Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles

[Alan77]

Might as well go the whole hog and turn it into a party game.

[pedrocasilva]

Might as well go the whole hog and turn it into a party game.

I predict Zombie Party 8.

[Gaijin von Snikbah]

Well they have really taken into account that old people could be playing this game. Grandparents everywhere are excited.

[Mokong]

I think (or hope), what they really meant was since UC is telling pretty much all the RE stories we've had so far, they want to be able to attract more than hardcore RE fans with it, and use it as a way to introduce RE to the "new-gamers" that the Wii has generated.

 

At least that's what I hope they meant.

 

And as long as the parts that take place between RE3 and 4, tell a good story on the downfall of Umbrella, and they finally feature Ozwell Spencer, and tell us what happened to Rebbecca after RE1 and Billy Coen after Zero. I'll be more than happy. (But that might be a bit too optimistic)

[Zechs Merquise]

Wow, the Portuguese mafia who were all for new 'Wii' ways to play now calling for the return of RE4 controls lol

 

Do I see flying pigs?

[pedrocasilva]

Wow, the Portuguese mafia who were all for new 'Wii' ways to play now calling for the return of RE4 controls lol

 

Do I see flying pigs?

I didn't criticize the title for being on-rails mind you, but if the decision came to this ("making it easier for the poor wii owners, who like simple games"); yeah, I'd prefer RE4 controls (and gameplay).

 

there's nothing strange in saying that, I think; what you've seen me doing is defending "kiddy" looking games from being labeled instantly as crap, and gameplay forms, as well as the developer vision of doing something with a purpose.

 

That said, I didn't take conclusions, I still want Umbrella Chronicles and I still want the best gameplay possible as a on-rails lightgun game, but I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't prefer a 3rd person RE4 aproach to it.

[Zechs Merquise]

I didn't criticize the title for being on-rails mind you, but if the decision came to this ("making it easier for the poor wii owners, who like simple games"); yeah, I'd prefer RE4 controls (and gameplay).

 

there's nothing strange in saying that, I think; what you've seen me doing is defending "kiddy" looking games from being labeled instantly as crap, and gameplay forms, as well as the developer vision of doing something with a purpose.

 

That said, I didn't take conclusions, I still want Umbrella Chronicles and I still want the best gameplay possible as a on-rails lightgun game, but I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't prefer a 3rd person RE4 aproach to it.

 

I quite like the idea of the on-rails shooter, however I will really miss the exploration at comes with the 3-D person perspective.

 

I'm really looking forward to this game, however like I said earlier, if it's great then this discussion will be long forgotten and there will be no complaints, however if it does turn out badly then we'll think "what if..." concerning the issue of RE4 style gameplay that could've been.

[pedrocasilva]

US Capcom Staff tries to clarify the previous Interview:

I would like to clarify some things here. I am the translator at the Capcom US offices (if you watch interivew videos with Capcom producers/directors, you have probably heard my voice a few times - I even did some of Kawata's RE interviews on Gamer's Day, although I was with Tsujimoto for Monster Hunter Freedom 2 most of that evening). I wear a lot of other hats here too besides translation.

 

I just watched the first video here that is getting people riled up:

http://kotaku.com/gaming/resident-wi...asy-256281.php

 

Let me say that the translation of the video is very sub-par, and even wrong in parts.

 

I will re-translate his remarks and hopefully that will clarify what he said. I will be fairly literal in my translation, and also add my interpretation of what he meant to say in parentheses, as translating things literally doesn't always make the best translation. If you compare it to the translation provided on the YouTube video, you will see that there are unfortunately some mistakes in that translation, and the intended meaning is missed in parts.

 

 

Time stamp: 6:14 remaining

Director Minoru Nakai speaking

 

The first initial concept we were aiming for was, let's make it easier/simpler (read=more accessible). There are a lot of more casual gamers buying the Wii lately (I think he is mainly speaking about the Japanese market, because they are based in Japan and Famitsu is a Japanese company, and this interview is directed at the Japanese gaming public), and of course there are a lot of hardcore gamers buying it as well. But for those casual gamers, we wanted to make a game that they could play as well (read=that would be accessible to them as well). For those people (casual gamers), if we make the game too hard (right off the bat), they may not even try the game because they think it's too hard for them. And on the other hand, if we make it too easy, it won't be fun anymore. So we want to make it where it's easy AND fun. That's the balance we're working hard to achieve.

