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Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles (Wii) | 
| From: Nintendo
Category: Video Games
List Price: £19.99
Buy Used: £8.00
as of 10/9/2010 10:32 CDT details
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Rating:  reviews
Sales Rank: 662
Platform: Nintendo Wii
Genre: horror-action-games
Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
Media: Video Game
Operating System: Nintendo Wii
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 7.3 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: RVL P RBUP
UPC: 045496364168
EAN: 5055060951347
ASIN: B000INV4H2
Release Date: November 30, 2007
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles is a brand new game in the Resident Evil franchise, with familiar locales from the entire series. This action/shooter hybrid reveals the back story behind the fall of the Umbrella Corporation by exploring locations from Resident Evil 0, 1, 2 and 3 as well as new never-before-seen locations, such as Umbrella`s stronghold. Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles combines first-person, light-gun style combat with interactive pathways, multiple weapons and new enemies to create an entirely new Resident Evil experience that could only be delivered on the Wii. - Using the Wii Remote as a gun, players can experience breathtaking combat against a horde of zombies and various creatures in dynamic first-person perspective.
- 480p and 16:9 Widescreen support
- Returning characters from many RE games, including Billy Coen, Rebecca Chambers, Chris Redfield, Jill Valentine and Carlos Oliveira.
- Classic locations from previous Resident Evil games in full 3D, including the mansion from the original and RE 0, and elements of Raccoon City from RE2 and 3.
- Interactive paths choose various routes and pathways through the game, allowing for multiple levels of replay ability
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| Customer Reviews:
 Does What It Says On The Tin December 1, 2007
Mr. K. J. Pillinger (UK)
31 out of 37 found this review helpful
For those reviewers who are bemoaning the fact that this game has taken away the aspect of Resident Evil games that you like (ie the freedom to roam at your will) I suggest you read the product description prior to investing in a game.
For those who are considering purchasing this product I would say, do it.
I am a huge fan of the House of the Dead arcade games and to me this is a classier version of them. The atmosphere and story so far are fantastic and it has a real pick up and play feel to it. I imagine it will have a real appeal to the fans of the Resident Evil series also, as it gives you a feeling of being in the game rather than controlling the game.
For people like me who dont have the time or patience to play the lengthy and at time frustrating RPGs I cant suggest this game highly enough. Im sure the game isnt for everybody, but that is fine its what makes being a gamer special is it not.
Fantastic, but don't expect Resident Evil May 27, 2009
Paton (Scotland)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is NOT a normal Resident Evil game. Don't expect the usual gameplay, nor tons of puzzles and variation.
What you get though, is a brilliant on-rails shooter that head-shots all competitors out of the way. Plus tons and tons of replayability!
Basically, as I said before, this is an on-rails shooter, but it doesn't actually feel like an arcade game. Forget random blasting of bullets with no cause for concern with ammo, average visuals or little-to-no storyline. In fact, I'd say that this has one of the most intricate storylines of any Resident Evil game yet!
When you start the game and begin, you're immediately meeted with an unbelievably expusite cut-scene, that shows off some of the greatest the Wii has to offer. It simply blows you away.
The resulting levels, and the further ones too, sustain these graphics and shows off the massively satisfying aiming mechanic. At first, it may seem slow, but when you realise that the game wants you to aim accurately and not wastefully, then you'll realise that it was perfect.
The headshots are also hugely satisfying. If there's a whole room full of slow-moving zombies, then you can just get the added entertainment of getting a perfect shot on their brains, resulting in a fantastic splew of blood spewing out of their foreheads. Lovely. Plus you get extra points for it!
It may also be good to point out that, although not massively gory, this has it's share of blood, gore and puke. Yes, puke. The zombies are also suitably creepy, with pure white eyes, and the red heaed ones - which run at you - are even better. There are also some extremely scary (in a good way) parts of the game, like when there are no lights and you have to find and kill zombies with only a torch for light. And the glowing eyes of zombies. Thanks for the help!
Replayability is, kind of obviously really, not a problem. Being a sort of arcade game, there aren't a huge amount of levels, but you're given a ranking and a score for each one - influenced by how many objects you shot, how many zombies killed, how many headshots etc. - and getting a score is addictive stuff. You also get extra levels for getting a high rank on some levels, creating a whole sub-story about Albert Wekser, and there's some seriously awesome stuff. Plus there are some really great guns to unlock, most significantly a huge bazooka which wipes out a whole crowd of zombies!
