Game review: Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles

As you know, I’ve had a lot of Wii remorse over the past few years. I still stand by the absolutely genius controller, but all of the grown-up, gooey and delicious games are going to the consoles that can push the most polygons.

So, in between bouts of flipping, flambéing and sautéing in “Cooking Mama,” I at least glance at each mature-rated title for the Wii that comes along.

“Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles” is an on-rails gun game that closely mirrors the earlier “Umbrella Chronicles” release. In fact, “closely mirrors” are the perfect illustrative phrase, as the game is pretty much identical, except for the addition of new levels. Capcom doesn’t break much new ground in terms of gameplay or story, but the finished product at least has enough fun “jump out and grab you” surprises to keep you entertained.

Gameplay

If you’ve ever played any kind of light gun game at the arcade, you’ll slip comfortably into gameplay. Point at the screen and press the trigger to shoot, give the Wiimote a good waggle to reload and click the pad to toggle through your weapons.

The action will keep you on your toes. You’ll move through level after level of shooting zombies, zombie spiders, zombie leeches, zombie frogs and those damn zombie crows.

My playtester partner was my anti-gaming wife, who I usually get to play about 4 times a year with me. Even she admitted that it “was kind of fun, actually….” High praise from a woman who hasn’t liked a game since Crash Team Racing for the original Playstation back in 1997.

The story largely rehashes events from earlier “Resident Evil” titles, albeit from different points of view. There’s not much new ground, nor do you really need any. If it moves, point your weapon and pull the trigger. The game offers a few choices in a “should we go this way or that” manner, but it’s largely linear.

Graphics

Graphically, the game is the most realistic title I’ve seen on the Wii to date. The game gets the benefit of being on rails, meaning the Wii only has to render what it wants to show you at any given time, given it an artificial boost in processing power.

The one thing missing from “Umbrella Chronicles” was the limited camera movement. The previous title allowed you to use the thumb stick to pan the camera around a little in every direction. It gave you a little maneuverability to pick up items, but it also gave you the illusion of having more control that you actually do, which was nice.

Overall

I suppose there’s something to be said for games that know what they are. It’s not the polished ass kisser in the front row or the discipline problem sticking gum to the underside of the desk in the back row — it sits squarely in the middle of the valley between overpromising and under delivering.

It’s a fun time waster, but it’s nearly identical in every way to “Umbrella Chronicles.” In fact, the game feels more like an expansion pack than a full-fledged title. Still, if you’re a fan of mindless zombie stomping or the “Resident Evil” series, it’s certainly a good enough venture into both.