 

From the start of the game, there are three difficulty levels available: Normal, Easy, and Amateur. Amateur being extremely easy, where it is easy to lock on to enemies, etc...

Note that the three difficulty levels mentioned are available from the beginning, and you will be able to unlock harder difficulty levels by beating the game.

 

 

I'll stop there, and let you all make your own interpretations. I haven't watched the entirety of that video, or the other video on that page. If there are other sections of these videos you would like me to re-translate, feel free to make that request.

 

 

BTW, I've personally played this game, the version we had at the recent Gamer's Day. And the only difference between playing it (on Normal) and the GameCube/PS2 versions I've played were the controls and aiming. You will still get your butt kicked in a second if you're not on your toes. And I may even play through the whole thing this time.

Source: http://www.capcom.com/BBS/showpost.php?p=237526&postcount=14

[ShadowV7]

The truth behind the dismantlement of the umbrella corporation, that's what "Resident Evil: The Umbrelly Chronicles" is all about. The playable translation did came as a surprise though. As the lights truned back on, after the one and a half minutes long trailer, every reporter in the room seemed to have the same question mark floating above their heads: "A Lightgun-Shooter??"

 

- "What we're trying to do with "The Umbrella Chronicles" is to concentrate on the shooter aspect of the Resident Evil franchise, and to intensify it." says the producer Masachika Kawata.

 

- Just like a lightgun-shooter, the game is leading you through the whole experience automatically on rails. All you have to do is to aim at the screen in first person view and press "B" to shoot.

 

- "This in not a continuation but a whole new concept." says Kawata.

 

- The game can be viewed as a sightseeing-tour, where you'll get to visit all the old, famous places from the Resident Evil franchise history. The mansion from the first one, the police station from the second, as well as the elegant train from "Zero", just to mention some of them.

 

- Almost half of the game takes place at those recycled scenes, from Resident Evil Zero to 1, 2 and 3. The other half leads you ultimately to the stronghold of the enemy/company.

 

- The 3D environments will be rendered in real time, and can be, in terms of quality, compared with the Game-Cube titles.

 

- You'll get to choose from multible characters to play with. I.a. Rebecca Chambers, Billy Coen, Chris Redfield, Jill Valentine and Carlos Oliviera. Though Wesker will appear as well, he wasn't confirmed as being also playable, but maybe.. .

 

- Like in most lightgun-shooter's, you will take on the game as a duo. The teams are divided to Chris and Jill, Rebeccas and Billy and Jill and Carlos. Though there won't be much interaction between characters. Sometimes you'll get to hear things from them like "Let's look for survivors!" but that's about it. You might get the chance to play it in co-op, but it's not confirmed in the magazine.

 

- The demo they played was only in single player mode.

 

- The 20 minutes gameplay they experienced were all out action. No horror moments. A constant shootout with killing Zombies, Crows and Dogs. The camera was tilting very fast from one direction to another, focusing on the enemies that were closing in. There was a lot of blood on the screen, especially when you got bitten.

 

- To reload your weapon, you have to tilt the remote quickle down. The amount of ammunation is displayed >around< the crosshair.

 

- Besides the usual pistol, shotgun and mg combination. Capcom is also promising to bring back most of the old famous weapons like the rocket and grenade launcher. Nothing about new weapons were mentioned in the article.

 

- There will be quick time events where you'll need to push a certain button to counter an surprise attack. In that moment the camera switches back and you'll get to see both characters models doing whatever they do to fight back.

 

- You can also manipulate the camera to a certain level. You can tilt the view around with the nunchuck, that way you get to spot objects like ammunition, health or weapons. Most of them are hidden in or behind other objects which you will need to shoot to uncover them. You pick them up with the A button.

 

- There will be things you can destroy, like doors, windows and furniture. You can also shoot down paintings (you heard right!) as well as shoot out the lights.

 

- The crimson-head zombies will also appear. As well as some of the giant mutated bosses like the snake. All for the sake of action and splatter.

 

 

 

There's also a small interview with Kawata. Nothing really special though. He's asked why he chose to develope for the Wii..? : "Because of the opportunities with the controller, it's a wonderful machine, and just perfect for "the umb. chronicles."

