Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles



Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles (バイオハザー ド アンブレラクロニクルズ) is the title of an upcoming shooter and a new installment in Capcom's Resident Evil series. It is set to be released exclusively for the Wii console sometime in 2007.

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 in the series' franchise. Members of Capcom's Clover Studios, who created such games as Viewtiful Joe and Okami, have been called upon to help develop the game. As of April 2007, the game's completion status has reached 25 percent. 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. In an interview with Famitsu, the developers said that they hope the title will chill gamers out when the weather is getting colder, which points to the game coming out in autumn or winter.

Gameplay
Details were vague at the announcement, but Capcom confirmed that it would be "a new game in the Resident Evil franchise" that will combine the series' trademarks along with "the revolutionary control system of the Wii". The April 2007 issue of Famitsu revealed that the player advances automatically on rails, shooting at the monsters appearing on the screen, however, later reports claim that the game plays like RE4, not like an 'on-rails' shooter.

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.

According to IGN's report, the Wiimote will control the pointer, while the analog stick on the nunchuk will also orient where the player is looking. It's been speculated that the Wii Zapper will be used for such purpose instead.

Display options
Christian Svensson, Capcom's senior director of strategic planning and research, stated the game will support 480-progressive scan and 16:9 widescreen resolution.



Plot
The story will be told from Umbrella's point of view and shed more light on the company's activities and its downfall, with the official trailer's motto being "Witness the end of Umbrella". Albert Wesker will play a very important role. Several mysteries from past games will be explained through documents the player can find. All characters from the first three Resident Evil titles will appear in their respective stages. So far only Chris Redfield, Jill Valentine (voiced by actress Tara Platt), Albert Wesker, Rebecca Chambers and Billy Coen have been shown.