Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles

Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles
North American box art
Developer(s)	Capcom Cavia
Publisher(s)	JP / NA / EU Capcom AUS THQ Asia Pacific
Director(s)	Yasuhiro Seto Hiroaki Kotake
Producer(s)	Masachika Kawata Kentaro Noguchi
Writer(s)	Shotaro Suga Yasuhiro Seto Haruo Murata
Composer(s)	Shusaku Uchiyama Takeshi Miura
Series	Resident Evil
Engine	MT Framework (lite)
Platform(s)	Wii, PlayStation 3[1]
Release date(s)	NA November 17, 2009 AUS November 26, 2009 EU November 27, 2009 JP January 14, 2010
Genre(s)	Rail shooter
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer
Rating(s)	ACB: MA15+ BBFC: 15 CERO: D ESRB: M PEGI: 18+

Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles, known as Biohazard: The Darkside Chronicles (バイオハザード／ダークサイド・クロニクルズ, Baiohazādo/Dākusaido Kuronikuruzu^?) in Japan, is an on-rails shooter video game for the Wii developed by Capcom and Cavia.^[2] The game was released on November 17, 2009 in North America.^[3] It was released in Europe on November 27, 2009 bundled with the Wii Zapper accessory.^[4]

Plot

The game's plot revolves around the personal stories and tragedies in the series.^[5] Its main focus is retelling the events of Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil Code: Veronica, and a new chapter is featured.^[6] For the Resident Evil 2 segment, the player takes control of protagonists Leon S. Kennedy and Claire Redfield,^[2] with Sherry Birkin acting as an escort character in one chapter.^[7] The Code: Veronica chapter features Claire, accompanied by fellow Rockfort Island prisoner Steve Burnside and later her brother Chris Redfield.

Scenarios

Operation Javier

In 2002, somewhere in South America, Leon S. Kennedy and his partner Jack Krauser are searching for Javier Hidalgo, an ex-drug lord who had been reported to be approaching Umbrella Inc. However, when Leon and Krauser reach the nearby village, they discover that the people there have been turned into zombies. Some zombies have the Sacred Snakes indentation, meaning that they worked alongside Javier. Leon and Krauser find their guide who, before he dies and has his body taken away by a water-bound BOW, says that the girl (Manuela) "brought devils to this village." Fighting their way past more BOWs and hungry piranhas, Leon and Krauser eventually find the girl, but have to face the creature that took their village guide. They successfully chase it off after Leon shoots the bell tower which causes it to fall on the creature. Krauser asks Leon to tell him everything about how he first encountered the BOWs. The scenario resumes after Resident Evil 2.

Due to rising water levels, the survivors make their way to the water dam, where Javier and his BOWs await. Javier releases the monsters to attack Leon and Krauser while attempting to retrieve Manuela. It is revealed by Javier that Manuela is his daughter and that he had been tampering with the T-Veronica virus. Leon tells Krauser the "Game of Oblivion" incident from Resident Evil Code: Veronica to give him the knowledge of the virus. Both of them also discover that Manuela has been receiving regular doses of the T-Veronica virus to contain her illness. At this point, Krauser finally pledges to Leon that he will view Leon as a worthy partner. Soon after, they learn that the reason Javier has been kidnapping young girls is because he was trying to extract organs to perform transplants in order to cure Manuela. Almost immediately, they are confronted by the gigantic monster that ambushed them back at the church, who they soon learn is actually Manuela's mother. Having the same illness as Manuela, she mutated due to the failure to keep the virus in check. Right before dying, she shoots out spikes from her body, one of which pierces into the arm of Krauser, wounding him. After defeating Manuela's mother, Javier injects himself with the T-Veronica virus. He begins to mutate and attacks Leon and the injured Krauser. Manuela assists Leon and Krauser in the battle against her father by using T-Veronica, at the risk of turning into a monster herself. The three survive, and are rescued by helicopter. The US government takes care of Manuela, and Leon and Krauser's story continues in Resident Evil 4.

An alternate ending occurs if the player takes too long to defeat the final boss, where Manuela loses too much blood from the fight and fades into embers in the helicopter.

Memories of a Lost City

This scenario re-tells the events of Resident Evil 2, leading up to when Leon and Claire destroy 'G' (a mutated William Birkin). Claire Redfield and Leon S. Kennedy have just arrived in Raccoon City, when they learn that the city has been infested with zombies and other monsters. They decide to go to the police station, hoping to find answers and discover Umbrella's involvement in the ordeal. William's own daughter, Sherry, becomes his target and Leon and Claire must protect her from becoming mutated by his G-virus. All the while stalked by the powerful Tyrant and dealing with the mysterious agenda of Ada Wong.

