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Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles

by Steven Rodriguez - April 13, 2007, 6:13 pm EDT
Total comments: 25

Can a first-person Resident Evil game succeed on the Wii?

Previously featured on PlayStation systems, the Resident Evil Survivor branch of the main series has always been looked on as a black sheep. While it's technically not a part of the Survivor series, Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles might as well be. The general idea is the same: Run around in a first-person view and shoot anything that looks like it might be of the undead variety. REUC will essentially be an on-rails light gun game, though players will be able to alter the course with multiple routes while playing.

The Umbrella Chronicles will tell the back story behind Umbrella's demise. It's a smorgasbord of the four games that make up the original canon. Areas of the mansion in RE0/1 and Raccoon City from RE2/3 will be in the game, all prettied up in full 3D. That means there will be no more waiting to open a door, since what's behind will have already loaded. In fact, screens and video have shown that if you really need to get through a door in a hurry, you can blast it open with a gun. In fact, many environments in the Wii game will be destructible, something that was impossible with the old pre-rendered scenes of the original games. Such a feature may open up new opportunities to kill zombies or uncover secret areas.

With the old locations comes old characters. At least Rebecca, Chris, Jill, Billy and Carlos will be in Umbrella Chronicles, presumably as playable characters in their respective chapters. It won't all be a throwback to the old Resident Evil games, however. Since The Umbrella Chronicles is supposed to tell the story of how the evil corporation fell, it would only make sense that the game take players into the belly of the beast. REUC will have new areas inside the Umbrella stronghold, in which Capcom says holds many secrets to events throughout the Resident Evil series.

Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles, which will include support for 480p progressive scan and 16:9 widescreen modes, does not yet have a release date.

Talkback

CericApril 13, 2007

I'm looking forward to this game. Its the story and an on-rail shooter. Sounds like a hoot to me.

KaironCarmine Red, Associate EditorApril 13, 2007

FINALLY! An RE game where I don't have to wrestle with the control scheme, nor will I have to worry about ammo conservation.... MUAHAHAHAHA! An RE game that doesn't play like an RE game! SCORE!

~Carmine "Cai" M. Red
Kairon@aol.com

Viewtiful marioApril 13, 2007

Quote
Originally posted by: Kairon
FINALLY! An RE game where I don't have to wrestle with the control scheme, nor will I have to worry about ammo conservation.... MUAHAHAHAHA! An RE game that doesn't play like an RE game! SCORE!

~Carmine "Cai" M. Red
Kairon@aol.com

There's another game like that called Resident evil 4.

It sadens me how so many people are dissing this game (I'm looking at you joystiq) just because it's not a traditional RE game, Capcom should've just said it was on rails in the first place so people wouldn't have gotten there hopes up too high. I think there's more to this game then people are giving it credit for. It's suppose to be 15-20 hours long so it won't be over too quickly, being able to glance around with the anelog stick reveals hidden secrets so there is some replay value, and IGN said numerous people died while playing the demo so it'll have difficulty. Not to mention it's remaking stages from RE2 and 3 in glorious Wii powered 3-D with has never been done before with thoes games, along with all new stages. Just imagin what feirce bossis await in the Umbrella Compound.

Speaking of Bosses, how cool whould it be to fight a giant scorpion, a giant centipede, a giant bat, Multiple version of the Tyrant, 1 or both versions of the Queen Leech, a giant Shark, Plant 42, that Lisa Trevor freak thingy, Lickers, a giant Alligator, whatever forms of William Birkin they decide to through out, Brain Suckers, giant worms, and best of all NEMISIS all in a rail shooting action packed boss fights. Just think of how awsome it'll be fighting an updated modle of Nemisis and have him chase you from door to door to door.

Think of what we'll be getting here and I think you'll find reson to be excited.

Athrun ZalaApril 13, 2007

the fact that CV hasn't been mentioned thus far is pretty worrying.... :S

TJ SpykeApril 13, 2007

vm, people are worried because this is starting to sound like the Gun Survivor/Dead Aim games (which all sucked).

S-U-P-E-RTy Shughart, Staff AlumnusApril 13, 2007

Dead Aim on PS2 didn't really suck.

but at least it's not RE:Gaiden LOLOLBLBLOORT

GoldenPhoenixApril 13, 2007

I think people are upset because Capcom's support pretty much sucks for Wii, yes we have that Treasure Game, but besides that there really isn't much to get excited for. Let's face it, the main reason why Capcom is throwing a shooter at us is because it is most likely easier to design, and does not take up nearly as many resources as another full blown RE game. Will I get the game? Most likely, it does look fun (I sure hope the quality is more than "it is hard"), but that does not change the fact that Capcom is still shoving the Wii aside. When it is all boiled down Capcom is giving Wii owners a light gun shooter (With multiplayer as doubtful? What the heck Capcom!), cartoon adventure and a port. That is not impressive at all.

