Review
Release Date: 11.13.2007
Platform:
WiiDeveloper:
Capcom Co., Ltd.Publisher:
Capcom USA, Inc.Reviewed by
Mikey Dowling on 2.12.2008
| Review Rating: 7/10 | User Rating: 8.4/10 |
The
Resident Evil franchise has quite a large following. Fans like to go back and forth trying to explain some of the unanswered questions that the games often have. So when
Capcom announced that they’d be releasing an exclusive
Resident Evil game for the Wii that would not only carry the subtitle
Umbrella Chronicles, but would help expand on the mythos of the games leading up to
Resident Evil 4, fans got excited. Then they finally showed the game and everyone saw that it was going to be an on-rails, light gun-esque, shooter in the vein of the
House of the Dead series.
Then the fans said, “…What?”
First and foremost, light gun games can be pretty fun.
Virtua Cop and the aforementioned
House of the Dead have proven that. Plus, shooting endless hordes of zombies never gets old. The main problem with
Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles is its unforgiving “difficulty”. Getting through swarms of the undead isn’t too difficult, but since it takes several clips of ammo to get through a room, “Super Zombies” might have been a better term. Maybe we’re supposed to think that the T-Virus is just that strong. Or maybe Capcom thought that one bullet to the head of a “Thriller” cast member wasn’t enough. Four or five seems to be more like it.
Oh, and you need to be fast on the trigger finger as these zombies like to take cheap shots like no other. Actually, every enemy has a cheap shot that, unless you are fast on your feet, will most likely get you (until you’ve played the level so many times that you just remember the patterns).
Another addition to the difficulty lies in the placement of the save points. There is one in every level about midway through… and right before the boss… Oh the joy. Though just remember: grenades are your friends.
RE:UC does allow you to make things easier on yourself. At the end of every level you’ll get a star rating and you can apply the stars you earned to upgrading the weapons you’ve collected throughout the game. Everything from the handgun to the rocket launcher can be upgraded in a sort of
Resident Evil 4 way that makes it a bit easier to mow through past levels to find all of the files hidden in every single level.
And the files are actually the bulk of what makes
RE:UC such a great game for
RE fans. The files detail events that were only hinted at in the other games, or were otherwise huge gaping plot holes that Capcom decided to never fill in. Not every question will be answered, but some will be and that’s worth it.
Also worth it are the separate Wesker levels that are unlocked during the course of the game. Seeing how Wesker got from one point to the other is pretty cool… and unholy difficult. Apparently we’re supposed to assume that Wesker is the baddest bad ass in the
RE universe, so hordes of zombies and Crimson Heads should be nothing to him. Right?
Like most light gun games,
Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles is meant to be played with two players. Probably more so in this title as it's good to have someone watch your back while you shoot every object in existence for a new file, but also to help out when the zombies just won’t stay dead. Strangely though, the unlockable missions are always single player only, so be sure to strengthen up those weapons before going at it to help keep frustration to a minimum.
As a
Resident Evil game,
Umbrella Chronicles may turn off some fans, especially those that prefer the survival horror aspect of the series. But since
Resident Evil 4 blew up the survival horror aspects of its predecessors with the game's own rocket launcher and let you mow down several hundred enemies without a real care, this argument really doesn’t stand up anymore. Basically, if you enjoy the franchise and want to get more out of its convoluted story, you should really look into the game (particularly if you have a friend around). It has its faults, but they can be overlooked for mindless zombie shooting fun.
