Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles

Genre(s): Rail shooter, Survival horror

Mode(s): Single player, 2 player Co-op

Platform(s): Wii

Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles, known in Japan as Biohazard: Umbrella Chronicles (バイオハザード アンブレラ・クロニクルズ, Baiohazādo Anburera Kuronikuruzu), is an upcoming shooter game and the 7th installment in Capcom’s Resident Evil series. The game is currently slated to be released on November 13, 2007 in North America, November 15, 2007 in Japan, and November 30, 2007 in Europe, except in Germany, where the game will not be available due to the lack of a USK rating.

Development

The game is being published and developed by Capcom and produced by Masachika Kawata who was behind the PS2 port of Resident Evil 4. At E3 2006, Capcom officially announced that development was already underway for an exclusive Resident Evil game for the Wii and mentioned that it would take advantage of the console’s unique Wii Remote controller, giving players a new experience. Members of Capcom’s Clover Studios, who created such games as Viewtiful Joe and Ōkami, have been called upon to help develop the game.

A short clip of the game was shown on the Nintendo World event on November 3, 2006, where 2007 was revealed as the release date. On April 6th, 2007, the official Japanese website went live containing an official teaser video.On April 13th, 2007, the official Japanese website updated with a second trailer, character profiles and screenshots. Capcom is planning to release the game with a limited edition collector’s Biohazard box featuring several items along with the game itself.Christian Svensson, Capcom’s senior director of strategic planning and research, stated the game will support 480-progressive scan and 16:9 widescreen resolution. A trailer was included in the Wii edition of Resident Evil 4, which shows the mansion from the original game and areas of Raccoon City. On July 11th, 2007, Nintendo announced at the pre-E3 press conference that the Wii Zapper peripheral will be compatible with the game.

Gameplay

^{In 2006, Capcom revealed that the game will combine the series’ trademarks with “the revolutionary control system of the Wii”. The April 2007 issue of Famitsu revealed that the game would be an on-rails shooter}.

^{According to IGN’s “Gamer’s Day” hands-on report, the Wii Remote will control the pointer, while the analog stick on the nunchuk will also orient where the player is looking. The player must use the reticle to locate items or weapons. The player can use the D-Pad to swap weapons, but they will vanish completely if all ammo is depleted.}

^{A recent magazine article has revealed that the player will choose two of the available characters when they start a section of the game. It was also revealed that there will be a wide selection of weapons including grenades and rockets to go with more familiar weapons like the handguns.}

^{Colonel Sergei Vladimir, one of the new characters set to appear in the last chapter of the game}

^{According to the July edition of Japanese gaming magazine Weekly Famitsu, the game will support a 2-player cooperative mode. In July 2007, the official website was updated with a new trailer showing gameplay of this feature.}