Not content to remain idle on the Nintendo Wii, the Resident Evil franchise is rising again in a new fist-person on-rails shooter adventure, Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles. Following on from the previous Wii entry in the series, Umbrella Chronicles, The Darkside features Leon Kennedy and Claire Redfield as they revisit scenes from previous games in the series. Kombo's own Lucas DeWoody and I loaded our weapons and went hunting for zombies co-op style this week on the E3 show floor.

Players use the Wii remote's sensor capabilities to aim a targeting reticule onscreen in order to unload copious amounts of ammo at the shambling undead. Moving through the streets and buildings is done on auto-pilot, and while the game follows that traditional on-rails model, Capcom is referring to it more as a rollercoaster ride in that Leon and Claire often turn their gaze to focus on some surprise action. The point of view is always lurching, and while this does create the appropriate frantic atmosphere, I can see myself getting a bit of motion sickness after playing for too long.

As far as the aiming and shooting goes, it can be a challenge to target incoming enemies efficiently. I found myself wasting several shots for each bullet that actually hit the target. Headshots are the best way to bring down a zombie, but good luck hitting the sweet spot often enough to make a difference. It's almost as if the heads are just a little smaller than they should be, and while that does provide some extra difficulty, it seems spiteful. Headshot qualms aside, this demo implies a difficult game that relies more on reflexes and luck rather than skill.



The co-op gameplay was entertaining, allowing Lucas and I to take on the horrors together. Leon and Claire banter at one another as they run and shoot and run some more. Their conversation flips between offering story-related exposition to snarky dialog to break up the tension. Co-op is not without its frustrations, however. Despite the two reticules appearing as different colors, I have to admit that I often became confused about which reticule was mine and which belonged to Lucas.

While it's not fair to judge an E3 demo as if it were a finished product, I have to mention the jagged visuals that plague the city on the same scale as the zombie horde. Maybe I was standing too close to the screen, but everything on-screen has a very rough, shattered edge element. Here's hoping that things are cleaned up a bit before the finished version reaches us later this year. Either way, there's some interesting things happening with The Darkside Chronicles that may warrant some extra attention as the game approaches completion.