Killing Zombies has never been more fun!

Intro:
I have been a fan of the Resident Evil games since the very beginning. It is probably my favorite game family and I have devoured (pun intended) every single one of them. My video game life revolves around Resident Evil, the only reason I bought a Gamecube was to play the remake of the original and Resident Evil 4, actually the only games I own for the Gamecube are Resident Evil games. I have every game, some on more than one system; it drives my fiancée nuts, but oh well. So when I heard they were making a Resident Evil for the Wii I knew it was time to go out and get one.

At first I was skeptical of it, I though to myself, “great here we go again another ‘Dead Aim.’” Which if you are a fan of the series or every played should know it is the worst Resident Evil game, and one of the worst games period. But much to my surprise it was nothing like “Dead Aim.” In fact what makes Umbrella Chronicles so great is that you get to replay all of the old games along with some other games. Probably the coolest feature of the game is the fact that you get to play as the infamous Albert Wesker and play sort of behind the scenes of the old games. You find out what happens to Umbrella and what happens to Wesker along the way. It is a great story for any Resident Evil fan, but you do not need to be a die-hard fan to enjoy the game.

Gameplay:
Lets get down to it, the game itself. When I first loaded it up and heard the music and zombie sounds I felt a chill of excitement run down my spine, I was so excited to start playing. The game starts out in "Resident Evil: Zero", which takes place before the original Resident Evil. The basic gameplay is that you have a cross-hair on the screen which is controlled via the Wii-mote. You move the Wii-mote around the screen to change the position of the cross-hair, much similar to a gun game you would play at an arcade. You do not actually get to control your character, that is, you do not get to walk around like any other Resident Evil game, it is all from a first person perspective. You can however use the joystick on the nunchuck controller to look around and find hidden objects or to get a better aim. As you are propelled throughout the level zombies and other monsters will jump out at you and try to attack you. A good thing to know is that almost every monster has a weak spot which will flash red when your cross-hair hovers over it. For example on any zombie the forehead is a weak-spot and if you move your cross-hair over their forehead it will flash red, upon shooting it will blow their head off and kill them in one shot. Utilizing this skill is a must for the later levels as your pistol becomes weaker and you must face more zombies at one time.

When you complete a level a new one loads to play through. What is fun about the game is that your pistol has unlimited ammo and you are encourage to shoot everything you see. Everything from pictures, to crates, to windows and lights can be shot to reveal possible hidden items. These items might include new weapons, ammo, health, or Umbrella logos that give you information to what happens throughout the story. A note about the pistol: as the game progresses your pistol becomes weaker, so making headshots becomes critical to survive. At first Umbrella Chronicles seems to move to fast but after a while you get the feel of what you need to do. At the end of the level you get a score based on how well you did; headshots (which can only count from zombies), hidden items and time all affect your total score. And after you complete the level you have the option of replaying it to either get a better score or to find more hidden items.

Final Thoughts:
The action is great and the game still retains some of the classic “ahh” moments in which you find your heart pounding and your forehead a bit sweaty. Horror is not the main drive behind this game; it is the shooting that drives the game.

A great game that is a ton of fun to play. One tip, if you can afford it buy a zapper to use with the game, your wrist will thank you. But if not, I played the game without it and I did fine, but it is just a bit more fun to really feel like you are holding a gun while playing this game. If you are a fan of shoot-em-up games or a fan of the series do not pass up Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles, you will not be disappointed.

I updated a few things in the gameplay section. Hope this review helped.

Cheers,
Atlas