It’s time to go back to the roots of the Umbrella Corporation in Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles.
Story:
This game is actually a smorgasbord of classic set pieces from Resident Evil Zero, Resident Evil and Resident Evil 3. So for the most part it doesn’t have just one narrative or even a cohesive one at that. But what you do get is a helping of one liners and obvious statements that will leave you either cracking up or shaking your head in disgust. For some odd reason there seems to be something funny when your teammate says, “this thing’s dangerous” while referencing a giant flying bat that’s attempting to gnaw off your head. Another example is when one of your teammates says, “You don’t look so well” as you’re bleeding out and near death. There’s numerous other incidents like this in the game and it seems to be either intentional or the writers for the series really are bad, but it leaves you with a layer of B movie cheese that’s quite palpable if you don’t try to take it too seriously. But my only question is how old is Rebecca Chambers? She looks like she’s 12 for Christ’s sake. I mean I haven’t seen a woman this young wield a firearm since that last time I decided to watch an episode of Gunslinger Girl.
Gameplay:
In this day and age developers do their best to innovate a game to differentiate it from the rest of its competition. Sometimes a game could be swept under the rug or even lambasted by employing a clichéd or archaic gameplay mechanic. Sometimes at the risk of this a game can also have the fun innovated right out of it a la Assassins Creed. But for some odd reason using the archaic on-rails light gun shooter mechanic that populated arcades in the early and mid 90’s actually works for Umbrella Chronicles.
The core of the game is the same as such throw backs like Virtua Cop and Area 51 (yes it used to be a light gun game), but there’s a lot more replay than in those mentioned games. You’re able to play each stage repeatedly after finishing it and you’re allowed about 2-3 checkpoints per mission and one save point. This may be different because I always just finished a stage instead of turning the game off mid stage, but I do know that there is at least one actual save point per stage and there is some kind of checkpoint before a boss or fork in the road.
What makes each stage highly replayable is that you’re allowed to level up your weapons based on the rank you earn for the mission. Each rank nets you star points and it breaks down as “C” for one star to “S” (max) nets you four points. You’re graded on critical hits, time, enemies hit, and files found. These are actually hard to find because they tend to be hidden and require you to shoot destructible objects to find them. Each level upgrade changes the weapon differently. One upgrade will net you a higher ammo capacity while another level upgrade will increase its firepower. It seems simple, but it provides you with enough motivation to play a level over so you can upgrade your favorite shotgun. It starts to become a necessity because later on the zombies start taking more damage and the pistol isn’t the best weapon for the more hectic situations like when you’re ambushed by lizardmen wanting a Jill sandwich with a side order of Chris. Also later in the game the enemies get a speed boost and become more resilient to the bullets of your default pistol. This is when it becomes advantageous to get a lot better at headshots on the fly.
At first when you start the game you have access to a standard shotgun and submachine gun. Later on as you complete each mission your inventory opens up allowing for rocket and grenade launchers, higher-level shotguns and other goodies. Also after completing missions you can also unlock sub-chapters, which allow you to play as different characters. Personally there really doesn’t appear to be a difference between the characters with the exception of the different counterattacks that the characters utilize. For instance Jill Valentine will tazer a zombie and kicks it off while Rebecca will push it off while following it up with a grenade to the face. While on the topic of other characters while you’re running solo they don’t do anything. When you’re Jill with Chris Redfield or vice versa your teammate will not take a shot, so this game is built around co-op. The game is still playable, but every now and then I wish I had another active trigger finger to watch my ass.
Umbrella Chronicles also uses quick time events (what game doesn’t these days), which allow you to activate counterattacks and dodge boss attacks (at times). My one complaint is the fact that you have no clue when they’re coming. The first time during a boss battle you need to essentially just die so you can be better prepared for it. Another thing I find irritating is the reloading because you have to waggle…shake the Wii remote for it to happen instead of just pointing it off screen and pulling the trigger. Granted I never had a problem with this but I always wonder how many times do I have to shake it to reload? This is because sometimes it just feels different at times. This also applies to the counter attacks because at times it doesn’t register and I just end up getting chomped on. Other than these complaints the game is quite enjoyable.
Graphics:
The game is actually stunning. It can’t hold a candle to an Xbox 360 game, but it is pretty serviceable. At times the lighting is spectacular and the creature design is pretty sick. Once you get attacked by some kind of twisted human spider hybrid you’ll say, “what the F—k!!” Not to mention that they also included the lab with the mutant sharks from the Resident Evil: Remake. At times the texture work is a step behind Resident Evil 4, but what they get right makes up for what they got wrong.
Sound:
The sound in Umbrella Chronicles seems to be the low point in the game. It’s actually not the creature effects because those are still creepy and nerve wracking. What doesn’t hold true to the Resident Evil formula is the music. The way my sister put it was, “It’s like something you hear during a Pilates DVD.” Though I wouldn’t go that far, but I get what she’s talking about. It doesn’t leave you feeling uneasy or dirty for that matter. You don’t feel like checking underneath your bed while listening to it. It’s very upbeat by comparison because you’re shooting zombies and God knows what else to fast pace techno music and it really just doesn’t fit. But I do like the theme that is going on during the opening menus because it’s kind of creepy and really catchy. The sound of zombies groaning and heads exploding is nice as well. I also like the gunshots too so everything else managed to get the appropriate treatment.
Replay:
Well the game seems like it would be a great party game if the people you know are into this kind of thing. Also maxing out your weapons and earning that nigh impossible “S” rank is enough reason to play the same stage countless times. Some kind of online multiplayer would’ve been nice, but I’ve never rated a game down for not including it.
Overall:
Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles isn’t reinventing the wheel. In fact, it’s like taking a time machine back to the Bronze Age. But it’s still pretty fun and downright addictive if you have a lightgun game fetish.
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April 01, 2008,
Joe
said:
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In the last statment in "Defeating Nemisis" it says you cant dodge the tenticles sent through the ground but if you use your MRL and shoot them right below his feet hewill not complete that process and go to trying to jump and crush you.. |
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Votes: +0 |
