A competent arcade on-rails shooter, but would prefer more modernisation
User Rating: 8 | Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles WII
Umbrella Chronicles takes you on a history lesson through the earlier Resident Evil games in the form of a House of the Dead-style on-rail arcade shooter. Given that it is on-rails, you don't have control where your character goes, but you can look round your peripheral vision using the nunchuk which can help locate items. Your character has a standard magnum which has unlimited bullets but is weak in comparison to other weapons that you find in the level. Other weapons have limited ammunition, but extra ammunition can be found in the level, either in plain view, or by shooting the many destructible objects. There are a few 'case files' that can be found in this way, which unlocks bonus information and contributes to your final score which is graded either S,A,B, or C. Shooting is done with the B button, holding A switches to your knife which is good for swiping off spiders/leeches that cling to the screen. Pressing B while holding A throws a grenade, C switches weapons, the remote aims, and the nunchuk moves the camera slightly. Waggling the remote reloads which seems a bit strange, but it works. The levels take around 10 minutes each, but there is a save point half way through so you can quit and return from this point. The graphics maintain the style from the series; the dull grey/brown colour palette. Each enemy has a weak-point, which is usually their forehead. This point is relies on extreme precision, and not using this method is frustrating because you can give them several head-shots without killing them. When you hover your cursor, it will flash red if you locate the weak-point but it is still easier said than done when the target is moving, their head is at an awkward angle, or they are swaying. If the zombies get close, they may try and grab you, and if you waggle the remote quickly, your character will push them away and finish them off automatically. At certain points, quick time events used where you need to either shake the remote, press A, or press B, to avoid danger, so missing the event will cause you to take damage. Most levels end in a boss battle who usually have an insane amount of HP and therefore you need to rely on the more powerful weapons to take them down. These battles tend to drag on for a bit too long, and they also make use of the quick-time events. There's enough about Umbrella Chronicles to make it feel modern, but it still maintains a retro feel. However, I probably would have preferred further modernisation; having more control over the view so it would result in being more of a hybrid of an arcade shooter and a FPS. There were many times where the character walks into a room and for some reason takes an interest in the nearest wall rather than scanning the room for threats. Then surprise, surprise, there's a bunch of zombies right next to him when he does turn round. It's also annoying when an enemy jumps down and the camera moves up then down, then steadies out, when your reaction would be to just look down and pick off a shot. The jerking around is a distraction and makes you feel a little too restricted especially when you try and adjust the camera yourself and end up fighting with the viewpoint. Some enemies rely on cheap tactics by running into your viewpoint and attacking straight away, so even if you react quickly, they can get at least 1 hit on you. This is even more frustrating if they catch you when you are reloading. There's enough content to keep you entertained for several hours, and you will want to go back though at least some of the levels to improve your score and find the case files. You can play with a different secondary weapon, and upgrade the weapon's power and ammo capacity. Levels sometimes have small branching paths too, so replaying levels is necessary if you want to discover everything.
