With the recent revelation that Resident Evil Umbrella Chronicles would be a first person shooter, the knee-jerk reaction has been to compare the game to the previous mediocre Gun Survivor series. However, early videos of Umbrella Chronicles, as well as comments by the director and producer about the title, really make this comparison worthless.
There were three Biohazard Gun Survivor games created. There was the first on the PSone, released in North America without GunCon compatibility, the second game was a CODE: Veronica derivative without voice acting, and the fourth was called Dead Aim. Umbrella Chronicles is also a first person shooter with traits common to the above three games, there are also many factors that distinguish Umbrella Chronicles from the above three games.
1. The three Gun Survivor games weren't exactly the same.
Yes, that's right. The three Gun Survivor games have more variation among themselves than the pre-RE4 mainline RE games did among themselves, so to even liken Umbrella Chronicles to "Gun Survivor" is extremely vague given that the games are fairly different from each other.
Gun Survivor was completely in first person, with an original cannon plot (thanks RE0!) and branching paths with a find-the-key adventure. Gun Survivor 2, also completely in first person, contained a non-canon plotline with no voice acting or original environments, being based in CODE: Veronica's settings. It was a two player game and was actually released in arcades. Like the original, find-a-key methodology although it was broken up into missions. Gun Survivor 4 was a first person/third person hybrid that emphasized killing zombies, but the third person component alone made it different.
So, to say that Umbrella Chronicles is another Gun Survivor means you need to identify which one. Not that many can do that since those who make the comparison probably haven't played the series anyway. superpapermario.jpg
The only valid comparisons with the GS series are the first person view and Survivor 2's status as a CODE: Veronica retread (obviously to a far less grand scale).
2. Capcom did not develop the first two Gun Survivor games.
The fourth one that they developed is actually not that bad of a game, surprisingly. If you're going to liken a Tose-developed game (GS1) and a Namco-developed, CODE: Veronica-based arcade game to Umbrella Chronicles, which has a proven producer (director of RE4 PS2), then I'm going to liken FFXII to those Tose GBA FF ports in the name of fairness.
3. The Gun Survivor series had low production values. Umbrella Chronicles has high production values.
One look at the graphics will make this very clear. Gun Survivor 1 reused character models from RE2 (literally); Survivor 2 reused the actual CODE: Veronica engine and assets and didn't even have any voice acting. Gun Survivor 4, once again the best one, actually had a pretty good graphics engine, with some of the best blood effects in the series. But Umbrella Chronicles take last-gen RE graphics to a whole new level without stepping into RE5 territory.
4. You needed GunCons to get the best Gun Survivor experience. You need what comes with every Wii for Umbrella Chronicles.
Yep, in Japan, GunCon bundles doubled the cost of the games. The first Gun Survivor removed support in North America, and the second was never released there either. As expected, controlling the games with a D-Pad severely limited the quick-reaction the Gun Survivor games demanded. But with Umbrella Chronicles, everyone will get to use the Wii controller for the game.
5. Umbrella Chronicles actually ties into the main story.
Read the press release. We're taking Umbrella down in its stronghold!
The Gun Survivor series, on the other hand, were side stories seldom acknowledged by the main plot and this could be deemed forgettable in some respects (although I'll argue Dead Aim was pretty important to the RE4 intro). Anyone looking to have a complete look at the main RE storyline cannot ignore Umbrella Chronicles.
6. The Gun Survivor games were short. Umbrella Chronicles is going to be around 15 hours.
The first Gun Survivor can be completed in a little over an hour and was designed to be this way. Gun Survivor 2 can be done in less than 20, typical of an actual arcade game. Gun Survivor 4 can be completed in 30 minutes on a super speedrun. The Gun Survivor games are known to be quite short. Umbrella Chronicles, the first time around, will take 15 hours, which is how long RE4 took for many people on the first run.
7. Umbrella Chronicles actually goes for gameplay depth.
The Gun Survivor games largely were indiscriminate in terms of physics. A headshot was equal to a leg shot in terms of damage. But Umbrella Chronicles integrates headshots and body shots, contains timing hits (so not random firing to hit a boss) and allows for RE4-style reaction dodges and destructible environments. It will also have greater weapon variety and being based on as many as FOUR RE games, the greatest character, enemy, boss and locale variety.
8. Umbrella Chronicles is on rails.
This means you don't have freeform movement like in the Gun Survivor games. Movement in the first two was often a source of frustration for their awkward and unpolished gameplay (obviously this wasn't a problem with Dead Aim). So even the first person viewpoint comparisons will be a bit problematic.
9. If this were a Gun Survivor, Capcom would have said so.
I'd be good money an extra six months of development and no association with the Gun Survivor name would have done Dead Aim some good. But Capcom's not calling this a Gun Survivor game because Umbrella Chronicles isn't part of that series.