 

Why did you ignore Code Veronica X..? : "We chose to only implement Zero, 1, 2 and 3, since that's where the Umbrella Corp. is mostly represented. We wan't to focus on the history of Umbrella."

 

The Resident Evil lightgun-shooters aren't the most successful titles of the franchise, why another one..? : "We played with different ideas during developement, but eventually decided to go first person view. Since we wanted to concentrate more on the action and the shooting, and less on the movement, we found that perspective as the best choice.

 

Will there ever be another Resident Evil in the old style on the Wii..? : "We haven't decided on that yet. We think a lot about the future of the franchise, and the best ways to keep on telling its stories."

 

 

From a German Magazine.

 

Source

[Dyson]

From a German Magazine.

 

Source

 

What the heck, "compared with gamecube graphics"?!

[ShadowV7]

Guess you could compare it to the Resi 4 graphics or something

 

What where the graphics like for the other Resi games? If they were any good then I guess you could compare of they just havn't improved the graphics much.

[Dyson]

Urgh, let's hope it's not a major disaster. They have yet to release a poor game from what I've heard.

[pedrocasilva]

Being that they talk about recycle they shoud be talking and comparing it with it's GC pre-rendered counterparts.

 

 

 

There's no RE4 "recycled" scenarios in Umbrella Chronicles.

 

Capcom even recycled the REmake zombie modeling and textures for this one.

 

 

Now... the game looks good, but not great; ever seen the canceled RE4 Hookman version videos? they look better than Umbrella Chronicles and on a inferior console (and also indoors)

 

The zombies have textures that were clearly not done for close-ups (they come directly from the fixed angle pre-rendered ones) and look at their shadows? it's just a circle on the ground, doing a real shadow wouldn't be that hard.

 

 

The game needs work, I'm leaning towards it being incomplete and only 25% done, but there are things I'd like to see sorted for a final release.

[Retro_Link]

Now... the game looks good, but not great; ever seen the canceled RE4 Hookman version videos? they look better than Umbrella Chronicles and on a inferior console (and also indoors)

Yeah but the majority of that appears to be in the old Resi style of fixed cameras and pre-rendered backgrounds.

 

Good to here that half the game will be new; I thought it might be much less!

[pedrocasilva]

Yeah but the majority of that appears to be in the old Resi style of fixed cameras and pre-rendered backgrounds.

 

Good to here that half the game will be new; I thought it might be much less!

Hmmm, all of the game is "new" for me, the mansion was pre-renderend before, so it is the first time the mansion and all those places are in real 3D, and it looks great, also the cutscenes should tell new facts and clear some stuf for the story.

 

The cameras are not fixed/static although you probably can't control the camera either, then again the camera control in RE4 was very limited aswell.

[Dante]

New RE:UC artwork?

[Retro_Link]

Hmmm, all of the game is "new" for me, the mansion was pre-renderend before, so it is the first time the mansion and all those places are in real 3D, and it looks great, also the cutscenes should tell new facts and clear some stuf for the story.

 

The cameras are not fixed/static although you probably can't control the camera either, then again the camera control in RE4 was very limited aswell.

I was talking about the camera in Resi 3.5 being a fixed camera and the graphics being pre-rendered, that's why the graphics were good.

 

Also, when I said half the game will be new, I meant the story!

[pedrocasilva]

I was talking about the camera in Resi 3.5 being a fixed camera and the graphics being pre-rendered, that's why the graphics were good.

 

Also, when I said half the game will be new, I meant the story!

You're talking about the canceled RE4 Hookman version?

 

No, it wasn't pre-rendered at all, all realtime and looks better than final build RE4, because it takes place in closed areas and all (and disc storage was really a problem with GC mini-DVD's), all in all... it just shows how much better Umbrella Chronicles could look.

 

The camera angles weren't fixed too, they were mostly dynamic following the action from behing, but in some rooms they were programmed to be stuck in a place and follow Leon, and that could result in some shots leon appearing up front rather than behing, but it wasn't fixed nonetheless, just... not regulable, that doesn't change that it was all realtime, and better than that, the lightning was also real-time and it was awesome.

 

Seriously, it looks better than Umbrella Chronicles.

[Zechs Merquise]

You're talking about the canceled RE4 Hookman version?

