Customer Reviews

Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

Darkside chronicles is not as good as Umbrella Chronicles.

1.) The graphics are superior but the satisfying sound of scoring a critical hit isn't there and that was the most satisfying part of Umbrella Chronicles

2.) The control is give and take, weapon selection is much easier but grenades aren't as fluid because you have to select them and use them with the button instead of using the nunchuck, it's baffling why they would abandon their fun and effective motion controls.

3.) The explosive weapons, particularly grenades and grenade launchers, are all but useless since splash damage is pathetically under implemented.

4,)The camera, dear Christ, the camera, whichever developer(s) thought it would be a good idea to move the camera around the environment like caffeine addled ten year old needs to be shot.

5.) The obsession with creating a cinematic experience fills the gameplay with frustration. For example: for no good reason whatsoever the last two bosses are invulnerable to gunfire even when their health bar is displayed. Good luck figuring out when 'cause chances are you'll dump hundreds of rounds fruitlessly into their carcass.

The cinematic experience also ruins the other boss battles because just emptying their health bar isn't enough you have to follow a ridiculous scripting of events and, oh yeah, even when their health bar is drained they can still kill you. It is frustrating beyond words to fight a boss and lose despite reducing their HP to 0 because you didn't properly perform their arbitrary scripted sequence. Not only does this become annoying but it makes the more powerful, slow moving weapons like the RPG useless because you have to go through that abitrary sequence instead of outright killing them.

The first RE shooter game on Wii was pretty decent, if not just a typical on-rails shooter. The sequel, however, ups the ante with better graphics, a more cohesive flow to the narrative, and an overall more enjoyable experience than the first. The "shaky-cam" that has been the subject of many reviews and previews can be good or bad depending on how you look at it. Yes, it can be irritating when you can't line up shots properly because the camera starts acing up, but on the other hand it adds a sense of panic and realism to the experience and makes you feel like you're right in on the action. If you stick with it, you'll get used to it and appreciate the package more. Another great Wii game and highly recommended!

At the time of writing this review, I have only beaten 4 or 5 levels, but that feels like enough to make this review, so others will know a bit more about the game. First off, the graphics are TERRIFIC, compared to the first game. The gameplay is about the same (it's a rail-shooter after all)(for those who don't know what a rail-shooter is: a "rail-shooter" is a first person perspective game that gives a targeting cursor on the screen. For this game and "Umbrella Chronicles", you use the Wii remote by pointing where you want to shoot and press the 'B' button. The camera moves on a predetermined path and you have no control when the camera moves. That's a "rail-shooter" summed up for you). Speaking of the Wii remote, the NEW feature that I noticed (and love) is: you are able to assign four weapons to the Wii remote's D-Pad. During the game, when you want a particular weapon, all you need to do is tap that particular D-Pad direction. (In "Umbrella Chronicles", you had to cycle through your weapons, that was time-consuming and annoying.) Another thing that I noticed is, it seems, that you can no longer perform "counter attacks" (like in "Umbrella Chronicles"). While that isn't too bad, it just means you have to be quicker on the trigger. Also, head shots do seem a little easier than in "Umbrella Chronicles".

In short, I'm very happy with this game. I definitely recommend it to any fans of the Resident Evil franchise. To others who are not fans, but are looking for a good rail-shooter, or are looking for an overview of Resident Evil 2 and 4 (If I remember correctly, those two Resident Evil titles should be the focus of this game (like Resident Evil 1 and 3 was the focus of "Umbrella Chronicles")), this game should do the trick.

If you buy the game: HAVE FUN!

EDIT: this game does not feature levels from Resident Evil 4.

To those who don't know anything about Resident Evil series, this game has selected scenarios from Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil:Code Veronica except this is a first person rail shooter instead of a third person survival horror. So the point I am trying to make is THIS GAME CAN NEVER SUBSTITUTE THE EXPERIENCE YOU CAN GET FROM ORIGINAL TITLES.