Game of Oblivion

An abridged re-telling of Resident Evil Code: Veronica, where Claire Redfield and Steve Burnside remain together and attempt to escape Rockfort Island in a seaplane, while having to contend with the psychotic Alfred Ashford, and eventually, his sister Alexia. Claire and Steve are eventually separated and Chris arrives to help her find him, before taking on Alexia. In this iteration of the story, their father Alexander Ashford makes his first physical appearance, in a video, prior to becoming the monster known as Nosferatu.

Darkness Falls

Darkness Falls^[8][9] is a hidden story of the game which tells the thoughts of Krauser. This scenario follows right after Krauser's acceptance of Leon in the middle of the game. As the trio goes deeper into Javier's hideout, Krauser's faith is shaken when he discovered the background of Leon. As he learns more about Javier's intentions with the virus, he finds himself beginning to accept Javier's thinking. The injury sustained during the fight against Manuela's mutated mother causes Krauser to lose confidence when he found himself having to rely on Leon, rendering his thought of what is going to happen to him after completing the mission. During the final battle against the mutated Javier, Manuela uses her T-Veronica virus to fight her father. The demonstration of the T-Veronica virus helps in convincing Krauser that the dark side is the path he has to take, especially when he believes that the military will throw him aside once they learn of his injury. After the mission, it was discovered that there's no way to heal Krauser's arm. Krauser soon begins his search of Wesker for power.

Gameplay

The Darkside Chronicles is an on-rails shooter.^[10] The player's partner is seen on screen during gameplay.^[2] There is a new evade move to set The Darkside Chronicles apart from other on-rails shooters.^[10] There were also some gameplay changes; for example, head shots were made easier for players to perform^[10] and a status screen was implemented.^[11] The game automatically adjusts its difficulty, depending on the players' skill level.^[2] Other new features include online leaderboards and a system to tell the players' reticules apart from each other in a co-op session.^[11]

Development

The development of The Darkside Chronicles as an on-rails shooter was decided because Kawata considered it the best way to retell the scenarios that could not be included in the previous game.^[11] With this title, he wanted to put a much bigger emphasis on horror, employing a camera system that will try to convey a sense of actually being in the game.^[10][12] To research realistic camera shaking in hectic situations, one of the team members went out in town for a day to make motion tests with a camcorder.^[13] Another important aspect to create the game's atmosphere was achieving high-quality graphics, which cavia used all their resources for.^[11] Kawata was very satisfied with the result and went on to say that the only thing really setting the visuals apart from next-generation consoles is the lack of HD display.^[11] He also mentioned that there is a plethora of attractive content to use for more games in the Chronicles series and the decision of their development would largely depend on cavia's future involvement.^[11]

As the game's development began before the production of Degeneration and because of the different timeframe, Kawata ruled out connections to the CG film and Resident Evil 5, though he hinted at the appearance of new characters and the exploration of the Birkins' and the Ashfords' family ties.^[11]

Soundtrack

For the music of The Darkside Chronicles, series veterans Shusaku Uchiyama and Takeshi Miura have been brought back to compose and arrange tracks for the retellings of the games they originally worked on, with Uchiyama being responsible for Resident Evil 2 and Miura in charge of Code: Veronica.^[14][15] Part of the soundtrack has been recorded with a group of over 40 musicians known as Tokyo Shitsunaigaku Kyokai Co., Ltd. and a chorus of 30 singers.^[14] The orchestral arrangements were done by game and anime composer Yoshihisa Hirano who is also highly experienced with classical music.^[14]

Reception

Reception
Aggregate scores
Aggregator	Score
Metacritic	75% (55 reviews)[16]
Review scores
Publication	Score
1UP.com	A- [17]

IGN gave The Darkside Chronicles 8.1 out of 10. Compliments were given to the graphics, music, playability, and longevity of the title, but the camera was said to be mildly distracting and the story can be confusing for those unfamiliar with the Resident Evil franchise.^[18]

GameSpot gave the game a 6.0 out of 10. They stated "The only thing scary about this light-gun game is the dreadful shaky camera."^[19]

AceGamez scored the game 85%, praising its simplicity but criticising the erratic difficulty at higher levels, saying this made "the game insanely difficult on any setting above Easy. An awful lot of enemies appear so close to you that you have to land headshots just to avoid a nasty bite".^[20]

In November 2009 Capcom was forced to defend the game from the allegations from the Christian Church of the United Kingdom, which said that it glamorizes violence and promotes the occult, with spokesperson Leo Tan stating: "This is scaremongering and typical religious hysteria. You cannot blame society’s ills on video games. It’s just absurd."^[21] However, the website totalvideogames.com states that, in an interview with the clergymen in question, that he never commented on the game, and the whole incident was a misunderstanding. TVG.com further goes on to say this was all likely a PR stunt.^[22]

