

When Capcom showed off the video for Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles I immediately thought to myself "House of the Dead?" because, well, that's what it looked like. I'm not saying this as a negative either, I really like both of these series and would love to see a good Capcom shooter on the Wii. But it's just that the game really looked like HotD when they showed the video.
In fact, when mingling around the Capcom event, (as a joke) I kept calling the game House of the Dead. So much so, that when one of the Capcom people came to get me for my turn to play, they told me that "House of the Dead .. er, Umbrella Chronicles" was available. Pure hilarity.
Actually, it would've been funny if it weren't so true. The only way that you can discern that Umbrella Chronicles (UC) is a Resident Evil title, is that during game play you're occasionally shown small cinemas of RE's Jill and Chris. Without that nod to canon (along with the fact that the demo level is the mansion from RE1) Umbrella Chronicles is almost identical to SEGA's zombie filled shoot-fest, House of the Dead.
Sadly, it's when you begin comparing the two games that you start to realize how flawed UC is as a shooter. It seems that Capcom hasn't fully committed to making a Resident Evil gun game; one that could mimic the play and control that you would find in the other zombie gun game. Instead, they decided to kind of 'split the difference' between the shooter and adventure genre and opted to included the use of the Nunchuck peripheral. It is at this point where Umbrella Chronicles goes horribly awry.
See, Rob was almost right when he said that you only "essentially" use the Wiimote. The game does utilize the Nunchuck attachment, but all the important gameplay functions are controlled by the Wiimote (shooting, weapon change, stuff like that). The Nunchuck is relegated to moving your character's point of view around while you progress through the level (on rails, remember) and nothing else.
To get and idea of how the Nunchuck camera control works, all you have to do is look forward. Now, without moving your head, look left, then look right, now look up and then down. That is, I swear, the full extent of the Nunchuck's usage. While having extra control doesn't sound like a bad idea, you need to consider that you're playing a gun game. When was the last time you played a gun game with only one hand on the gun controller? It's pretty hard, right?

That's the problem. The Wiimote's aim is a little shaky as it is, and forcing the player to take his second hand off the Wiimote to utilize the relatively useless Nunchuck control, completely negates any precision shooting you may have been able to accomplish with both hands on the Wiimote. Keep in mind that this shakiness may not seem like a big deal to you when you're using the Opera Browser to look at porn, but it's going to make a huge difference when you're trying to headshot zombies in Umbrella Chronicles. I had a hell of time just trying the keep the reticule on target with one hand, and considering UC is a game about targets -- that's a bad thing
As far as the overall game play, I'm going to agree with Summa yet again. (Now it burns!!) I wouldn't go as far as to say "massive failure in game design," but you do feel as if the game's designers weren't really thinking things all the way through.
For example, since I was never told how to reload my weapon I just kept shaking the Wiimote as a solution. This seemed to work, but wouldn't it have just been easier to fire a shot offscreen like every other gun game?
Also, instead of using a side graphic to represent the amount of ammo you have left, the developers created a circular ammo 'meter' of some sort. This meter is now part of your aiming reticule. As you're firing your weapon, the level on the meter will go down and will eventually let you know when it's time to reload.
What it fails to tell you is how many actual bullets you have left.
I found this not only incredibly frustrating, but also ridiculous. It's like looking at your car's gas gauge and trying to figure out exactly how many gallons of gas are in the tank. It's these poor choices in game play design that causes me to believe that the wrong type of development team is working on this title.