 

No, it wasn't pre-rendered at all, all realtime and looks better than final build RE4, because it takes place in closed areas and all (and disc storage was really a problem with GC mini-DVD's), all in all... it just shows how much better Umbrella Chronicles could look.

 

The camera angles weren't fixed too, they were mostly dynamic following the action from behing, but in some rooms they were programmed to be stuck in a place and follow Leon, and that could result in some shots leon appearing up front rather than behing, but it wasn't fixed nonetheless, just... not regulable, that doesn't change that it was all realtime, and better than that, the lightning was also real-time and it was awesome.

 

Seriously, it looks better than Umbrella Chronicles.

 

Can you provide a link to the cancelled RE4 'hookman' footage? Also, I reckon Capcom will have sorted the graphics by release, they'll get it all spot on, they're not gonna screw this up.

[Retro_Link]

Seriously, it looks better than Umbrella Chronicles.

I agree that it looks a bit better than RE:UC, but if you watch the video again you'll see alot of fixed camera work, which sometimes results in bad camera angles (not being able to see something you want to).

I think Resi 3.5 has a very similar camera setup to Code Veronica in that it does follow the action at times as opposed to being a static shot, but it's certainly wasn't applied like the camera was in Resi 4.

Resi 3.5

 

http://www.gametrailers.com/player.php?id=7188&type=wmv&pl=game

[pedrocasilva]

I agree that it looks a bit better than RE:UC, but if you watch the video again you'll see alot of fixed camera work, which sometimes results in bad camera angles (not being able to see something you want to).

I think Resi 3.5 has a very similar camera setup to Code Veronica in that it does follow the action at times as opposed to being a static shot, but it's certainly wasn't applied like the camera was in Resi 4.

Resi 3.5

 

http://www.gametrailers.com/player.php?id=7188&type=wmv&pl=game

It's still 3D, not pre-rendered in any way, so that's not why it looks better like implied earlier.

 

The camera is never really fixed-angle, but it can be fixed and dynamic at the same time in places, like a regulable surveilance camera following Leon, it won't move from there, but it'll still follow (and rotate angles slightly) in order to follow.

 

Umbrella Chronicles looks good, but has no excuse for not looking better (or even equal) to Hookman edition on superior hardware, RE4 textures had to be cut in order to provide more variety, but on the Wii you have +3 times de RAM, more speed, GPU pipelines and implementations and even 64 MB acessable flash ROM for buffering and Dual Layer DVD's for storage (8,5 GB compared to GC's 1,5 GB).

 

Specially since this was a early RE4 engine build, it changed a lot and all but they're certainly using a variant of the same engine now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm not saying Umbrella Chronicles should have a diferent gameplay or camera angles, but I'm saying it is inferior graphically (and technically). Even if the space between (hidden) loadings in UC (Wii) is bigger since you can actually shoot doors instead of loading the following area (which means it's more more open than hookman), but it has more power and above all, RAM and pipelines for that and it still doesn't make up for what Hookman did on inferior hardware. (and that actually looking better than final build RE4); RE4 by it's turn has a lot more open areas when compared to UC and was a lot more hardware limited than UC is.

[Zechs Merquise]

All I can say to the RE3.5 footage is WOW, it's stunning, absolutely beautiful. I really hope UC gets upgraded to this kind of level.

 

I'm now slightly disappointed by UC when I see how good games can look.

[Fierce_LiNk]

RE3.5 did and still looks splendid. But, ultimately, it still seems like the traditional game with a graphical update. Although, the way Leon moves is impressive.

 

I think they did the right thing by changing things. It would have been sweet if they could somehow have blended the two. Graphics of one and gameplay of the other.

[pedrocasilva]

Just shows capcom isn't pushing the Wii by any means; and I highly doubt Umbrella Chronicles will ever match that graphical level being that there's a limit on just how much placeholder can things be; it's just not being aimed at that level.

 

I sure hope they'll push the Wii above this level this generation though (capcom); it has that potential, and seriously if the Hookman edition was to be shown in HD (including HD textures) it could pass easily as a X360 game, and a good one graphically at that, that's just how good the game actually looked, and Wii has more power than that in it.

[canocha]

If i remember RE3.5 was running under a "overclocked GC"... i guess that could now be called Wii!

 

Wasn't there another RE4 version?