Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles

"Feeling Naughty?"

The Resident Evil series is one of my favorite video game series of all time. They are the games that got me hooked to survival-horror in the first place and they are some of the greatest games of all time. From the original,to the remake to Code Veronica to RE4, the series has rarely disappointed me. That is, except for the Survivor games, where Resident Evil-esque puzzle elements were mixed in with a first-person shooter. The result was mediocre games that just made Resident Evil look bad. The ever-persistent Capcom, however, still wanted to make a first-person shooter Resident Evil game...and they actually did a good job with this latest first-person installment of one of my favorite series--but it's on rails!

You may think that since I was sorely against the first-person shooter concept in the first place that I would absolutely hate the idea of not only taking away the thrills that the third-person view provided but also taking away one of Resident Evil's greatest gameplay elements: the puzzles. Well, Capcom makes up for the lack of this by providing almost the ultimate Resident Evil fan service. I say "almost" because there is a total disregard to some favorite characters (Barry anyone?), but Capcom still does a good job at delivering what Resident Evil fans love. There are plenty references to all kinds of branches of the Resident Evil universe. Hell, Capcom even makes some of the ideas from the Resident Evil movies look good!

Before each level you get to pick your weapon, ranging from weapons like a handgun to a grenade launcher. You earn stars based on how well you did in a level and you use those stars to upgrade your weapons in order to make them more powerful. However, despite the game being an on-rails first-person shooter, it's not just all about shooting. You can also use grenades to take down massive swarms of enemies when needed and if an enemy gets to close, you can swing your knife to cut them to ribbons. Also, if you are grabbed by a zombie you are given the chance to perform a special move that is unique to the character you are. You perform these special moves by simply shaking the Wii remote when the game instructs you to. You also shake the Wii remote to reload your weapon. A returning concept from Resident Evil 4 are those split-second surprises where you have to hit a button or a combination of buttons immediately in order to avoid death or injury.

To heal yourself, you have to grab herbs that you can find sitting around or in objects (you can destroy almost anything). In order to progress further you may have to pick up a certain item or you can find weapons and ammo lying around. For those Resident Evil fans that just want to know more and more, there are also files hidden throughout the game that give you more information over the series. These are fun to collect if you're a fan, but more casual gamers probably won't care.

The biggest draw of this title for me is the co-operative multiplayer, which definitely throws some meat on the bones. In fact, I think the game would have been significantly worse if there was no co-op. It just goes to show that it is never a bad idea for developers to add some form of co-operative mode in their games. Each player gets their own reticle, gun, ammo, etc., except you share a health bar, which surprisingly never becomes much of a hassle.

The game is broken up into scenarios, which are based on some of the games of the series as well as some brand new content. It shows you how everything really happened and for the most part it plays out nicely, except for the before mentioned lack of some fan favorites. You can unlock sub-levels that are single-player until you unlock the ability to play them on co-op.

Since a lot of this game is review, some of the players who know a lot about Resident Evil may be somewhat turned off, but there is also a bounty of new story to discover. You find out about some of Umbrella's inner-workings and meet some pretty cool characters, but the game unfortunately doesn't reveal anything very mind blowing, which is what everyone was expecting. Otherwise, the story is great and even better for those who are just deciding to test the waters of the Resident Evil universe.

The Umbrella Chronicles isn't the prettiest Wii game I've seen, but the graphics aren't terribly bad. I felt like Capcom could have definitely made the game look a little better, but the cool moments do come when the screen is just filled with a flood of enemies. Nearly all the character animations are flawless, but the crows are somewhat awkward after they start attacking.

The voice-acting is pretty good and definitely not cheesy like the original game's. The music is fine, but I could have stood for more music jumps and scares (this is survival-HORROR right?). The guns sound exceptionally well and practically all of the sound effects are right on the money.

Unfortunately, the main problem with the game is that it just isn't that long. The co-operative mode could be completed in under 10 hours. However, there are still unlockables to earn, sub-levels to go through in single-player and files to be found. The fact that the game is co-operative also adds to the replayability since it's a lot less painful going through a game again if you're playing with a friend.

Ever since the beginning, I have been a major fan of Resident Evil. I have played nearly all of the games and, even though there have been better ones, The Umbrella Chronicles is definitely a great Resident Evil title. The story is great like always, the audio is great, and the gameplay works very well, but problems do occur in longevity and the somewhat bland graphics. Obviously, Capcom was trying to give its fans their fix of Resident Evil while everyone waits for the final game to be released, but I think that with the huge number of people who own a Wii, Capcom may have just earned some new Resident Evil fans with this great first-person on-rails shooter.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 03/25/08

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