Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles

System: Wii
Developer: Cavia Inc.
Publisher: Capcom
Genre: Shooter
Players: 1-2

It's been a good year for fans of the light gun genre on Wii, with the excellent Dead Space Extraction, The House of the Dead: Overkill and a port of Mad Dog McCr-, wait, scratch that last one. Teaming up with developer Cavia once again, Capcom is capping (ugh) off 2009 with Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles, a follow-up to Umbrella Chronicles. Phew, that's a lot of italics for a single paragraph.

Like its predecessor, the game covers familiar ground – this time taking players on a trip through key moments in Code: Veronica and fan-favourite Resident Evil 2 (probably as close as we'll ever get to a remake) from a whole new perspective. The storyline successfully attempts to string these events together in a way that even those with no prior knowledge of the series will figure out what's going on, and it goes into some all-new details for hardcore fans. Thanks to the hilarious voice acting, the cut scenes are pretty bad, but in the best possible way. It just wouldn't be a Resident Evil game without that thick layer of cheese.

After the success of Umbrella Chronicles, it would appear Capcom decided to give Cavia more than three dollars to work with here. The presentation in general is a lot smoother, and the graphics are - at times – simply phenomenal. The lighting effects in particular are some of the best on the system; you're also free to destroy every light bulb you come across, just in case there's a desire to go fighting evil by moonlight and winning love by daylight. You'll never run from a real fight, Sailor Moon. Never.


Being an on-rails light gun shooter, there's not a whole lot to worry about other than aiming your on-screen reticle (this can't be turned off) and blasting away at everything that dares to move – slowly. The limited ability to look around with the Nunchuk's analogue stick has been dropped, instead replacing it with the option to quickly toggle weapons. Shaking it will also reload your gun, and while Darkside Chronicles can be played with just the Wii Remote, having a Nunchuk just feels so much better. It avoids the frustration of having to shake the Wii Remote, which only messes up your aim. The Wii Zapper is also fully supported, although this control method is fairly clumsy.

Speaking of which, oh dear. The game makes use of an abused 'shaky cam' type effect. While this helped add a slim sense of realism to both Umbrella Chronicles and Dead Space Extraction, Cavia has just gone overboard here. It's made worse by the completely unnatural way the characters move around. Who in their right mind would open a door while looking at the ceiling, only to quickly look down at the ground, then ever so slowly look straight ahead? I mean, really? Holy crap, it's no wonder they're always surprised to see zombies right in front of them. It's like they've somehow combined the sharp movements of Beastie Boys' Intergalactic music video with a dumbfounded tourist.

Ultimately, all this feels like is a cheap way to increase the game's difficulty. It's made especially apparent during boss fights, when the main character will often rock their head around like a possessed lunatic. You're constantly fighting with the camera; any hope of precision goes flying out the window, and for a light gun shooter that's completely unacceptable.


Darkside Chronicles is also bogged down with some serious pacing issues. Some levels are packed with action, but others might have you drifting around the barren landscape like a tumbleweed for what seems like an eternity. During these moments you're encouraged to shoot your surroundings. Barrels, windows, monitors - pretty much everything. This earns money (remember that tip), extra ammo, health and can even uncover special little emblems to unlock extra goodies. You're only given a split-second to collect these items, as the camera instantly swings away in a totally different direction.

Overall, there's a fewer amount of guns in this game compared to the first, but all that money you've found hidden in chairs and 60W light bulbs will now go towards upgrading their abilities. Too bad you can't upgrade the main character's common sense. “Oh, there's a zombie, I'd better focus all my attention on that dusty bookcase over ther-OH GOD THE ZOMBIE'S ATTACKING ME, HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?”

Two player co-op helps liven up the experience, and it's really the recommended way to tackle this game. It's a solid ten hours, so it could make for a decent rental. During single player, the CPU will pretend to help out, but their shots almost always miss, even if they're right in front of the enemy. I guess they're not impervious to the awful camera, either.


Score: 5.5/10 - "Try/Rent"
Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles is a lengthy ride that suffers from its incredibly slow pacing. The hyperactive shaky cam is also baffling and frustrating for a light gun shooter. Recommended only to die-hard fans of the series in search of that delicious Resident Evil cheese.

Review by Lance McGill (Infernal Monkey)