KaironCarmine Red, Associate EditorApril 13, 2007

I'll ignore you pooh-poohing what looks to be a great adventure game (Monkey Island + Wario Ware? YES YES YES!) for the Wii, Golden, and agree generally with the rest of your post.

Thing about Capcom is that... well... they're Capcom. *shrug* And a lot of their technology so far is meant for the X360 and such: they've had resounding success on the XBox 360 with Dead Rising and Lost Planet and are in position to become the dominant third-party for that console: they're not gonna give that up, no matter how attractive the Wii looks. Also, I guess they just have a hardcore, traditional mentality... *sigh*

~Carmine "Cai" M. Red
Kairon@aol.com

GoldenPhoenixApril 13, 2007

Quote
Originally posted by: Kairon
I'll ignore you pooh-poohing what looks to be a great adventure game (Monkey Island + Wario Ware? YES YES YES!) for the Wii, Golden, and agree generally with the rest of your post.

Thing about Capcom is that... well... they're Capcom. *shrug* And a lot of their technology so far is meant for the X360 and such: they've had resounding success on the XBox 360 with Dead Rising and Lost Planet and are in position to become the dominant third-party for that console: they're not gonna give that up, no matter how attractive the Wii looks. Also, I guess they just have a hardcore, traditional mentality... *sigh*

~Carmine "Cai" M. Red
Kairon@aol.com

Which I think could be a success on Wii as well, I personally think the Wii can be home to both hardcore and casual games. EA is supposedly doing quite well on the Wii, and most of their games have been of the "hardcore" variety, I see no reason why Capcom can't do the same. BTW in regards to Treasure Island, I wasn't pooh-poohing it because I think it looks interesting, but I was mainly using it to illustrate that this support from Capcom is kind of lame to say the least. They obviously don't have much respect for the Wii system owners to handle more thought out, and DEEP games with a more "mature" look to them. Instead we get a shooter, a port, and what looks to be good, but still basically a cartoon adventure (I am willing to bet the game isn't sucking away too many resources from Capcom either) that could be quite casual in nature.

S-U-P-E-RTy Shughart, Staff AlumnusApril 13, 2007

If there are any characters or AWESOME BOSSES from the Outbreak games, I will be rightly pleased!

ArbokApril 13, 2007

Quote
Originally posted by: GoldenPhoenix
I think people are upset because Capcom's support pretty much sucks for Wii, yes we have that Treasure Game, but besides that there really isn't much to get excited for.

I think Capcom, like a lot of other developers, were caught with their pants down in terms of the success of the Wii. They probably thought the system was going to perform similar to the Gamecube, and so were preparing releases with that in mind. However, the system soared straight out of the gate while the PS3 tripped and fell. I actually wouldn't be surprised if the RE4 port was a last minute move on their part after realizing their mistake. Full fledged games are just going to take longer to come out, as developers were just way off base in terms of how this console war was going to turn out.

GoldenPhoenixApril 13, 2007

Quote
Originally posted by: Arbok
Quote
Originally posted by: GoldenPhoenix
I think people are upset because Capcom's support pretty much sucks for Wii, yes we have that Treasure Game, but besides that there really isn't much to get excited for.

I think Capcom, like a lot of other developers, were caught with their pants down in terms of the success of the Wii. They probably thought the system was going to perform similar to the Gamecube, and so were preparing releases with that in mind. However, the system soared straight out of the gate while the PS3 tripped and fell. I actually wouldn't be surprised if the RE4 port was a last minute move on their part after realizing their mistake. Full fledged games are just going to take longer to come out, as developers were just way off base in terms of how this console war was going to turn out.

I do hope you are right. What bothers me is comments they have made in the past about Wii being geared towards kids (or something to that effect). As someone who owns a 360, I have no problem with them supporting the system, but I would like them to use their creative muscle and talent to create a deep, "hardcore", adventure that utilizes the Wii's unique controls.