On the subject of getting high rankings, it's best to clear up now that the difficulty is absolutely spot on. There are some really hard levels in general, and the boss fights are as hard as they are magnificient. Getting an "S" rank on the final level is still something I have to aspire to! The zombie count is also huge, with some of the later levels absolutely filled with 'em. A whole road packed with zombies, dogs and crocodile things? Yes please!
Pure fanboys of the Resident Evil series are also in for a great time, with incredibly detailed reports on the characters, boss characters, guns, storylines and other Reisdent Evil related stuff. But you'll have to find them first!
The multiplayer is absolutely fantastic. The scares become so much fun, the "shake the remote or press a button" sections (slightly reminiscent of the Resident Evil 4 bits) are made much better, due to the fact that there's someone to blame for the death of the characters. It's basically incredibly enjoyable.
The only real fault then, is when you're playing single player. It just isn't as good, and playing is done with no emotion on the face, rather than the huge grin when with a friend, or the chance to gloat after a fantastic headshot, something that single player sorely lacks.
Another fault, only small though, is that this game just doesn't work with the Wii Zapper. Sorry, Nintendo, but it's just clunky. When you reload, throw a grenade, or swipe your knife, you have to flick the nunchuck; this isn't possible with any real regularity when using the Zapper. Although not game-threatening, it is kind of annoying that my Zapper hasn't been used much (only in HoTD games, where it excels).
But this doesn't really matter. The ideal thing to do though, is use the Zapper option, but only use the R + N normally and the game plays perfectly.
But apart from this, this comes highly recommended. It's a great game for Resident Evil fgans, shooter fans, or just newcomers to gaming in general.
Plus it's cheap!
Very enjoyable game, but a warning about the light zapper... January 8, 2008
J. Atkinson
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I got this game for Christmas and have been unable to put it down since. Although it is quite short it has amazing replay value, my friends and I always have a run through the game on co-op whenever they call round and we're still not bored of it! I also got a light zapper with the intention of using it for this game, however while the zapper is good it can be a little awkward at times - particularly when you need to shake the Wiimote to dodge attacks or press A to collect items/dodge attacks.
Wesker on the rails August 29, 2010
Susan Belcher (St Helens, England)
The Umbrella Chronicles attempts to sort out some of the problems with the messy time line that the other games, such as the prequel Resident Evil Zero, created.
The STARS traitor Albert Wesker narrates his side of how Umbrella collapsed, and how his plans were disrupted by fellow STARS members Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine. This he does in several main stages - these are mostly abbreviated versions of previously released games which cut out the puzzles and backtracking and gives you boss fights for each story.
ECLIPTIC EXPRESS DERAILMENT - Resident Evil Zero
The Special Tactics and Rescue Service (STARS) Bravo team were sent into the Arkley Mountains on the outskirts of Raccoon City to investigate a number of strange brutal cannibalistic murders. As they passed over the forest their helicopter suffered an engine malfunction and made an emergency crash landing, near to an overturned Military Prison transport vehicle. They find the guards brutally murdered and their prisoner, Lt Billy Coen, missing. The Bravos decide to split up and hunt for their suspect.
After they split up the 18 year old STARS medic, Rebecca Chambers, comes across a train - damaged and broken down. She decides to enter it to find out what's wrong, which would turn out to be a mistake. She not only finds Billy Coen but a train full of the dead ... the living dead ... zombies.
The boss fights are Singer (the giant scorpion), Giant Bat and Mimi Cry Marcus (Queen Leech).
On completion of this section of the game you get the option of an extra game where you control Wesker as he tries to escape from the mansion laboratories back to the surface so he can get back to the STARS base and accompany his Alpha team out to the Bravo crash site.
One of the biggest problems with the timeline was Albert Wesker - how could he be in two places at once? The extra mission "Beginnings" starring Wesker goes someway to explain how he escaped from the Spencer Mansion (in Zero) in order to lead his Alpha team in to the Spencer Mansion (REvil). Well, it sort of works.
SPENCER MANSION INCIDENT - Resident Evil
Alpha Team were on their way to Bravo teams last known location when they spotted the smoke from the crash. They land nearby and head to the downed helicopter only to find the pilot dead. As they fan out to search for survivors one of their team is savaged and eaten by a pack of zombie Dobermans. As they fall back to their helicopters position, dog pack in pursuit, their pilot, Brad Vickers, panics and takes off leaving them with no where to go but the abandoned Spencer Mansion. Unfortuantely for the surviving Alphas (Chris Redfield, Jill Valentine and Captain Albert Wesker - there is no Barry Burton in this version) the mansion is by no means abandoned and it's definitely not safe.
Unlike the REmake version Chris and Jill travel together for most of the time.
