experience that will have you playing for hours. The game is a definite rent for those who are not fans of the series, but for those who are it is a definite buy, not only just to stay up on the resident Evil story, but for a good game to boot

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 12/20/07

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