Conclusion
Stop comparing Umbrella Chronicles to the Gun Survivor series. It's an insult. Even if Umbrella Chronicles weren't that great of a game, which looks pretty unlikely at this point, the Gun Survivor games were bad because of lazy gameplay design and low production values. Umbrella Chronicles isn't being hurt by low production values, and videos show the gameplay to be solid, with early impressions
There were three Biohazard Gun Survivor games created. There was the first on the PSone, released in North America without GunCon compatibility, the second game was a CODE: Veronica derivative without voice acting, and the fourth was called Dead Aim. Umbrella Chronicles is also a first person shooter with traits common to the above three games, there are also many factors that distinguish Umbrella Chronicles from the above three games.
1. The three Gun Survivor games weren't exactly the same.
Yes, that's right. The three Gun Survivor games have more variation among themselves than the pre-RE4 mainline RE games did among themselves, so to even liken Umbrella Chronicles to "Gun Survivor" is extremely vague given that the games are fairly different from each other.
Gun Survivor was completely in first person, with an original cannon plot (thanks RE0!) and branching paths with a find-the-key adventure. Gun Survivor 2, also completely in first person, contained a non-canon plotline with no voice acting or original environments, being based in CODE: Veronica's settings. It was a two player game and was actually released in arcades. Like the original, find-a-key methodology although it was broken up into missions. Gun Survivor 4 was a first person/third person hybrid that emphasized killing zombies, but the third person component alone made it different.
So, to say that Umbrella Chronicles is another Gun Survivor means you need to identify which one. Not that many can do that since those who make the comparison probably haven't played the series anyway. superpapermario.jpg
The only valid comparisons with the GS series are the first person view and Survivor 2's status as a CODE: Veronica retread (obviously to a far less grand scale).
2. Capcom did not develop the first two Gun Survivor games.
The fourth one that they developed is actually not that bad of a game, surprisingly. If you're going to liken a Tose-developed game (GS1) and a Namco-developed, CODE: Veronica-based arcade game to Umbrella Chronicles, which has a proven producer (director of RE4 PS2), then I'm going to liken FFXII to those Tose GBA FF ports in the name of fairness.
3. The Gun Survivor series had low production values. Umbrella Chronicles has high production values.
One look at the graphics will make this very clear. Gun Survivor 1 reused character models from RE2 (literally); Survivor 2 reused the actual CODE: Veronica engine and assets and didn't even have any voice acting. Gun Survivor 4, once again the best one, actually had a pretty good graphics engine, with some of the best blood effects in the series. But Umbrella Chronicles take last-gen RE graphics to a whole new level without stepping into RE5 territory.
4. You needed GunCons to get the best Gun Survivor experience. You need what comes with every Wii for Umbrella Chronicles.
Yep, in Japan, GunCon bundles doubled the cost of the games. The first Gun Survivor removed support in North America, and the second was never released there either. As expected, controlling the games with a D-Pad severely limited the quick-reaction the Gun Survivor games demanded. But with Umbrella Chronicles, everyone will get to use the Wii controller for the game.
5. Umbrella Chronicles actually ties into the main story.
Read the press release. We're taking Umbrella down in its stronghold!
The Gun Survivor series, on the other hand, were side stories seldom acknowledged by the main plot and this could be deemed forgettable in some respects (although I'll argue Dead Aim was pretty important to the RE4 intro). Anyone looking to have a complete look at the main RE storyline cannot ignore Umbrella Chronicles.
6. The Gun Survivor games were short. Umbrella Chronicles is going to be around 15 hours.
The first Gun Survivor can be completed in a little over an hour and was designed to be this way. Gun Survivor 2 can be done in less than 20, typical of an actual arcade game. Gun Survivor 4 can be completed in 30 minutes on a super speedrun. The Gun Survivor games are known to be quite short. Umbrella Chronicles, the first time around, will take 15 hours, which is how long RE4 took for many people on the first run.
7. Umbrella Chronicles actually goes for gameplay depth.
The Gun Survivor games largely were indiscriminate in terms of physics. A headshot was equal to a leg shot in terms of damage. But Umbrella Chronicles integrates headshots and body shots, contains timing hits (so not random firing to hit a boss) and allows for RE4-style reaction dodges and destructible environments. It will also have greater weapon variety and being based on as many as FOUR RE games, the greatest character, enemy, boss and locale variety.
8. Umbrella Chronicles is on rails.
This means you don't have freeform movement like in the Gun Survivor games. Movement in the first two was often a source of frustration for their awkward and unpolished gameplay (obviously this wasn't a problem with Dead Aim). So even the first person viewpoint comparisons will be a bit problematic.
9. If this were a Gun Survivor, Capcom would have said so.
I'd be good money an extra six months of development and no association with the Gun Survivor name would have done Dead Aim some good. But Capcom's not calling this a Gun Survivor game because Umbrella Chronicles isn't part of that series.
Conclusion
Stop comparing Umbrella Chronicles to the Gun Survivor series. It's an insult. Even if Umbrella Chronicles weren't that great of a game, which looks pretty unlikely at this point, the Gun Survivor games were bad because of lazy gameplay design and low production values. Umbrella Chronicles isn't being hurt by low production values, and videos show the gameplay to be solid, with early impressions
