Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles

Umbrella Chronicles achieves greatness by being more than the sum of its parts. It takes the established Resident Evil genre, throws a dormant light-gun element into the mix, stirs it all together and still comes up with something that will amaze and thrill fans of both. This is an essential purchase for anyone who is a fan of Resident Evil, light-gun games or just action games in general. For devotees of all three, this is nothing short of gaming nirvana.

Skipping through years of Resident Evil mythos never feels rushed, for the game mostly progresses at just the right pace and makes it entirely worth experiencing.

As a true Resident Evil game it'll disappoint but as a lightgun game with depth and atmosphere, it's a great package. [Jan 2008, p.66]

Everything we love about this game only gets better when you factor in its cooperative play mode; playing alone is creepier, but having a bloodthirsty buddy by your side really ratchets up the fun factor.

The Umbrella Chronicles does a lot of things right. It combines the atmospheric charm of the ResEvil series with awesome light-gun gameplay, then throws in a wealth of bonus material to unlock and discover. It's the perfect way to prepare yourself for the upcoming "Resident Evil 5."

Exciting and unrelenting, Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles is a grand reworking of the series’ most prominent worlds.

A superb entry in the genre with a ton of great missions and reasons to play again and again. Anyone that enjoys the macabre, or going nose-to-nose with zombies should check it out. Fans will absolutely love it as it's basically a love letter from Capcom to them.

This is a surprisingly big and challenging release, and not one to be overlooked as just another simplistic rail shooter. It may not be the next big release in the franchise, but Umbrella Chronicles deserves its place right beside the other games in this venerable series.

Far from perfect, but get past the niggles and you'll find much to enjoy. And for Resi fanboys, it's an absolute must. [Issue#17, p.72]

I daresay that this is the perfect girlfriend game; in fact, most situations have you paired as a girl/guy duo which really sets the mood. Shooting zombies is great, but shooting them with friends is even better.

The game is tremendous fun as you blast zombies with a shotgun and a rocket launcher. The game’s atmospheric creepiness keeps you on the edge of your seat and each mission ends with a difficult but incredibly entertaining battle against some particularly monstrous creature.

Umbrella Chronicles is a must-purchase for Wii owners. While it isn't a killer app on the level of Mario Galaxy, it's probably the best multiplayer game on the system.

With all of its fan service, The Umbrella Chronicles will definitely have the biggest impact on Resident Evil devotees, but the quality gunplay should satisfy just about anyone with an itchy trigger finger. [Holiday 2007, p.80]

The talented directing utterly crushes other Wii games of its kind, and its lifespan is more than adequate.

It’s far from perfect, but it’s an entertaining addition to the RE “gun survivor” genre, and it simply boils over with fan service.

Resi fanboys should feel free to add ten to the score; straight-up shooter fans with no love for zombies should deduct ten. Chronicles is set to become the most divisive game on the Wii.

This game could have been much better with a more rounded out story and a little polish, but what we get here is a good amount of raw fun and plenty of survival-horror nostalgia.

A fun title that gets old just a bit too quick in single player, but is a strong addition to the series.

While Umbrella Chronicles doesn't accomplish much of note besides solidifying the Resident Evil story thus far, it provides plenty of point-and-pull-the-trigger satisfaction for your buck (especially with a friend in tow).

I almost hate to say it but it's the perfect girlfriend game. You can worry about cross training later but she's got to learn how to shoot at some point. And you're going to need buttons sewn on stuff. You'll want her by your side when the end comes.

It would be pretty hard to call yourself an avid Resident Evil fan and not be able to enjoy Umbrella Chronicles on some level. Sure, the shooting action is a little bit flawed, but it's still fun and works well for the most part.