E for All 2007 Preview
Resident Evil 4 was unforgettable.
It earned endless acclaim, including GameZone’s own Game of the Year award
(2005). Everyone that touched it was blown away by its reinvention of
survival/horror gameplay.
The problem with success isn’t the
game itself but everything that comes next. Expectations are at an all-time
high, making it difficult for any developer – even the men and women responsible
for RE4 – to make a game that satisfies our horrific needs.
Resident Evil: The Umbrella
Chronicles, the on-rails, arcade-style shooter for Nintendo Wii, didn’t start
out an incredible game. Its E3 07 debut was cool but not overly impressive. The
graphics were washed out and the gameplay, though promising, didn’t have much
excitement.
It’s hard to heavily criticize an
early preview build of a game, but there are times when it’s necessary. In this
case, the game needed to be bashed before it could be praised. In just four
months Capcom has turned Umbrella Chronicles into one of this generation’s most
promising lightgun shooters.
Shooter Haven. Shooter Heaven.
The Umbrella Chronicles is
essentially one big trip back through time. This build focused on the train area
from Resident Evil Zero. You know the one: poorly lit rooms, zombie dogs, dozens
of slithery creatures that won’t go away… It’s as horrific as can be – for the
characters within the game. For players it’s cool, creepy, and downright
intriguing.
UC’s weapon lineup is the same as
when we saw the game at E3: unlimited pistol ammo, machinegun, shotgun, knife
(for warding off close offenders), herb pickups, and other Resident Evil
staples. Though these weapons haven’t changed in purpose, their functionality
has been greatly improved. The game is so much faster, so much more intense, and
controls with a level of precision that’s typically not found outside of the
arcade.
Graphically UC is now nearly on par
with Resident Evil 4 – a huge step up from where the game was in July. The
backgrounds are very smooth and detailed, cramming so much realism onto the
screen that you’d swear it’s CG. And at times it may be. When the action heads
to the top of the train, the camera doesn’t pull many tricks. It sticks to one
semi-angled view, and allows the train (and the rain storm pouring in) to create
excitement. The trick works, but there’s no way it’s real-time… Wii isn’t that
powerful. Or is it?.
Whatever it is, the game looks great
throughout each zombie-blasting stage.
Capcom has yet to reveal each of the
game’s locations, but there will be visits to the original mansion, and
areas from RE2 are likely. Will the game go further than that? We hope so.
Personally I’d like to bust through the environments of CODE Veronica. Just
imagine how good that game would look running on Wii hardware?
Playtime was short, leaving many
gamers saddened as they left the busy kiosk. Fortunately they won’t have to wait
much longer to play the game at home. Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles
ships this November.