KaironCarmine Red, Associate EditorApril 13, 2007

We'll see if Capcom drastically reallocates their development resources in the future like EA has. I agree with you that I'd wish to see some more ambitious efforts on the Wii from them with more varied themes. For example, I'd LOVE to see Phoenix Wright Wii! With downloadable expansion cases! Microtransact me baby! YEAH! ... but even Sega is prioritizing their Samba de Amigos over their Jet Grind Radios these days... (By the way, Space Channel 6? YES PLEASE!).

... But for now, I see Capcom actually refocusing their efforts more on their proven success on the XBox 360, where there's simply less risk and less need for change. It's the lazy way out, and they ARE Capcom after all...

~Carmine "Cai" M. Red
Kairon@aol.com

Bill AurionApril 13, 2007

The impressions I read on Treasure Island Z sure didn't make it sound like the content (puzzle difficulty) was directed at younger kids...

GoldenPhoenixApril 13, 2007

Quote
Originally posted by: Bill Aurion
The impressions I read on Treasure Island Z sure didn't make it sound like the content (puzzle difficulty) was directed at younger kids...

We'll see, but I do think its visual style represents what Capcom thinks of the Wii user base.

ShyGuyApril 13, 2007

I hope HOPE this has coop. I love playing games like Area51 in the arcades.

IceColdApril 13, 2007

I've never played Gotcha Force.

GoldenPhoenixApril 13, 2007

Quote
Originally posted by: ShyGuy
I hope HOPE this has coop. I love playing games like Area51 in the arcades.

I think it is ridiculous that they don't even have it in at this point, that should have been a priority for this type of game. Now it is "Maybe" which probably means no.

Smoke39April 13, 2007

Adding coop to games wouldn't be so hard if devs actually designed the game with coopability in mind from the start instead of just saying "maybe" and then finding out when they actually get around to it that it would be too hard to implement because so much of their game already depends on there being only one player.

Viewtiful marioApril 14, 2007

Quote
vm, people are worried because this is starting to sound like the Gun Survivor/Dead Aim games (which all sucked).

From prevews I've read I don't think that's the case.

Quote
they've had resounding success on the XBox 360 with Dead Rising and Lost Planet and are in position to become the dominant third-party for that console

I'm shure even Umbrella cronicles would do well if you spent $40 million dollers advertising it.

Quote
Capcom is still shoving the Wii aside.

Yep, there remaking all of there prerendered backgrounds from RE0 and RE (which are highly detailed and destructable mind you) and remaking the levels from RE2 and RE3 in 3-D (which will have to go through the REmake treatment for it to be passible on the Wii) and telling a major part of the story that was never revealed before and will likely play a key role even in RE5.

When the controller was revealed didn't everyone say how awsome a light gun game on it would be? well now we're getting one and everyone has a reason to complain. I bet if you start playing it without thnking "damn this isn't a traditional RE game" your bound to have a blast playing it.

KDR_11kApril 14, 2007

Almost makes me think Killer 7 should've been on the Wii.

NinGurl69 *hugglesApril 14, 2007

Yeah, then a July 7, 2007 release date would actually make sense.

KaironCarmine Red, Associate EditorApril 14, 2007

Quote
Originally posted by: KDR_11k
Almost makes me think Killer 7 should've been on the Wii.

That was the absolute SECOND thought that entered my head when I realized the Wii's possibilities.

Maybe we could get a Killer 9? Does Suda 51 believe in sequels?

~Carmine "Cai" M. Red
Kairon@aol.com

GoldenPhoenixApril 14, 2007

Quote
Originally posted by: Kairon
Quote
Originally posted by: KDR_11k
Almost makes me think Killer 7 should've been on the Wii.

That was the absolute SECOND thought that entered my head when I realized the Wii's possibilities.

Maybe we could get a Killer 9? Does Suda 51 believe in sequels?

~Carmine "Cai" M. Red
Kairon@aol.com

I sure hope they don't believe in sequels.

ArbokApril 14, 2007

Quote
Originally posted by: GoldenPhoenix
I sure hope they don't believe in sequels.

"Super Killer 7 Alpha: Turbo Edition" confirmed

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Wii WiiU

Game Profile

Reviews (1)
Previews (2)

Screens (78)
Artwork (9)
Box Art (1)

Genre	Adventure
Developer	Capcom
Players	1 - 2

Worldwide Releases

Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles
Release	Nov 13, 2007
Publisher	Capcom
Rating	Mature
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Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles
Release	Nov 30, 2007
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Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles
Release	Dec 13, 2007
Publisher	Capcom
Rating	Mature (15+)

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