This will be an on rails review.
| Platform | OVERALL |
|---|---|
| Wii | 8.10 |
| Overall | 8.10 |
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You know I should have reviewed this game a long time ago, I haven't played it in over a month but I will do my best to recall how I felt about it. Resident Evil Darkside Chronicles is a decent improvement over Umbrella Chronicles but it's not a sequel that is flat out better in every way. DSC follows the same gameplay structure as UC, it is an on rails shooter that takes you through many levels of classic and new RE events. Darkside has more focus on an overall narrative which takes you through all the levels where UC kind of felt disjointed. The storytelling is improved but it comes with a lack of side stories. There are no extra chapters that show you the game from other characters points of view, like how you got to see Wesker's point of view through the early games. If one were to play UC and then switch to DSC to directly compare the two it would be evident that DSC's controls are far more responsive. The comparison is night and day. The sluggish nature of the aiming reticule in UC has been fixed. That bullet sponge feeling of the enemies is now gone, when you shoot an enemy now you can see a reaction. This game feels as good as any Wii lightgun game, it makes the action more enjoyable. The most talked about element to this game is probably the camera. DSC goes for the immersive shaky cam look. The game is told from the heroes point of view almost too literaly, the camera turns and shakes as a normal head would if it were constantly running, being knocked down, or looking around for threats. On one hand this camera makes the game, I have never played a lightgun game that conveys this level of excitement. Simple things like seeing your characters hands, and watching yourself stumble to the floor cause something grabbed your feet all adds to the immersive effect. I really like the camera but I know opinion on it will be split cause while it works great for immersion it hurts the actual shooting part. The problem is that this is a game where aiming matters, in fact aiming is the entire game. Trying to aim when the camera is shaking as if it is having a seizure is not easy to do. When the game wants you to focus on shooting at something it will have the camera stop and give you a moment to shoot. I just felt it didn't have enough of these moments. An example situation would be you running down a hallway and you see zombies popping out of the sides, you can shoot at them as your character is running for bonus points. Then a zombie will knock you down, the camera pans toward the zombie trying to bite you, it is shaking wildly. You shoot off the zombie, get up and see like four zombies coming at you. That is when the camera stops and allows you to fight them like a normal lighgun game. Some times these sections are timed so if you dont shoot them in like 25 seconds you move on with the shaky cam again. I would say it is like 60/40 in favor of you running around constantly rather than actually having time to shoot. The game still has tremendous depth for a lightgun game. You still have a large arsenal of weapons, which you will need to use to survive. You may upgrade all your weapons with the money you earn in each mission. In this game you can safe a first aid spray and use it when you want to rather than having to use it when you find it. There are still tons of hidden items all over the destructible environments, these give you access to new files or enemy profiles that get added to the games encyclopedia. There are multiple difficulty levels, each chapter gets graded, of course you get rewarded for mastering each level. There are multiple routes to take in most stages so that alone adds to the replay value. Plus it is a large game, 7-8 hours long. In terms of value, like it's predecessor there is no contest in the lightgun genre. One of the major complaints about UC was that it felt like a lazy effort. Almost every single enemy was recycled from the GC or PS2 games. The game only used locations from REmake, RE0, or Outbreak to tell the stories of the classic RE games. RE3 didn't even get a proper retelling cause it was easier to just steal assets from Outbreak. Well all that is changed in DSC cause it is all new. There was no last gen RE2 to steal from and CV had to be reworked from scratch. What you get is a game that recreates those two games in a way we have never seen before. It is the closest we will get to a REmake style game for RE2. All the enemies needed brand new models to fit the new graphics, the results for some are beautiful, especially the Bandersnatch. The new scenario takes place in a far more interesting location than the one in UC. Plus it has tons of brand new BOWs for you to battle. It also helps that graphically the game flat out looks better than UC. Overall it is an improvement on UC. I felt the story was better, the levels were more interesting and the combat was more fun when the game allowed you to actually shoot. The major issue will be the camera and the focus on the roller coaster type of experience rather than a lightgun game experience. I would have to say for fans of lightgun games there are probably better games out there. For RE fans that had a good time with UC I say definitely try this game out, it has so much fan service that it's hard not to enjoy it. Plus it's still a damn good light gun game, different but good. |
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Posted by Dvader Thu, 21 Jan 2010 19:06:09
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robio (4m)
Been waiting for this.
Thats a good write up thanks, nice to hear there are no recycled assets. I will get it when its cheap.
I was playing this at my nephews place the other day and it was a completely different vibe to Umbrella Chronicles. I thought it was slicker in it's presentation, but it lacked the tension that UC provided.
They must have had it on an easier setting too, as I eventually got bored with it, I felt like I could just point anywhere to shoot effectively (I was playing on a small (by today's standards) TV on split screen though.
And yeah it does lack the difficulty of UC. In UC huge mobs of enemies would constantly attack you, here it is more of a ride with a few moments where mobs attack you.
An 8.1 from Vader? This game must suck more wang than Steel! LMAO