The Darkside Chronicles placed at number 151 on NPD Group's year-end 2009 sales ranking.^[23] In Japan, the game began as the third best-selling game in the region at 73,000 units sold.^[24] In France, the game sold 16,000 units during its debut.^[25]

References

1. ^ Jorge Bocanegra (October 31, 2011). "Biohazard Chronicles HD Selection announced for Japan". Rely on Horror. http://www.relyonhorror.com/latest-news/resident-evil-news/biohazard-chronicles-hd-selection-announced-for-japan/. Retrieved 2011-11-05. 
2. ^ ^{a b c d} IGN staff (March 11, 2009). "Resident Evil: Darkside Chronicles Detailed". IGN. http://wii.ign.com/articles/961/961342p1.html. Retrieved 2009-03-12. 
3. ^ Dahlgren, Matt (August 25, 2009). "Capcom Announces Ship Date for Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles". Capcom Unity. http://www.capcom-unity.com/mattd/blog/2009/08/25/capcom_announces_ship_date_for_resident_evil_the_darkside_chronicles. Retrieved 2009-08-25. 
4. ^ Spencer (August 26, 2009). "Zombies On Other Continents Keep Wii Zapper Alive". Siliconera.com. http://www.siliconera.com/2009/08/26/zombies-on-other-continents-keep-wii-zapper-alive/. Retrieved 2009-08-26. 
5. ^ Resident Evil / The Darkside Chronicles: Talking Evil, The Meaning of "Darkside"
6. ^ GoNintendo, Resident Evil: Darkside Chronicles - Leon ventures to South America
7. ^ IGN staff (April 22, 2009). "Resident Evil Darkside Chronicles Update". IGN. http://wii.ign.com/articles/975/975204p1.html. Retrieved 2009-04-23. 
8. ^ Inside of Biohazard The Darkside Chronicles. Enterbrain. 31 March 2010. p. 5. ISBN 978-4-04-726499-1. 
9. ^ "Biohazard The Darkside Chronicles Original Soundtrack" (in Japanese). Suleputer. http://vgmdb.net/album/16664. Retrieved 12 May 2010. 
10. ^ ^{a b c d} Hatfield, Daemon. "Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles Preview". IGN. http://wii.ign.com/articles/962/962316p1.html. Retrieved 2009-03-13. 
11. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} Capcom Europe, RE The Darkside Chronicles Q&A
12. ^ Resident Evil / The Darkside Chronicles: Talking Evil, The Presence of Horror
13. ^ VideoGamer, Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles Interview
14. ^ ^{a b c} Resident Evil / The Darkside Chronicles: Talking Evil, The Importance of the Orchestra
15. ^ Resident Evil / The Darkside Chronicles: Talking Evil, Veronica's Darkness
16. ^ "Review: Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles". Metacritic. http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/wii/residentevilthedarksidechronicles. Retrieved 2010-04-29. 
17. ^ "Review: Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles". 1UP.com. http://www.1up.com/do/gameOverview?cId=3170516. Retrieved 2010-04-29. 
18. ^ http://wii.ign.com/articles/104/1045110p1.html
19. ^ http://www.gamespot.com/wii/action/biohazardthedarksidechronicles/review.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=gssummary&tag=summary;read-review
20. ^ http://acegamez.com/112009/featured/resident-evil-the-darkside-chronicles-wii-review.html
21. ^ "Capcom responds to clergy criticism". MCV. 2009-11-24. http://www.mcvuk.com/news/36639/Capcom-responds-to-clergy-criticism. Retrieved 2009-11-26. 
22. ^ "Priests Misrepresented In Resident Evil PR Stunt News". TVG. 2009-11-26. http://www.totalvideogames.com/Resident-Evil-The-Darkside-Chronicles/news/Priests-Misrepresented-In-Resident-Evil-PR-Stunt-14773.html. Retrieved 2010-07-20. 
23. ^ Remo, Chris (January 27, 2010). "NPD/Pachter: First-Party Comprised 47% Of Wii Game Revenue In 2009". Gamasutra. http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/26983/NPDPachter_FirstParty_Comprised_47_Of_Wii_Game_Revenue_In_2009.php. Retrieved 2010-03-12. 
24. ^ Graft, Kris (January 22, 2010). "Japanese Software: Kingdom Hearts Tops For Second Week". Gamasutra. http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/26923/Japanese_Software_Kingdom_Hearts_Tops_For_Second_Week.php. Retrieved 2010-03-12. 
25. ^ Staff (January 8, 2010). "Capcom Reveals Weak Zack & Wiki Sales, Talks 'Tough' Wii Market". Gamasutra. http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/26733/Capcom_Reveals_Weak_Zack__Wiki_Sales_Talks_Tough_Wii_Market.php. Retrieved 2010-03-12. 

External links

• Official website
• Official Japanese website (Japanese)
• Official developer blog