Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles Review ( 6.0 out of 10 ) ...
March 22, 2007 ... Review by Mike
I DID NOT USE THE WII ZAPPER TO PLAY THIS GAME.
Resident Evil is my favorite video game series ... the story in the first game hooked me and I’ve played almost every one since. These games have run the gambit for me in terms of enjoyment ... where Resident Evil 4 is at the peak and Resident Evil: Outbreak is in the basement. I rented Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles (RE:UC) because I heard that there would be story revelations along with good light-gun style combat. After playing it ... this game falls between those two games ... slightly closer to RE: Outbreak.
RE:UC takes you through the stories of Resident Evil Zero, One (Remake), and Three with each game getting five levels in RE:UC. Reliving those games in RE:UC was very cool and most of the moments translated to this game well, but it lacked any of the character or plot development of these pervious games. Anyone who has never played a Resident Evil Game will get NOTHING out of this game’s story. Oh ... and most of the “major story revelations” revealed in this game consist of how Wesker got from Point A to Point B. Examples include how he got from the lab in RE: Zero to an escape train and finding out where he went after getting skewered by the Tyrant. To quote Derek ... that is some lame-sauce.
However ... other bonus stories were pretty cool ... such as taking control of Ada Wong after she falls off the bridge in RE:2. And where there is some excellent unknown story is the 4th Chapter where Chris and Jill lead an assault on a Russian Umbrella Base so go after the now named Umbrella leader, Sergei Vladimir. We also learn what happened to Wesker during this time period and what he did to get where he was in Resident Evil 4. Not so lame. 
The idea of this game is noble enough ... run through nostalgic Resident Evil levels shooting the hell out of zombies, hunters, and mutant apes. All you have to worry about is the aiming, picking up ammo and health items, and maybe once in awhile making a choice at a fork in the road. The problem is you are fighting the controls at every turn and some enemies are nearly impossible fend off. These controls turn what should be a simple on rails shooter to a frustrating “do-over”fest where you have to make sure that every one your shots is perfect. You can’t miss ... just like El-Wrey from Planet Terror. The truth is you can’t move the cursor fast enough and aim well enough to do what this game wants you to do.
The zombie combat is fairly solid. I would have liked a headshot to register anywhere on the head rather than the forehead only ... but I’ll take it because they are slow and there is time to aim. But for every other enemy ... hitting the “sweet spot” is a pain in the ass. This game forces you to aim well because if you don’t take down a Hunter, Spider, or Leech monster in a couple of shots ... you’re screwed. The fact this isn’t a “true” light-gun game makes this difficult because moving your cursor from enemy to enemy is slow work. I don’t think I ever managed to kill all the crows in a flurry or stopped a “crimson head zombie out of nowhere” from attacking.
And if you die ... you have to start over at your last checkpoint ... which could be five or six minutes in the past (and at the speed this game runs ... it is an eternity)
If you thought normal combat was frustrating ... wait until you encounter a boss. I kid you not ... I spent the better part of 60 minutes trying to beat the 3rd boss in the game. At the 38 minute mark of fighting this asshole it dawned on me I was playing a Capcom game ... and ALL Capcom bosses have patterns. It still took me another 20 minutes to 
finish it off once I figured the pattern out (See hitting the “sweet spot” above) That being said ... I did mark out when I saw several of the bosses, such as the giant snake, Nemesis, and Lisa Trevor (DUDEMAR to us ... Thanks Chad).
The graphics are decent for the Wii and it does paint a creepy scenario for you to progress through. At times the game is too dark ... and I had to up the brightness a bit. Some of the Character Models in RE:UC are a bit “off” and I wouldn’t have been able to identify Chris if not for Jill saying his name at the beginning. The enemies all look good and would even say that the “leech monsters” are disturbing in the way they look and move. They look like the TAR-MAN from Return of the Living Dead and move like the little girl from the Ring. Not Cool. The sound is fine as well and hearing the reload sound coming from the Wiimote speaker is satisfying.
Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles was made to be a service to the fans ... and it succeeds for the most part. It was fun to go through classic Resident Evil levels and the story was cool enough (especially in the Russian Chapter) but it’s too badyou have to drudge through some frusterating game-play to experience it. Let me say again ... I did not use the Wii-Zapper to play this game ... and it may be easier to do so. There is also a chance that I just suck at this game ... and I will give RE:UC the benefit of the doubt (a least a little.)
This game is what it is ... a serviceable light-gun game on rails. I can recommend this game to two types of people ...
1. Hardcore Resident Evil fans who want to experience their favorite games in a new interesting way and don’t mind putting up with “Wiimote Chucking” flaws. (Derek)
2. Light-Gun game fans who’s skill is far beyond mine. They might actually think this game is easy.
RE: Umbrella Chronicles At A Glance |
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6.0 |
The Good |
Complete Fan Service, creepy atmosphere, nostalgic, Russian mission is awesome |
The Bad |
Frustrating game-play at times, won't appeal to many people, wish I had an actual light-gun to play with, boss battles are too hard and "nit-picky" |
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Decent |
The Verdict |
This Game is a rental for Hardcore Resident Evil fans or light gun game fans. |
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