Nintendo Wii Fanboy

Imagine our surprise when Capcom's blog updated to our RSS about the Wii port of Resident Evil Zero. We thought yesterday would be the end of talk pertaining to the game releasing here in the west. But, for you European readers, know this doesn't apply to you. Capcom Europe passed on the project, so apparently there's no hope there.

But, back to us in North America. The latest entry in the Capcom blog says they "are watching the progress on the game, and if it ends up blowing up huge like RE4 Wii did, we'll evaluate the possibility of bringing it over here and flipping the lingo sos that y'all can read it." For those of you that don't speak hip blog, that last bit at the end means that they'll localize the game over here with English text and speech.

You all pretty much know how we feel (Resident Evil = we buy) about the whole thing, but what do you think? We know a lot of you aren't looking for another Resident Evil port unless it, you know, validates itself.

Read - Capcom's latest blog entry about Resident Evil Zero
Read - Resident Evil Zero on Famitsu

All of you that found your fancy tickled at the news concerning Resident Evil Zero, stop being excited right now. We're serious. Wipe that smile off your face right this minute! So help us, we will turn this blog around right now.

If you live in Japan, though, it's perfectly fine to still be excited about buying a new version of a game you probably already own. The Resident Evil Zero Wii port is going to hit your home turf and your home turf alone. Looks like the U.S. and Europe won't be getting their hands on this game (unless they want to import it), as Capcom pointed out to Eurogamer today that the company has no plans on publishing the title outside of Japan.

Oh well, at least we'll be saved from the hastily-slapped-together "extra features" like behind the scenes stuff and other junk that will surely make its way into this Wii port. But, then again, it is more Resident Evil to buy. We never really can resist plunking money down on Resident Evil games.

If you're one of the few who decided this game wasn't worth owning at the $50 price range, you might want to give it a second look. Amazon's Deal of the Day has Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles on sale for the low price of $30. As if the prospect of shooting horde after horde of the undead wasn't enough to sell you ...

But, in case it wasn't enough to sell you on the game, this should sell you on it. The game will also ship for free from Amazon, so no need to plunk down any extra dough there. If you don't know why we're so excited for an on-rail shooter, you haven't read our review of the game.

Note: If you're interested in this sale, don't hesitate. It was already pulled once while we've been watching it. The game is no doubt a hot item right now.

Turns out it's just one Gamecube! Either that or Capcom is lazy. The evidence to support either conclusion is found in this Gametrailers video, which compares the Gamecube and Wii versions of Resident Evil 4 side-by-side. Major spoiler: they look exactly the same.

The sad part is, we actually don't know if the Wii can do better graphics than the original Resident Evil 4, because nobody has tried. Well, at least this version of RE4 has waggling. And it's not like the graphics were bad on the Cube or anything.

This is simply the coolest limited-edition box in recent memory. Forget the European Resident Evil 4 box. This Japanese Biohazard box is the business.

For 3,675 yen, which is a suspiciously low $30, you get an awesome 20-DVD-capacity Umbrella Corporation biohazard storage box (itself inside an Umbrella Corporation shipping box), two keys, warning tags, and caution tape to seal it up. With a case this cool, who even needs a game? You could always buy this and RE4 Wii Edition and build your own limited edition set.

[Via The Tanooki]

If you've played Dead Aim or any of Resident Evil's other Gun Survivor spinoffs, it's understandable why you might be hesitant to give Capcom's newest rail-shooter a chance. Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles shares the same first-person perspective and light gun mechanics as the GunCon games, so it's easy to associate the title with the mediocre Gun Survivor series.

NeoGAF forumer cvxfreak posted a well-supported list of reasons for why you shouldn't confuse the new Wii game with its PS2 cousins, claiming their similarities as superficial. Unlike with most of the Gun Survivor titles, Umbrella Chronicles' development hasn't been handed down to a lesser studio. Capcom's own Kawada Masachika is heading production, working to extend the game's length -- approximately 15 hours -- beyond the short playtimes that plagued Gun Survivor releases. Umbrella Chronicles also promises a lot more gameplay depth with destructible environments, improved weapon selection, and quick time events.

Previews for Umbrella Chronicles haven't been favorable, but it's still too early in development for us to judge. Knowing that Capcom won't be following the same formula as the Gun Survivor series, however, gives us hope for the final product.