Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles (Wii)

I love Resident Evil. The dilapidated locations, the cheesy dialogue, the huge plot holes and the whole B-Movie feeling to everything. All of these elements are present in this latest version but these alone do not a good game make.

It comes as a relief when first playing that it really does feel like a Resident Evil game as it so easily could’ve been a cobbled-together exploitation of a successful series with some new Wii controls tagged on.

Said controls are soundly calibrated and, as you would hope from a pseudo light-gun game, provide a sufficient degree of accuracy to make the game both accessible and also challenging. Although getting head shots (or “Critical Hits”) proves quite tricky to begin with it, it’s a skill that does come after practice. These critical hits become increasingly necessary as the game progresses in order to preserve ammo whilst dealing with the hordes of undead that are thrown at you. The aiming reticules are particularly large though and it can become confusing in 2-player which is who’s as they change colour but this is only a minor bugbear.

As a gun game it’s quite a long one with 12 levels pulled from the featured games of the series (RE0,1,2 and 3) and plenty of unlockable side-missions on top of that (detailing sub-plots and missing links from the games) which adds up to 20+ levels.

Adding to its longevity is a rating system which rewards skilful play with the ability to upgrade the familiar arsenal of guns ala RE4. There is also a full list of token unlockables for the die hard completists.

The graphics and sound mightn’t really push the Wii to its limits (they are of similar quality to the Gamecube remake) but they are of a familiar high-standard design and evoke the type of atmosphere needed.

Overall it’s a quality game, especially in 2-player, and an essential for fans of the series. Although with the dearth of good Wii games around it’s a worthwhile addition to anyone’s collection (especially if you have a Zapper!)