When Capcom’s solid but flawed on-rails shooter, Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles, was released back in 2007, the absence of the Resident Evil 2 and Code: Veronica storylines was very noticeable and earned Capcom the ire of many fans. Fortunately they were quick to announce a follow-up, Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles, which promised to cover the storylines of both of these games.

From the beginning it’s clear that Capcom had no interest in revolutionising the genre with RE: TDC. The game sticks to the exact same formula as the previous game: take the player on a rollercoaster ride through classic Resident Evil moments, while killing zombies and various other mutated creatures before they kill you. You earn cash based upon how well you perform which can then be spent on upgrading your weapons. These upgrades become quite important as the game progresses and you may find yourself needing to replay chapters just to stock up on cash in order to have enough stopping-power to beat some of the tougher enemies in the games later stages.

The first major difference between RE: TDC and the previous game is the new camera system. The camera aims to replicate the movements of a person’s head, rather than the level and steady camera as seen as seen in the majority of on-rails shooters. This is quite successful for the most part, giving the game a much more physical and almost visceral feel. Fortunately the camera steadies itself whenever the player needs to take aim.

Controls have also been greatly improved. Players can now map a weapon to each direction of the Nunchuk analogue stick for quick and easy weapon changing. Wii Zapper owners will also be pleased to know that the ‘Z’ button provides the same function as the ‘A’ button, so players are no longer required to be finger contortionists in order to perform common, simple actions.

Capcom have also fine-tuned the core mechanics. Critical hits are now easier to perform and the majority of enemies, particularly the run-of-the-mill zombie, require fewer bullets to put down. If this makes it sound as though they’ve made it too easy, have no fear. To compensate for this, enemies are now much quicker to attack you, forcing you to not only be an accurate shot, but also a quick one. This results in much faster, more intense shooting action. It doesn’t quite match the pace of something like House of the Dead: Overkill, but it comes very close, managing to find a nice compromise between fast paced action and creeping horror.

One of RE: TDC’s greatest strengths is its dedication to fan-service. By shooting various parts of the scenery players can unlock items and files for later viewing. The files are often entertaining and provide further depth to the story. However, the items, which are based upon items used in the original Resident Evil games, are pretty superfluous to all but the most dedicated fans. Do you really care that you discovered a doorknob? No, I didn’t think so.

Something far more interesting is the ‘Operation Javier’ chapters, which bookend each section of the game. These chapters are designed to provide greater insight into the history of Resident Evil 4’s top henchman, Jack Krauser. In typical Resident Evil fashion just as many questions are raised as answered, however there is certainly enough closure to satisfy most fans.

Shoot it in the head. Timeless advice that even works on giant mutant spiders.

Visually RE: TDC is up there with the best that the Wii has to offer. The only major problem is the noticeable lack of detail in the environments. This is especially noticeable in the last few chapters of the Code: Veronica section, where you’ll be seeing plenty of low resolution textures in empty grey corridors. On the other hand, character models are excellent and are also well animated, particularly the boss characters, although you won’t really get much time to admire them as the boss fights are as epic as you’d expect.

RE: TDC takes the workhorse-like nature of The Umbrella Chronicles and really polishes it up to become the sort of game the first promised to be. It might just be mindless zombie blasting action, but it’s arguably the best of its kind on the Wii.

By Michael Henderson

Graphics: B

Great characters, but many environments are quite bland.

Sound: C

Intentionally cheesy voice acting may be an acquired taste for some, but the moans and groans from zombies are as wonderful as ever. Also why do developers keep insisting on using the Wii Remote speaker for gunshots? It just sounds too weak.

Gameplay: B+

Fun, fast action. Simple, but very effective.

Overall: B+

Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles may not do anything you haven’t seen before, but it provides some of the best on-rails shooting action the Wii has to offer.