Now lets talk about the graphics. As I'm sure you've figured out, Rob is a graphics whore -- the shinier the better. I on the other hand, tend to judge my games on the level of fun that they provide, regardless of the amount of polygons being pushed. But once again, I painfully have to agree with Mr. Summa; the game lacks effort, the backdrops are as blah as can be, and the general presentation is underwhelming to say the least.
This doesn't surprise me, though. Not because I think poorly of the Wii, but because the developers told us that the graphics were crap before we even played. They specifically said that the graphics being used in the build were old, and were just there to give us an idea of gameplay.
So, yes, the graphics are pretty meh, but don't let Summa rain on your hope parade, the graphics that you're seeing now aren't going to be the ones you'll (supposedly) see in the final product.
Overall, I would have to say I was definitely not impressed. It feels like the team that Capcom is using is ill-suited for this type of game, or that the team they're using just couldn't decide whether to make an adventure title or a shooter. Too many elements from both genres are combined here in the worst possible way, and it shows.
Umbrella Chronicles has the potential to be an award winning title, and I hope Capcom will realize this and make changes. All of the issues that I felt detracted from my enjoyment could easily be fixed before the game's release. But as it looks now, this game is a bust.
I really hope they end up fixing all these bugs. It'd be really nice if this game came out... simply fun. Something you can play in your dorm room as people visit.
". . .Umbrella Chronicles is almost identical to Capcom's other zombie filled shoot-fest, House of the Dead."
I thought it was a series made by SEGA... And AM1, their 2nd party developers.
How much time do they have left to work on the game? Is it past the "major/minor overhaul" phase of developement? What did the Capcom douches tell you guys about that?
...will they even listen?
If some people were "perma grinning" while playing it, I think they'll mostly ignore all coments by you and Summma, which is sad, but the way it is.
When people put time into something, people look only at the positive comments to validate the time you did put into it.
Damn... I was having so much fun with the Boo shooting galery game in Super Paper Mario, holding the Wiimote with BOTH hands... fuck.
Well, apparently they are only 25-30% into development so far so there is a lot of time for improvement. I heard that it isn't even for certain that it will be a 2007 title.
Yeah, House of the Dead is a Sega franchise.
I never really expected this game to be anything but crap. It doesn't look like I'll be disappointed.
I saw the first gameplay video that GameVideos.com put up today, and I have to say, while it looks rough, it really looks fun. They even put in small touches like Crimson Heads and Forrest. I have high hopes for this, and apparently many other blogs like it so far. Still, thank you for your opinions, even if other people are writing them off (or mainly writing off Summa's opinions).
Sorry about the SEGA mixup (fixed). It's been a long day, the sad thing is that I own all the HotD games and should know better
Wow, that's a great writeup. Please please please do this more in the future. Your perspective is clear and your thinking is backed by what you write. Also, thats some pretty important info Robert omitted about the graphical assets being old and not representing the final product. Not that I thought they looked bad from the videos but it certainly puts his comments in a perspective that he chose to hide for some reason. I mean, I have to think that if you are gonna bash the graphics knowing they are not final, you should at least mention it.
Anyway, superb writeup. Conclusions are not the problem with these hands on, just the body of the writing that leads up to them. Clearly you had a negative experience, but I really feel like I understand more about the game than I did before.
Excellent writeup! From what I saw in the gameplay video, it looks like your standard-fare on-rails shooter. But even so, I'll at least give it a rental to see how they managed to do after it's released. I'd rather try it out for myself than completely write it off 'cause the internets tell me to.
Hey, I am a huge fan of Zombie's and wanted to let you guys know that if you too like Zombie's then check out these books by Brian Keene. "The Rising", the 2nd sequel "City of the Dead", and the soon to be released 3rd sequel "Dead Sea" (Sometime in August). They are hands down the best Zombie books you can find, and I have looked a lot; for eight bucks you should give "The Rising" a shot and you may be hooked like me.
Uh oh, I smell a spammer. ^^^^
I saw this identical post on another topic.
You should mention the multiplayer and environment interaction. Also, the fact that you can blow off chunks of zombies faces and the new types of zombies was kind of interesting, as was the boss fight with the snake. The new levels and story would probably also be a major selling point for fans of the series I believe.
There were a lot of good things about the game for sure, but without a quality interface I'm not sure that I would enjoy them. Maybe you could do a part 3 to round it all out?
From videos I've seen, it looks like this would be a good stress-relief game. Lots of dismemberment and blood.
The problem I see with it is that there's no sense of panic or urgency like in most other gun games. When the zombies are far away, it's not as if they have guns to shoot you. They can only hurt when up close.
This is where I see lickers and hunters coming in. With the pace a little faster, I can see this being a fun RE experience.
Sharkaac has posted the same copypasta on several zombie-related stoies on DToid. Definite spammer. Do away with his kind.
Anyway, I found it interesting you mention having an issue with the game not showing the exact number of bullets left. Every light gun game I've ever played, I just keep track in my head and never even look at the counter (one two three four five six RELOAD). If there's a brief pause in the action, I automatically reload to top off my gun. I assumed everyone else did that too. :)
And everyone knows a url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roland_Deschain]true gunslinger[/url] doesn't use his other hand to steady his gun. Have you forgotten the face of your father? :)
When is the game's release? IE: How much time do they have to fix the issues?
Bah, left a bracket out. Fuck you BBCode!
Mxyzptlk: These two-handed Wiimote users should be sent west! And while I agree that reloading usually isn't an issue, it is pretty stupid to not tell how many bullets are left and have a fuel gauge instead.
Seriously, who uses their second hand to steady the Wiimote? You don't even "really" aim the thing, you move it relative to your cursor on-screen. These discussions always kill me. I think this is why so many people have trouble with the Wiimote. Do you use two hands to steady your PC mouse? When playing the Boo shooting gallery in Super Paper Mario, I pretty much have the Wiimote rested in my lap, pointing upward, and aim strictly with my wrist and do quite well, thank you. That sounds so nerdcore.
And, in my opinion, shooting off-screen would be just as ineffective as shaking the Wiimote. Sadly, the thing is just not designed for this kind of stuff. Shaking the nunchuk as Summa suggested (tested and proven technique) sounds like the best idea. Wow, it really does hurt to agree with Summa, even if he's right!
Speed the game up, tidy the graphics, reload with nunchuk, show ammo onscreen. Do we have a winnah if the do all that?
i appreciate these kinds of write ups. i hate it when i read an article or a review some place praising a game, which i end up purchasing and then there end's up being some little interface or gameplay quirk that nags the shit outta me until i can't play it anymore.
this happened with me with gears of war multiplayer when after every ranked match it takes you out to the main menu, causing me to wade through like 5 menus before getting back to the updated server list. this irked me so bad i haven't played in 4 months. honest.
that little bullet gauge thing would be the same thing to me. here's to hoping they change this before release or else i may never give it a proper chance.
Dyson, this is a great preview. Thanks for putting this out to balance the former Dtoid preview. This was much more informative and much less flamey. Thanks again!
I don't understand why anyone would think this would be good once they announced it was going to be a shooter. Did everyone forget the awful terribleness of Dead Aim and Survivor? Shitty spin off games are shitty spin off games, just like shitty spin offs of final fantasy.
I like this one.
Shitter. This was one of the reasons I was after a Wii. :(
Guess I'll be waiting to see if they fuck up NiGHTS before I buy one now.
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