In Capcom’s newest rail shooter, Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles, gamers will get the chance to fill some of the plotholes left over from previous games in the franchise. Capcom had a decent amount of success with Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles -- will Darkside Chronicles be a welcome addition as well?

Story

Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles intertwines a new storyline with stories from previous games in the franchise. These overlapping stories set to answer all the questions left over from Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles, and other titles of the Resident Evil series. The entirely new story features Leon S. Kennedy and Jack Krauser working together to take down a drug lord named Javier Hidalgo. However, the plot feels very disjointed, as the stories from Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil: Code Veronica break apart the new scene.

Fans of the previous Resident Evil games (particularly RE2 and Code: Veronica) will likely appreciate the added context to those stories. However, if you’re unfamiliar with the previous RE titles, there’s a good chance you may get lost during those segments of this game. The lack of cohesion with the story is further perpetuated by the limitations of the genre; I tend to feel it’s difficult to create a compelling story in a rail shooter game, and Darkside Chronicles does little to break that mold.

Gameplay

This game is by-and-large your straight-forward rail shooter, but Capcom has thrown in some interesting twists. For instance, the game can be played with a standard Wiimote and nunchuck or with the Wii Zapper. It surprised me how well the buttons were mapped onto the controller. As expected, B shoots any weapon that you have equipped. Also, with the nunchuk attached, it becomes amazingly simple to toggle through your weapons. However, the necessity to shake the remote in order to reload is a little frustrating, due to the need to point and shoot. It would have been nice to be able to map another button to reload, but that option has not been given.

Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles is enjoying at its core. It’s a very good rail shooter that mixes in an expected amount of horror that comes from the Resident Evil series. However, frequent camera problems can make some parts of this game almost unplayable. As characters run from zombies and monsters, the camera jerks around -- showing the true motion in the first person perspective. An interesting idea in theory, but it doesn’t execute well in gameplay. The movement makes pointing and shooting almost impossible. I could understand if this were an infrequent event – in fact, the camera movement is a welcome feature at times -- but it occurs way too often, and negatively impacts the enjoyment of the game.

I also felt while playing this game that it is really meant to be played with a friend in two player co-op. For example, I kept getting stuck on a particular boss fight in the Resident Evil 2 portion of the game while playing single player. After convincing my roommate to play with me, we passed that sequence with ease. As we continued playing, it seemed to me the game was much easier with two people playing. Going solo with an AI partner doesn’t cut it; it seemed as if my partner would unload entire clips into certain zombies that I could have killed in four shots. Also, Leon (who was the AI when I was playing) kept holding me back, as he was constantly being held down and in need of rescue.

Graphics

The texturing in Darkside Chronicles is right about on par with most Nintendo Wii titles -- not great, but certainly not bad. But there are a few graphical highlights for Darkside Chronicles that make it stand out from other Wii titles and rail shooters.

The Resident Evil series has always excelled in the level design of their titles, creating environments that are pitch-perfect for the survival-horror setting. The frequent use of small spaces help elicit feelings of claustrophobia, elevating the tension of the game. Other moments that are oft-used but appreciated are when the characters are in darker spaces, which require them to shine a flashlight in order to see; the lack of visibility is pretty nerve-wracking at times.

Another visual strength of this game is the use of the short, full-motion videos in between sections of gameplay. These thirty second videos recount important moments within the story, and are apt at visually setting the scene with cinematic flair. Each of these cinematics can be played back from the main menu, giving you the opportunity to ogle the scenes and characters over and over again.

As stated before, the camera system is hit-or-miss. Visually, it adds to the terror of the game. Characters frantically run from zombies and are tossed around by over-sized bosses. But the game is too overzealous with its camera moves and causes too much frustration.

Sound

If there is one thing that I’ve learned from the Resident Evil series, it’s that they have a tendency to pick some of the most unusual voice actors on the planet. Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles follows in this vein. The characters are somewhat amusing at first, but the amusement dissolves into annoyance about three chapters into the story. There are some bright points when the voices add to the frantic nature of the game. On the other hand, there are times where I wanted to rupture my eardrums (I’m looking at you, Steve Burnside).

The score for the game was done by Shusaku Uchiyama and Takeshi Miura, who have done previous work for the series. After playing through The Darkside Chronicles, it’s clear that Capcom is wise to keep bringing them back. The background music is amazing, as it injects an eerie (and at times, calming) feeling to the game.

Multiplayer

As stated earlier, two player co-op is definitely the way to play this game. Nothing beats having a friend sitting beside you as you take down hordes of zombies; the energy that it creates is entertaining and addicting. It also offers a competitive nature, as your and your friend’s scores are ranked throughout the game. My roommate and I constantly compared our scores, headshots and total kills every time that we finished a chapter.

This competition isn’t just for couch co-op, however, as this game supports global Leaderboards over Nintendo Wi-Fi. Gamers can compare their rankings and scores with each other, adding to the replay value of the game.

Summary

For better or worse, Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles is a great rail shooter. Rail shooters never generally catch my attention, but it certainly helps that I am a big fan of the Resident Evil series. I had a lot of fun reliving some of the locations from previous Resident Evil titles. However, the camera system, although innovative, makes the game very difficult to play. The annoying voice acting isn’t a big plus either, as its sometimes laughable nature prevents me from immersing myself in the world of Resident Evil. Even still, I would recommend that people pick up this game if they are looking for a mature title on the Nintendo Wii and some good couch co-op.

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