Now saying that, this game is awesome because
-It is a rail shooter allowing you to experience from first person perspective basically shoot Zombie heads, legs anything you want unlike original titles
-It has MUCH BETTER GRAPHICS than original titles, therefore to me at least it is a MUCH BETTER EXPERIENCE
-they have done WONDERFUL JOB with reanimating the BOSSES, which to me is the best part of Resident evil series
-they have a NEW SCENARIO which goes into LEON'S PAST and fills link between Resident Evil 4 and other Resident Evils
-you can power up your weapons, so it adds an RPG element to the game

However, like every game it also has its limitations
-Unlike Umbrella chronicles you can't move your camera around making MOVEMENTS A BIT RESTRICTIVE
-parts of the game, the camera is JUST TOO SHAKY, however this is necessary in my opinion because it adds feeling to the event being portrayed
-lastly the game lacks variety in terms of scenarios that Umbrella Chronicles had, but has a GREAT REPLAY VALUE NONETHELESS

So yes it is not for everyone, but it is A GREAT GAME NONETHELESS.
To all the Wii owners who only buy Mario and Sonic titles, try this stuff out, support the dying genre on wii, you won't be disappointed

(note: this review is for those who have played Umbrella Chronicles)

I wanted to like this game, I really did. I enjoyed Umbrella Chronicles; it brought a somewhat flawed, but satisfying rail-shooter experience to the Wii. The sequel though, is bittersweet because it makes significant improvements to the game mechanics, only to turn around and ruin it.

Let's start with the good news.

+ The weapon system has been upgraded. Instead of only being able to choose a single secondary weapon, you now choose 3. Not only that, but you can switch to any weapon in your arsenal at any time. This makes the game less frustrating because you're not so heavily reliant on getting ammo at the beginning of the level.

+ You get to choose which upgrade on a weapon you want, instead of being forced to upgrade Max Ammo -> Capacity -> Power in that order. There are 5 upgrades for each weapon (Power, Rate of Fire, Reload Time, Capacity, and Stopping Power), and for most weapons, each upgrade can be purchased multiple times. Cash for upgrades is gotten through destroying objects rather than your end-of-level rank, which is nice because if you get an S-Rank on every level, you probably don't need the extra upgrades.

+ In Umbrella Chronicles, the pistol was a weak peashooter that was only adequate for getting headshots. If you got to certain bosses with no ammo left, you were pretty much screwed because the pistol's damage and rate of fire just weren't enough. In Darkside Chronicles however, not only is the pistol decent to start with, but it can be upgraded this time around. Headshots are also easier to get in Darkside Chronicles.

Now for the bad news.

- The boss fights REALLY took a nosedive. This especially hurts my opinion of the game because in a lot of games, awesome boss fights are half the fun. The developers wanted a more "cinematic" experience, so what does that mean for you, the gamer? Gimmick boss fights galore. I don't know what compels people to throw bad gimmicks into a boss fight, but I wish they would stop it. In Darkside Chronicles, the bosses that can be beaten by regular means are few and far in-between. You either have to beat them with a special weapon, let a sequence play out where they are invincible or close to it, or shoot a specific prop when they are at low health. Guess what happens if you don't shoot that prop? Even if you deplete the boss's lifebar, he just gets another one and you have to spend another few minutes wasting ammunition on him until you get a chance to shoot the prop again. In one particularly bad instance, you have to shoot a small, quick, flying boss with a slow rocket launcher that only gives you one shot per minute. Does that sound like fun?

- Sometimes a boss will keep doing an attack over and over until either you die, or you cancel the attack. That's fine except for the fact that usually when a boss does this, his weak spot is either counter-intuitive or very hard to hit. There's nothing more frustrating than getting hit constantly by the same attack which for the life of you, you can't cancel.

Overall, this game was an unfortunate disappointment.

The improvements over The Umbrella Chronicles make this game worth it! (not that UC was bad)

This Resident Evil outing comes highly recommended! I love it!

Replay value... check. RE.... check. Shooting goodness..... check.

5 stars, very highly recommended!

- This review contains a few spoilers -

I reviewed RE 5 after completing it; so I feel compelled to review "The Darkside Chronicles," as well. This is a good game. The visuals and audio have been greatly improved from "The Umbrella Chronicles," and the gameplay feels more solid. I was pleasantly surprised to hear all of the familiar voices from Claire, Ada, Leon (RE 4 version), and Jack Krauser, as well as the excellent, orchestral renditions of the most notable themes and sequences from RE 2 and Code: Veronica.

However, although I was pleased to see that Capcom had portrayed RE 2's storyline accurately and enjoyably, the same sadly can not be said for Code: Veronica's content. Just like "The Umbrella Chronicles" and RE 5 before it, "The Darkside Chronicles" is another victim of Capcom's use of creative liberties. Gone are many of Code: Veronica's most famous scenes, such as Wesker's fights with Alexia and Chris, and the scene of Alexia's awakening is now rushed and no longer features the moving "The Ending of the Beginning" music track from the original game. Speaking of which, when did Alexia giggle and hum like a dizzy blonde? When I finished this chapter of the game, I was left asking, "What was so wrong with the original storyline? Why did Capcom have to change the things that they did?" This just proves that the RE universe is so convoluted with differing stories and types of gameplay that Capcoms simply doesn't know what to do with the series. However, I must admit the creative liberties used in this game could've been a lot worse (ie. RE 5).

