Capcom Press Day NYC: Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles

After treating ourselves to a round of mani/pedis and a traditional New York-style colonic, Le Brute and I found ourselves in the Hudson hotel, plugged into a variety of Capcom titles from Devil May Cry 4 to Super Puzzle Fighter II HD Remix. And after a brief girlfight over the Wiimote, we sat down to get our grubby mitts on Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles.

I found myself immediately impressed with the scope of the game's story, which for a rail shooter is particularly well-formed, and with good reason: Umbrella Chronicles tells the whole sordid tale behind the fall of the Umbrella Corporation, and in doing so will take the player on a tour of locations from the Resident Evils zero through three - plus new hotspots such as the Umbrella stronghold.

Umbrella Chronicles is also more than simply a rail shooter, although that's definitely the core gameplay mechanic. Not only is the environment deformable and filled with traditional Resident Evil power-ups like colored herbs and the occasional round of ammo, but the nunchuck's thumbstick gives you the freedom to look around you as you progress along the game's roller coaster track of immersive horror. It's more than simple rubbernecking however, as secret items, clean shots at crimson-heads and even the occasional choice of which path to take (not to mention aiming) all depend on using the nunchuck while wielding the Wiimote like a light gun.

The graphics on the game looked terrific running in 480p and widescreen, although you'll probably want to play this one in as dark a room as possible - not only to maximize those legendary Resident Evil thrills but also to avoid the heavy, muddy black levels I imagine might frustrate non-nocturnal players. Aiming with the Wiimote was surprisingly easy, given both my grandma-like aiming "prowess" and the fact that the Wiimote, for all its versatility, aims more like a laser pointer than a real gun.

Combat was as brisk and brutal as you'd expect from any rail shooter, but changing weapons via the D-pad or reloading ammo by shaking the Wiimote were simple, easy-to-master enhancements that prove Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles is more than just House of the Dead with better branding. In fact, given the lack of mature titles for the Wii, I expect to see this bad boy become a staple of the Wii game canon.