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The Resident Evil series has always been about big bad bioweapons mutated by gene-altering viruses, fought against by the members and associates of Raccoon City’s S.T.A.R.S. police unit, manipulated by the devious Albert Wesker, and all caused by the megalomaniacal pharmaceutical company Umbrella Inc.

Resident Evil 4, however, took Umbrella out of the equation, without giving gamers the big climactic battle that the series had been building towards for the best part of a decade. Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles fills in the gaps; taking gamers through the series’ defining moments before heading to the never-before-seen Umbrella Stronghold for a long-awaited Umbrella-ending finale.

It does this not like traditional, puzzle-packed Resis, but in the form of a lightgun game that’s closer to the Resident Evil Gun Survivor titles. Where Gun Survivor fell down however, Umbrella Chronicles succeeds; thanks to the wonderful motion-sensing of the Wii Remote and a simple, intuitive control system.

A picks up items, B shoots, C on the Nunchuk cycles weapons (or the Wiimote D-pad if you prefer) and the Nunchuk analogue moves your head slightly, letting you peer around to grab the all-important health an ammo pickups you’ll see dotted around as your character progresses with the typically on-rails movement of all lightgun titles.

Umbrella Chronicles is fun, uncomplicated and slick, but by no means perfect. Visually, it’s detailed, but looks a little muddy, and doesn’t hit the heights we’d hoped for in our Preview. In gameplay terms meanwhile, the critical hit zone on enemy heads is definitely on the small side, and the aiming reticule isn’t perhaps as precise as the one in Link’s Crossbow Training, so shooting in Umbrella Chronicles can sometimes feel less skill, and more sheer luck.

However, the relatively slow pace affords enough time to stop this being a huge problem, while the choice between using your infinite-ammo handgun or limited ammo power weapons adds a tactical edge, quick-reaction QTE’s prove entertaining, and diversity of iconic Resi enemies stops Umbrella Chronicles becoming a one-trick zombie. In effect, Umbrella Chronicles achieves an atmosphere and gameplay balance lightgun titles rarely manage.

Compelling

At least, it does on Easy mode. On Normal and Hard, Umbrella Chronicles can be immensely difficult, so players will want to get a friend on board to tackle the higher difficulties.

Having said that, Umbrella Chronicles is a compelling experience however you play it. With scenario’s based on Resi’s of old, you’ll explore Resi Zero’s train wreck, the Spencer Mansion of Resi 1, followed by the hellish undead-packed streets of Resi 3: Nemesis, and then finally play through Umbrella’s snow-covered last stand.

Chapters are broken down into three sections, with a boss at the end of each, and completing a chapter unlocks bonus missions that fill in the story gaps for Resi faves Albert Wesker and Rebecca Chambers. There’s also a weapon upgrade system, and shooting items in the impressively destructible environments unlocks files that will delight hardcore Resi fans.

Those wondering where the Resi 4 levels are should take another look at the game's subtitle; Umbrella Chronicles. This is the story of Umbrella’s downfall, and Resi 4 takes place after that’s already happened. With that in mind, the omission makes sense.

Sadly, the same justification can’t be made for Resident Evils 2 or Code: Veronica. The former is shunted into the bonus missions of Umbrella Chronicles’ Resi 3 levels, while the latter is left out altogether. By overlooking these, Capcom has shied away from delivering the complete Survival Horror experience – though this is still a lengthy package by lightgun game standards, and the room for a sequel is not necessarily a bad thing.

Indeed, we'd welcome one, because Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles is an entertaining, unique take on the genre, and a fascinating fan service for long time Resi lovers. Sometimes tricky and occasionally frustrating, but gruesomely addicting and great with a mate, it’s the sort of social, pick-up-and-play arcade fun that sold Nintendo’s Wii ideal in the first place.

