Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles (15)

Platform: Wii
Verdict: Zombies? Guns? Great!
Rating: 3½/5
Despite feeling rather undead due to a mutation of the common cold, the chance to play Umbrella Chronicles lit my eyes up, not unlike the post-midnight zombies in Dead Rising. If only it could induce similarly increased vigor too, just without the thirst for flesh.
For years the Resident Evil series has been king of the survival horror genre, sticking rigidly to its fixed camera take on 3rd person action and odd puzzles (stick the unicorn medal into the police station fountain?). Until Res Evil 4 redefined the series, the only real striations from routine were the weak Resident Evil: Survivor games which were compatible with a light gun for first person shooting hijinks. Umbrella Chronicles stems from this branch, stripping it down to a House of the Dead style on-rails shooter and pumping it full of lovely Res Evil 4 graphics.
Using the Wiimote as a gun, controls are basically point and shoot. Simple and effective. RE:UC also allows you to switch weapons, throw grenades, pick up items and slash like a nutter with your boot knife (waggle away!), all of which can be done with just the Wiimote. For those wanting a little more flexibility the nunchuk can be attached to spread the load or they can be slotted into the Wii Zapper for a chunkier experience.
Aptly titled, Umbrella Chronicles revisits previous games in the series (with some disappointing omissions like most of Res Evil 2), allowing you to relive the creeping horror and boss fights with the satisfaction that you'll never run out of ammo this time.
The pacing is great and the series lends itself well to the on-rails genre (you shoot zombies, course it would) but it's let down by being all too brief and the fact that apart from waggle features, it really does nothing new.
As a polished game that allows you and a friend to shoot waves of zombies, giant scorpions and mutated monkeys, it's an absolute blast, re-tread or otherwise, and it's certainly nice to see a game on the Wii for a maturer audience.
Now if only the pharmacy sold blue herbs.