So even though I'm so hot for Mario Galaxy right now, I still bought not one but two new games today. The first was Contra 4, a game I've been waiting for since I first beat Contra 3 on the SNES. Yet, I haven't even played that yet. I was actually more excited for the other game I brought home to momma.



So far, the game is just a little bit above average. It's not at Star Fox 64 levels of fun and surprises...yet. We've only beaten the second boss, and that's still in the recreation Resident Evil Zero chapters, one of the least appealing games in the series. Still, it's a solid on rails shooter peppered with the RE conventions we have grown to love over the years. Ammo conservation, weapon customization, spooky mansions, and most importantly, crappy dialog about situation inappropriate topics.

Billy and Rebecca are in the mansion and are suddenly attacked by monkies with huge fangs (they look awesome by the way). As the monkies continue to attack, Rebecca says something like "So, tell me more about your past. Did you really kill 23 people?" All this while the monkies are screeching, jumping through the air, biting your face, etc. Billy says something like "My past is dark and mysterious. There are things I just can't open up about..." Of course, we were laughing too hard to really be sure if that's what he said, but it was something like that.

Note the pronoun "we". That is the one and only reason I'm really enjoying this game.

Above all other things, Umbellicals is giving me and my finance a chance to game together. She hates most action games, even on the Wii. If a game involves any risk of death, is at all hard to control, or punishes you too frequently, she drops the controller and says "This really isn't as fun as not dying. I think I'll go do that instead.".

But she's loving the Umbrellicals. I could see it being a gateway drug for casual gamers to get into the series. It's like Resident Evil lite, too weak for experienced RE smokers to really get high on, but just right for those who haven't built up a tolerance the RE experience as of yet.

It would have been better if this game were $40 like Zack and Wiki, because as fun as it is, it really does feel like a rehash (especially compared to Galaxy). But all and all, I recommend this game to fans of either Resident Evil or House of the Dead, or anyone trying to get their girl to play and action game with them.

But if you don't like on-rails shooters, this title definitely will not change your mind. Wait instead for the inevitable release of a new RE Wii game using the RE4 engine. After the huge success of the RE4 Wii-make, it's bound to happen. Or just keep playing Galaxy. Either way, it's win.