Boss fights are Yawn (giant snake), plant 42 (I hate that plant!) and Tyrant.
RACCOON'S DESTRUCTION - Resident Evil 3: Nemesis
Jill Valentine returns to Raccoon City to see if she can link Umbrella to the Mansion incident. We are told that Chris Redfield has travelled to Europe to see what he can discover about Umbrella and so does not appear in Nemesis.
Jill finds herself cornered by zombies as the T-virus spreads through the city, only to be rescued by a young soldier called Carlos Oliveira. Carlos is a member of the UBCS - the Umbrella Biohazard Countermeasure Service - and Jill must decide whether or not she can trust the employee of Umbrella. They must travel together to try to escape Raccoon City, the zombies and the outbreak.
Boss fights are: Grave digger; Nemesis (twice).
UMBRELLA'S END - opened after finishing mini-game "Rebirth II"
Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine have reunited and now work for a bio-weapon clean up organisation. They have travelled to Russia in the hunt for a reported new type of B.O.W. as well as information about Umbrella's activities.
This is a completely new story to me, and, unlike the other main chapters, I have been unable to trace it back to a previous game, so it seems to be an all new game section, and provide a little of the missing story prior to RE5 (but not much).
The Boss fight is Talos.
There are a number of unlockable mini games and items including:
- "Beginnings" - beat "Train Derailment" part 3 - Proto-Tyrant
- "Beginnings II" - beat "Beginnings" with rank A or better - Ivan
- "Dark Legacy" - beat "Fall of Umbrella" part 3 - Twin Ivans
- "Death's Door" - beat "Raccoon's Destruction" part 3 with rank A or better - Mr X
- "Dark Legacy II" - beat "Death's Door" and "Nightmare II" - Sergei
- "Fourth Survivor" - beat "Dark Legacy II" - Tyrant
- "Nightmare" - beat "Mansion Incident" - Yawn
- "Nightmare II" - beat "Nightmare" with A rank or better - Lisa Trevor
- "Rebirth" - beat "Mansion Incident" part 3
- "Rebirth II" - beat "Rebirth"
In "4th Survivor" you play as Umbrella Special Forces member HUNK
For "Death's Door" you play as Ada.
You get an onscreen warning just before an attack from a B.O.W creature, which is in some cases a blessing as I shoot everything from the lights and windows to the furniture and paintings trying to find hidden items and I can be enjoying myself destroying the valuables of the train/house/city when they attack. I admit that have frequently cursed their arrival for interrupting my very short treasure hunting time.
The main benefit of this game is that you can play with a friend taking the second role - why is this a benefit? Since most of the items are hidden (and because it is an on-the-rails shooter) one person can shoot zombies while the other looks for goodies; and there are some bosses where I found it almost impossible to beat them alone. With two people playing fighting, such as the boss "plant 42", one person can concentrate on the plant and the other on defending against the spores, etc.
It uses the nunchuk but I found it virtually redundant during game play. You can use the "Z" button instead of the "A" button on the remote to arm with the knife, but I found the "A" button easier to use. The only real use is the change of weapon. The "C" button is flicked in order to select the weapon in sequence. However if you are looking for the machine gun you may have to cycle through a number of other weapons to get to it. Even when the weapons are empty they still stay in the rotation which can be costly when you are in a battle with multiple hunters or a boss fight and you have to cycle through empty weapons.
Wesker's voice annoyed me, there was something in the condescending snide way the actor told the story that didn't ring true for the character that I have come to know. As for the music, well at least you can turn it off; I prefer it without the music as I find the tension builds without the interference of background noise.
This is my second on-the-rails shooter (Resident Evil Darkside Chronicles) being the first, so I had more understanding of what was expected.
Another problem I have with the game was getting used to the change of controls, however, the biggest problem I had was with the person I was cooping with pressing the "A" button to skip the cut-scenes that I hadn't seen before meaning that I was missing out on some of the vital story.
As someone who only has a Wii console and is a new comer to the Resident Evil franchise (having spent the last 8 months immersing myself completely in the whole Resident Evil cult) this game has been a way for me to understand the back story. This is a game I have returned to over again since finishing it, but its best play is as a duel.
Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles April 15, 2010
Jørgen Mikkel Bals (Norway)
This game..
I had heard a lot of good things about this game. And frankly, I wasn't disappointed. You go through the chronicles of Resident Evil (Yes, the games). But in a railshooter, and it's a concept that works! And it's extra fun with another player. And there are side-stories that are extra challenging. You'll be pulling your hair out, but when you finally do beat them, the sigh of relief will feel all the better.
The controls are simple and precise, and all in all it's great fun.
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