THE GOOD:-Very Good Graphics
-Nice Atmosphere
-Nostalgic
-Great Gameplay
-Not trying to be scary
-Brand new story
-Different Submissions
-True to the series
-Great Replay Value
-Enemies and bosses still here
THE BAD:
-Doesn't really follow the games
-RE2 isn't involved
-Different Voice Actors
-Co-Op makes the game easy
SUMMARY:
Resident Evil was a groundbreaking game that was released back in 1997. It made up a brand new game type, survival horror, which is just as it sounds, you have to survive in a horror game. It came under scrutiny for having excesses of violence and gore, while gaming critics hated the horrible voice acting. But it gained a great following and spawned many different sequels and even a prequel. Then Capcom did the unthinkable, ditched Umbrella, and made an action game titled Resident Evil 4. It had no connection to the original storyline, and made the game more of a casual affair. Now while Capcom puts the finishing touches on another action game, Resident Evil 5, they give the Wii this little treasure to fans, Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles.
The story is simple, you play through Resident Evil 0, Resident Evil 1 (or the remake), Resident Evil 3, and a new story. In other words, the games that had the most to do with Umbrella. While you play through the story, you get different scenarios from characters that had different things going on for them during the original games. For example, in the RE1 part of the game, you can unlock a scenario for Rebecca, whom if you remember, was trying to rescue another S.T.A.R.S member and trying to escape the nightmare of the mansion. Or there are several scenarios that feature the series main bad guy, Wesker, while you learn what he was doing during the story. This really clears up a lot of confusion that the complex story of Resident Evil left behind when they ditched the horror.
Speaking of which, this game isn't scary. But fans probably got over that when they played RE4, since there was no horror in it. Umbrella Chronicles isn't trying to be scary, it's pretty much a shooting gallery. There is no horror since you know pretty much what's coming, and the computer makes the characters walk automatically.
The gameplay is great, even though it's simple. Like I said, the computer determines where you walk to, with some exceptions like picking your own paths. You have two guns that you start out with, an infinite ammo handgun, and one of your own choosing. During the games, you can pick up different guns and ammo for the guns. Pretty much every gun from the series is here, ranging from the MRL that you killed Nemesis with, to the hand cannon you worked hard to get in Mercs. Everything. After the levels, you are graded on your performance, the categories are; critical hits (headshots for zombies), health lost (less is better), files obtained (reliving the past), and more. If you get an overall of A on normal mode, you get an key from the series, and if you get an S ranking on hard, you get another.
The games graphics are some of the best on the Wii. They really use some great rubbing effects on the characters to make them look duller, but it really is great to look at. The atmosphere is even better, with the horror that came before it, Capcom makes the surroundings seem more action-like, and it's very appropriate.
The game is great for the memories alone. Whether you were a teen or a tot when you first played them, you will be lost in the moments of the game. Everything, from the classic dogs through the windows, to Nemesis scaring the shit out of you will be relived, just not as scary. The game is true to the series, it doesn't make fanboys want to hate characters for going for more action (coughleoncouch), but makes you embrace them for letting you relive your memories.
Now onto the new stuff. As in the story. It really puts a great ending on Umbrella as a corporation. The story is that there is a giant computer that has everything about Umbrella on it, and a new special forces have to destroy it, Chris and Jill are there. The computer in question is the same that stop Wesker from accessing Umbrella's information, and stop him from destroying it, as learned earlier in the game, in the Mansion Incident. The place is set in a very snowy, cold place, Antarctica. I don't want to spoil it, but there is a very hard tyrant there, and the zombies are back as ever.
The enemies in the game are the same as before. Zombies, Hunters, Lickers, Tyrants, Crimson Heads, and of course, the Nemesis. The bosses are still great, the Plant from the dorms in RE1, the Tyrants that was hiding behind crates in RE0, and of course, the Nemesis. They are all back, not to mention some new ones, even one that may seem better than the old ones.
The replay value is great. After you play through once, you probably won't have the proper rankings for all of your scenarios, so you play again and again until you master the level on hard, and are able to boast that you have all of the items and files. Even if you do finish with the items, you may not have all of the max rankings on the weapons, which you'll do until you do.
Not to the bad. The different scenarios don't really follow the games. You don't even go down into the torture rooms in the RE0 scenario, and not into Lisa's Cabin in the RE1, it really missed out on making it even better than it is, and give the fans more than they bargained for. There are no puzzles, which is to be expected, but they could've at least let the characters use the keys to unlock doors.
I know this game is about Umbrella, and RE2 doesn't do much in terms of the Umbrella storyline, but they could've gave it to use anyway. Let the fans go back to the times when Leon was a ginger, and when Brad was a zombie. They could've even just had G-Type Birkin as an extra boss and I would've been happy.
Now, this may be a pro, but the voice actors are different from the original games. And I don't mean from the original RE1 (shudders), I mean from even the REmake. Wesker has a British accent for some reason, and Rebecca sounds like she's twelve. Another things that could make the game better is the Co-Op. I played it once and it made the game way to easy. That may be a plus for people who can't get over a certain boss, but it may make it too easy.
All in all, this is a fantastic piece of fan appreciation for the fanboys that are pissed about RE4 (and maybe 5).
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