Gameplay Impressions
Gameplay ImpressionsThough The Darkside Chronicles strays away from the typical Resident Evil formula it encapsulates some the series' trademark features extremely well, boasting a scary array of zombies and mutated creatures and instilling a high level of intensity and fear into the player as you step into the unknown.
Though the storyline may be lost on anyone who isn’t familiar with the series, fans should enjoy unravelling the truth about “the sealed “darkside” that awaits at the end of it” and enjoy discovering some of the missing pieces of the storyline that were left undiscovered in Umbrella Chronicles. Indeed, the spooky tale is told extremely well through strong voice-acting and impressively rendered cut-scenes, but it's the frenetic gameplay that impresses the most with epic boss battles, spooky locations, and the constant stream of well-animated creatures that spurt with blood when you pepper them with bullets and descend on you with ferocity and evil intent.
Backed by a haunting musical score, which helps immeasurably in keeping you on edge, gameplay is extremely simple - you just point and shoot - but there's plenty of surprises and shocks to keep you on guard and there's a few tweaks to the system since Umbrella Chronicles that have improved the flow of the gameplay. These include a status screen where you can pause the action and choose weapons, or give your player healing items without the fear of getting killed. It's there mostly to help the nOObs, but we've also found it extremely handy when we've been under intense pressure from swarms of zombies, or particularly during the boss battles, so it's a welcome addition.
In fact, you can't really fault the control system and overall presentation of The Darkside Chronicles; it's a fine looking game that boasts a level of detail which you rarely see in a Wii game and it doesn't dip in quality from beginning to end. Gameplay is simple, so the control system reflects that, but the targeting system is spot-on and switching weapons quickly - which you'll often need to do - is made easy via the d-pad, or by using the thumbstick of the nunchuck.
The shaky cam isn’t going to be to everyone’s liking as it can make you feel a little disorientated as the action moves around the screen, sometimes so quickly that we'd only just lined up a shot before it’s moved on. This can get a little frustrating at times but using the shaky cam method does immerse you in the gameplay, and like the classic light-gun shooters such as House of the Dead or Ghost Squad, it does bring the action right to the forefront.
The context-sensitive actions littered through the chapters keep you on your toes and provide a brief respite from decapitating zombies and you never know when they’ll come, so it keeps you extremely focused on the action. There are also some intense and brilliant boss battles to look forward to, so every level ends on a real high.
Though the Darkside Chronicles is still very enjoyable to play using the Wii-mote or classic controller, it's best played with the Wii Zapper. The Nunchuck sits in the handle of the gun, analogue stick and buttons exposed, whereas the Wii-mote nestles snugly along the length of the gun's barrel. The Zapper feels extremely comfortable to hold and it does significantly enhance the experience and feel a little you're playing an arcade classic, which is where The Darkside Chronicles gains its inspiration from.
Aside from some frustrations with the shaky cam, and the awful audio of weapon fire that resonates from the Wii Remote's mic, The Darkside Chronicles provides a entertaining, edge-of-your-seat, experience that is a lot of fun in single player mode, but even better played with a friend. The relatively long campaign for a game in this genre, which will take up about 10-12 hours of your time, is just one indication that Capcom hasn't just attempted to capitalise on the success of the Resident Evil series, but has actually built on the Umbrella Chronicles and created a bigger, better and more impressive game.
Blowing zombies heads off has never been so much fun.
Final Score - 8.5/10
