Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles (Wii, 2007)

Much of the game's authenticity comes from the fact that rather than tell an entirely original story, Umbrella Chronicles puts you through the events of the first few Resident Evil games, which the game presents as a report on the final hours of the now-felled Umbrella Corporation, the conglomerate responsible for all these gee-darned zombies. Over the course of the game, you'll revisit the events of Resident Evil 0, the original Resident Evil, and Resident Evil 3: Nemesis. The narrative is understandably truncated, and the game focuses more on establishing a grimy atmosphere and re-creating specific, memorable moments than consistent storytelling.

Topping it all off is an all-new scenario that takes place in 2003 and sees the reunion of the original Resident Evil tag team of Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine as they hunt down the last vestiges of Umbrella in a frozen industrial complex, which doesn't quite live up to its exciting potential. There are also a number of side missions that often revisit environments from the main missions, showing you what characters like Rebecca Chambers and fan-favorite Albert Wesker were up to at various points in the series. Considering that most games of this nature tend to last a scant hour or two, it's a little impressive that it can take more than four hours to complete a single run-through of all the missions.

(The excellent rating is for the game only)

For any Resident Evil fans, this game should be a must-have. Yes, you've played RE Zero, the RE1 Remake and Nemesis before, but never in this kind of immersive way.

You move through the three above-mentioned games, as well as new games that tell what happened to Wesker after his attack by the Tyrant and move Rebecca from the Zero facility to the mansion from a first-person perspective, exploring these environments like never before.

One thing that i don't like about the game itself is the bloody "quick-time" events. This is where something happens and you have to press a particular button or combination of buttons on the Wii-mote within milliseconds or you're dead. For instance, in the RE3 section of the game, a runaway truck is bearing down on Jill and Carlos, and you have a split second to respond by pressing the correct (if random) button on the Wii-mote, and if you don't then you are DEAD regardless of how much life was left on your bar or if you have a first-aid spray or not - YOU'RE JUST DEAD. This wouldn't be so bad if you could continue the game from right there, but you can't. You're put back to the most recent checkpoint, meaning you've got to run the gauntlet of infected dogs, crows and zombies that got you here in the first place.

Another issue for me with the bundle that i ordered were the "Jackets" and "light gun" that came with it. Beware cheap knock-offs, guys. The jackets are cool looking, and they really jazz up your wii-mote, but they're condom-thin. If you whack something with this jacket on, it isn't going to protect the thing that you've whacked or the Wii-mote like an authorized jacket will. And as far as the light gun goes, not only was there no way to secure the Wii-mote within the gun (which means that your gun stops working at random as it wiggles loose) but the nunchuck doesn't work AT ALL with this gun. Once you play the game, you'll see why that's a big deal. Do yourself a favor - order this unit for the game and the Wii skins (i hesistate to call them jackets) and then go out and buy a real honest to God Nintendo approved Wii Zapper. You'll be glad that you did.

Peace.

Lord Raindragon

Basically, this game is an averagely difficult but well made on-rails shooter. If you don't know what that is, its like a First Person Shooter, except you can't control where you move, the game has a predetermined path.

What sets this game apart is the story. The game is a RE game through and through, and takes you through the main parts of the first three games, and an entirely new chapter that wraps up Umbrella and kills off the company in the RE series. If you've never played the series, you won't really "get" the story.

There are small glowing spots on many of the things you kill. Shoot these and you get a one shot kill. However a little luck is involved, because it is impossible to hit them everytime, but it is very satisfying. The boss battles themselves are quite engaging, and they will probably be your favorite parts of the game.

Your handgun has infinite ammo, but the rest of your guns have ammo you need to collect, and you won't get much, like all other RE games, you must conserve.

The game is very long for a On-Rails shooter. House of the Dead by Sega, the standard, clocked in at about 4 hours. This one can take well over 8 hours to complete. This is a good thing, and amazing for this genre of game, which has been stale for a while, until this game was released.

The graphics are good, about RE4 quality, which are excellent. The sound, music, and VA, suprisingly aren't as good as you'd expect, but this is really a nitpick.

Overall, the game is great fun, and perfect for the Wii. Some minor annoyances keep it from being excellent, but overall, your gonna have a good time with this title. Don't miss it if your a RE fan, or an On Rails Shooter fan. If your both, you should have already bought this one. I would personally give this game a 4/5, but I'll rate it a 5/5 on this site, to counteract the 1/5 guys review, which was just terrible and I feel, made me a dumber person for reading it.

The Wii does not have many fun/great games, but this is one. It is a on-rail shooter but its the most fun and deep one I ever played, the story is decent, characters are cool, and you never get board with it as many of the levels are just 15-20 minutes, so you can still accomplish things if you only plan on playing for a half hour or so. The unlockables are nothing special, but I went back to all the levels I completed with a low score to try to get a higher ranking on the normal difficulty, then did the same thing on hard. Overall it is lots of fun and for the price you can't be dissapointed.

the umbrella chronicles.... now i am a huge resident evil fan... i have EVERY single game...including survivor 2... which never came out in america... ( have the PAL version) i have played every single resident evil game... and even dead aim was pretty good... but the umbrella chronicles.... if you took albert wekser, the umbrella corporation... house of the dead... and put them in a blender...added some vinegar.... this is probably what you woudl get... this game is fun for killing time... but it is not resident evil... you dont solve puzzles... you simply shoot zombies on a track... ITS NOT AN AMUSEMENT RIDE!... all they did was take layouts and levels from resident evil 0, resident evil (gc) and outbreak... it isnt even a new game... its older re games recycled and butchered into a house of the dead game... i really did not like this gameAT ALL... i give it average only becuase jill valentine is hot...BUT YOU DONT GET TO SEE HER!!!...its a first person...you only hear her voice... AND WHAT WAS UP WITH CARLOS...!!!... he sounded HORRIBLE!...how hard woudl it have been to get someone with a hispanic accent to do his voice...HECk i woudl ahve done his voice better... seriously... make games that are great, not games to sell... i change my mind..this gets below average...