Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles is the third Resident Evil title to hit the market as an on the rails shooter, and though the previous two attempts have yielded less than ideal results, the third time has been more or less the charm. Rather than being set in a brand new plot line, the game weaves its way through the plot of Resident Evil 0, Resident Evil 1, and Resident Evil 3 and makes use of some of the key moments from each game. The game itself is a solid shooter for its type that doesn’t cut any corners, but at the same time does little to differentiate itself from being just a shooter by any other name.
Rather than stick to the relatively slower, traditional Resident Evil pacing the game’s speed is easily kicked up a few notches. Enemies emerge from behind cover at a rapid pace, and more often than not it can be impossible to count the number of enemies on screen on a single hand in the later levels. In a nod to the series' roots the player will face many of the same enemies from the original titles -- from the traditional lumbering zombies to the iconic Lickers, which behave how fans of the series expect. In many parts of the game the player will have to face down boss monsters, which are defeated by adapting to their attacks and finding what their individual weaknesses are.
The Wiimote proves to be quite the light gun substitute, letting players move the on-screen aiming reticule with ease. The game lets the player use a variety of tried and true Resident Evil weaponry from the pistol to more powerful arms such as shotguns, machine guns, and exotic weaponry such as grenade launchers. While the starting pistol doesn’t have a bottomless clip it breaks step with series tradition and gives the player unlimited ammo so that the player always has a weapon to fall back on. Every other gun in the game is limited by both clip size and the player’s current ammunition, which can be found during gameplay in the form of pickups but is generally limited and forces players to use the right gun for the task at hand.
Players can also use a combat knife by holding down the A button and swinging the nunchuck around, which is a good attack against smaller enemies such as bats or grubs, but a poor choice against anything like a zombie under most circumstances. However, there are times when a zombie is just about to grab the player that they have a window to counterattack with the knife, not only preventing damage to themselves but also killing the zombie in the process. Finally when the player has found a group of enemies they can throw a grenade, which sit for a second after thrown before exploding and obliterating any enemies nearby.
One of the ways the game tries to put a spin on the standard rail-based shooter gameplay comes in the form of the critical zones on enemies. In theory the system is simplistic enough; the aiming reticule flashes when it is placed over a weak point on an enemy, and when the enemy is shot in that area they are killed in one hit. In actual practice however the weak points are either extremely small or the detection is outright buggy, making hitting them incredibly difficult to pull off even for experienced players. The game also lets the player look around the environment using the nunchuck stick, but only a handful of degrees in any direction to amount to essentially a feature that is not only unnecessary to use but ultimately forgotten about a few seconds after you learn of its existence.
At the start of every level the player gets to choose what weapon to bring along with them in addition to their pistol, and as the player progresses through a level they will pick up both known and new weapons to add to their arsenal. At the end of every level the player gains a rating in the form of stars, which can then be spent to upgrade the weapons and make them more effective and generally deal more damage. The pistol itself cannot be upgraded, which isn’t much of a problem until later in the game where it becomes woefully inadequate in comparison to both the other weapons and the enemies the player will face.
Resident Evil has always been a series that has been gripping in both a visual as well as an auditory sense and Umbrella Chronicles does not disappoint that pedigree. Enemies are menacing, grotesque, and unsettling from their gory appearances down to their otherworldly growls and moans. The game makes great use of the locations developed in the three games it travels through and recreates many of the key areas of each game such as the mansion from the original Resident Evil. The game world itself is incredibly detailed for a rail-based shooter and is filled with objects that not only look good but can also be blown apart to possibly reveal hidden stashes of ammo or health. The weapon effects are impressive from both a visual and audio standpoint, and the use of the Wiimote speaker to play the weapon reload sounds is a nice touch.