GAME's Verdict

• A wonderful authentic-feeling fan service for old-skool Resi lovers
• Reasonably slow-paced, but surprisingly tactical with ammo-conservation, enjoyable QTE's and health/ammo items to look out for
• Unlockables, three difficulty modes and co-op play will keep you coming back for more

• Aiming isn't as precise as it could be and the critical hit mechanic is literally hit-and-miss
• Not the spectacular visual feast we'd hoped for
• A missed opportunity to be the complete Survival Horror lightgun game with the omissions of Resi 2 and Resi C:V chapters

Review by: Mark 'Shotgun' Scott
Version Tested: Wii
Review Published: 06.12.07

Mark moans like the undead...

Call me crazy, but I’m about the only person who found Resident Evil 4 disappointing. Don’t get me wrong, it’s an amazing all-out action showcase, but as a fan of the saga since the PSone, to me it just didn’t feel like authentic Resi.

In story especially, Resi 4 seemed a cop-out. Umbrella Corp, Resident Evil’s over-arching big bad evil, was gone by the intro. Instead, we got an Hispanic shooter featuring familiar Resi characters, but a foreign setting and story, plus gameplay at odds with previous puzzle-driven progression. Granted, Resident Evil had gone a bit stale – but did the change in direction need to be quite so... complete?

Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles is the game to answer at least one of my bugbears with Resi 4. It’s the title Resident Evil fans have been waiting for; filling in the blanks about Umbrella’s downfall and chronicling a satisfying conclusion to the old-style Resident Evil saga; all before Resident Evil 5 takes the series forward on PS3 and 360 in 2008.

Umbrella's Collapse

In gameplay terms, however, Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles is far closer to Resident Evil: Dead Aim. Umbrella Chronicles is basically an on-rails (with movement done for you) lightgun shooter with levels from each of the old-style numbered Resi’s (0, 1, 2 and 3 – no place for the best of the old Evils, Code: Veronica, sadly), and, in a climactic finale, some all-new areas that should wrap up Umbrella’s collapse in style.

Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles uses the Wii remote for point-and-shoot lightgun style aiming, albeit with a crosshair on screen which changes colour to show the damage you can deal to different enemy body parts. The Nunchuk, meanwhile, is used for changing weapons, while the analogue stick lets you lean slightly – so, putting the two together, Umbrella Chronicles should be a stunning showcase for the soon-to-be-released Wii Zapper.

Like all lightgun shooters the view is first person, though the camera is not averse to giving a third-person perspective when a zombie gets too close and your character needs to resort to some last-gasp martial arts moves. Despite the fusion of styles, though, Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles promises to feel like an authentic Resi game in a number of exciting ways.

As well as the familiar locations and characters (Chris, Jill, Rebecca, Billy and co. are all playable, while Wesker is a big player in the plot), Umbrella Chronicles presents typical Resi window dressing; zombies and other monstrosities galore to gun down; barrels to blow up; shotguns and similar Resi firepower to be unlocked, plus herbs, health sprays, ammo and unlockables to nab by shooting up things like pots and pictures, and generally causing carnage in well-known Resi locales.

That in itself is something of a technical marvel. Where old Resi’s had static, pre-rendered backgrounds, Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles renders Racoon, the Spencer Mansion and co. in full 3D, letting you interact with and destroy the environment in a way we’ve not even seen in Resi 4.

Made for long-time Resi fans

And yet, despite this, Umbrella Chronicles’ characters look even better than in the GameCube’s spectacular Resi 1 remake, and arguably improve on the Wii version of Resi 4 itself. We’d go as far as to say that come the end of ‘07, Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles will be the best looking Wii game going.

But will its gameplay measure up? That’s tricky to tell right now. If there’s a problem with Umbrella Chronicles’ similarity with Dead Aim, it’s that Dead Aim was, erm... well... not that good. And yet, Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles is made mostly for long-time Resi fans, mixing the best of old-style Resi environments, characters and story with the pure action outlook of Resident Evil 4. On paper at least, Umbrella Chronicles could be the title to sell the Wii Zapper, the definitive Resident Evil gun game, and a Wii release for long time Redfield followers like myself to cherish.

Preview by: Mark Scott
Preview Published: 07.11.07