Rated CBAM!: Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles (Review)

Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles (Nintendo Wii)

Rated “M” For “Mature”

The Resident Evil franchise has spawned a few spinoffs. From the normal game to online co-op to an on-rails shooter, there are quite a few ways to get your zombie fix from Capcom’s series. The latest Resident Evil is another on-rails shooter on the Wii. Continuing from The Umbrella Chronicles is The Darkside Chronicles.

=====Story=====

Just like how Umbrella Chronicles was a retelling of Resident Evils 0, 1, and 3, Darkside Chronicles is a retelling of 2 and Code Veronica. You start a completely new scenario that involves Leon and Krauser (RE4) on a mission. After finding Manuela, Krauser questions what is going on prompting Leon to speak of his experiences in Racoon City with Claire and Clair’s experiences dealing with the Veronica Virus. These retellings are played out by you who take on the characters involved during these ordeals. They weave in and out with more Leon/Krauser time to further their storyline and add on to the legend that the Veronica Virus has brought around.

Oh, and there are zombies trying to kill you.

=====Gameplay=====

Point your Wiimote at the screen and push/pull the trigger at things you want to stop killing you. Very simple. You’re on rails so all the walking/running is done for you. You will get a few branching paths where you choose where to go, but that just requires a simple push of A. You’ll also use that A button a lot for collecting items such as ammo, money (for weapon upgrades), and archive notes. A few action sequences will prompt you to push specific buttons to avoid damage or death.

You do have an addition to gameplay strategy with the addition of an inventory screen. You may bring all action to a screeching halt and take the time to pick which guns you want for yourself and your partner (if present). You do share guns and bullets so don’t think that because you both equip the shotgun with 80 rounds means you have 160 rounds.

Point, shoot, pick up…that’s about it.

=====Difficulty=====

There are various modes of difficulty to choose from (Easy, Normal, Hard). Playing with a second player does amp up the difficulty a little. Every monster you encounter can be a danger to your health as even the simple zombie can quickly sneak up and take a bite out of you. A carefully placed head shot will take care of that. Head shots are very important especially in boss fights. While you could shoot the boss anywhere on its body, a few shots to the head in succession will stop oncoming attacks. A few bosses may take a little more strategy to defeat them, but aiming for their head will be the best way to dispose of them.

Aim for the head and the body will die…or die again.

=====Content=====

While Umbrella Chronicles chronicles the events of two Resident Evils and has its own new story to run, the game isn’t too long like most on-rail shooters. The stories are condensed and you don’t have to worry about solving puzzles or finding odd cranks to advance. There is replayability for completists who want to find all the archive items and a couple additional missions for achieving certain requirements. Upgrading guns will require you to replay a lot of stages to gather more coin.

There is some tofu, but even that was better the first time around.

=====Final Thoughts=====

A lot of players will complain about the camera and it’s hard to argue that. Umbrella Chronicles left the movement to be mostly smooth with a few fast paced running sequences. Darkside Chronicles has you running around more and obviously you don’t have a steady line of sight while running and moving around frantically. I understand what they were going for, but it does hinder gameplay when you’re trying to line up those perfect head shots.

This game will appeal to two types of audiences; one is the Resident Evil fan with a Wii and the other are the people who like to shoot things and have a Wii. If you know nothing of Resident Evil, you won’t be totally lost in what’s going on as this game could stand on its own and just be mainly about the Veronica Virus. Playing Umbrella Chronicles along with this will help round things out if you like your bloody shooting with a nice bloody story.

Darkside Chronicles doesn’t hurt the overall series nor does it do a lot of good for it. It adds more to the Veronica Virus story while giving players footnotes on what has been happening to these people heavily involved with Umbrella’s actions.

“What is this place?”