In all, despite the notable differences in Code: Veronica's content, "The Darkside Chronicles" is a fun game and improves upon the foundations set by its predecessor in nearly every, single way. Of course, I wish we still had Richard Wough's terrific voice playing Wesker and the original Code: Veronica storyline, and the game was a bit short. But I can't help but feel pleased with how much quality shines from this summary entry of the RE series, even for an on-rails shooter.

Just started playing and I realize after paying a lot of money that I've made a huge mistake. Don't get me wrong it isn't the games fault but a mistake none the less. As a newbie to the gaming world (but not in age) I had the great fortune of receiving a Wii for the family for Christmas last year and have loved it. My mistake was in picking RE4 as my first game. What a huge problem in that now every game I play is and will be compared to RE4. So far nothing has come close. Sure COD3 was good (haven't tried the others) but still not the same. As a newbie I didn't fully appreciate just what a "rail shooter" game was but now I know. For me this style of game is awful. I just kept waiting for the little "movie intro" to end but it wouldn't. I realized after a while that this was all that would happen. For those who are into the intricate details of story lines and history of the series this will be just another game. For me, though, it felt as if I had gotten a game from the "discontinued" rack in the game store. For a new release it lacked a lot. Everything about the game felt old and dated. The graphics were fine but then all I want is to play the game. I don't care too much about stories and history I just want to play the game. RE4 was, for me, a great game and I'm sure I will find a better one at some point but this isn't it.
Perhaps I will feel different the more I play but so far I'm really let down that a "new release" is so dated feeling.
M

I had high hopes for the original scenario in this game, which portrays the partnership of Krauser and Leon prior to RE4. Unfortunately, it tells you absolutely nothing about what happened to Krauser after Javier Hidalgo - but it does tell you (thank you retcon) how he obtained his nifty mutant arm, which until then everyone assumed was a Plaga related thing, and it does tell you how he developed into a crazy person like he is in 4, though mentioning nothing about his supposed death in a helicopter crash. As for the rest of the game:

The re-visiting of the Code Veronica and RE2 environments is completely awesome. They look just as you remember from RE2 and RE:CV, but even better. The progression of events is also pretty much in line with the games. Unfortunately, that is where the similarity stops, as this is a cooperative 2 player game, the characters are always together. Obviously this was not at all the storyline until they retconned it (But let's face it, at this point, Capcom has retconned the entirety of the franchise every time they make a new game, since RE3), but it is now being considered the actual course of events even by avid "Resident Evil" fans, such as those who contribute to the wiki.

As far as the gameplay, it is just as entertaining and enjoyable as the first Chronicles, and just as suspenseful (kind of) as the games it is based on. The bosses may actually be harder to kill than they were in the games, the first time around anyway. Darkside features camera movement which was supposedly taken from camera research (Which is ridiculous - you'll notice what I mean when you play the game. No one's head moves the way yours does in this game, when running in real life.) - the camera movement does make the game more suspenseful, but it also makes it much more frustrating. With increasing frequency, your character will pause and look at things, 10 times, for 30 seconds straight, before you actually continue on. This is most prevalent in the Code Veronica scenario, which is nearly the end of the game, so by this time you will be angry. In addition to that, by the time you beat the Code Veronica scenario, the remainder of the present-day chapter, with Leon and Krauser, is stupidly easy and kind of s slap in the face compared to the difficulty you had to put up with to get there. Be warned also that, once you upgrade your handgun several times, which you should because it is infinite ammo, the game is kind of laughably easy. You can kill one section of a boss fight in mere seconds.

For fans of rail shooters and resident evil in general, I would recommend owning and playing this game. If you are devoted to the original story of RE before all this RE0/RE5 nonsense that completely removed any sense from the storyline, you will still be able to enjoy it as I did. Frankly this game is the only reason I bought a wii (other than that I needed a new gamecube) and I don't regret it.

this is the perfect game after a long day at the office. point and shoot. no moving around or puzzles to solve. these games will always be on the top of my list due to their ease. combine it with a RE plot and you've got a winner!