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Resident Evil is no stranger to the light-gun genre. While some may not be too fond of them, the series did get its feet wet in the genre’s waters with the Survivor sub-series years back. I found myself really enjoying the original game, too. Flash forward to more recent times and the franchise once again invited players into the world of first-person survival horror.
Nintendo played host to its own share of exclusive titles in the beloved series, with the REmake continuing to be the most demanded to hit other platforms in HD (that’s an article for another day!). So when the Wii launched, fans wondered how the system’s new control method could be used to enrich the overall RE experience. Naturally, we’d use the Wiimote as a gun, aiming at incoming BOWs. But would fans get a traditional third-person entry like they did with the REmake and Zero on the GameCube, or something else entirely?
Lo and behold, as far as original titles go, we ended up getting a pair of light-gun shooters on the Wii: The Umbrella Chronicles and The Darkside Chronicles. Both titles provided a high dose of nostalgia for longtime fans while still packing never before seen chapters in the series’ canon: “Umbrella’s End” and “Operation Javier.” And now, both games are available digitally in HD exclusively on the PlayStation 3 as the Chronicles HD Collection. So, are these HD ports worth it? Keep reading to find out!
First up is The Umbrella Chronicles. The game is a “greatest hits” album of sorts, taking players through the main events of Resident Evils 0, 1 and 3 before pitting them in a brand new scenario detailing the fall of Umbrella, all narrated by Wesker’s sexy voice. There’s more, though. Along the way players can also unlock extra chapters that fill in some of the gaps in the main scenarios, like being able to play as Wesker as he escapes the mansion after the Tyrant “kills” him and playing as Ada as she tries to make her way out of the city. The final scenario is quite epic, with Chris and Jill teaming up once again, this time to put the final nail in Umbrella’s coffin as they head to their Russian facility. A certain man with shades is also making his way there with his own agenda…
The other scenarios are also really good, despite quickly taking players through the main parts of each game’s story, with things missing and sometimes even completely altered altogether. Take the Resident Evil 3 portion for example. The majority of the scenario is completely different from the source game. Yeah, you still go to the police station, but main areas like the Dead Factory and hospital aren’t traversed. Hell, the Nemesis encounters are also different, and I’m still disappointed by the fact that the final battle with Nemmy is 100% different from how it was in Resident Evil 3. It was still a tense battle, but I prefer the original way it played out any day of the week. There’s also characters missing, and in the end, the Resident Evil 3 scenario is the one that’s least faithful.
On the other hand, Resident Evil 0 and 1 get represented quite nicely. After getting over the fact that both scenario’s pair of main characters will stick together the whole way through, you’ll be satisfied to find that most of the significant moments from both games are still intact. The only gripes I had, aside from the Resident Evil 3 scenario, were character omissions, specifically in the RE 1 scenario with the complete lack of Barry. The guy gets no love! In the end, the game does a good job with the stories and tying them all together, culminating in the fall of Umbrella. And hearing the whole thing narrated by Wesker was just amazing. I would pay that man to read me bedtime stories. But now it’s onto the game’s actual gameplay.
The name of the game is Duck Hunt…OK, not really. But this is an on-rails shooter so you won’t be freely moving around the environment. You could move your view around a bit though, and this comes in handy when shooting objects scattered around for collectibles. Other than that, movement is restricted. It’s all about shooting here, and quite frankly, I think this particular genre meshes quite nicely with survival horror, when done right of course. You have mobility stripped away, so all that’s left is your ability to shoot down incoming foes, in this case zombies and BOWs. That right there boosts the level of tension, especially when you’re overwhelmed by a horde. Yeah, I know, you have unlimited ammo for your handgun, but still: not being able to move adds its own sense of horror, especially when confronted by the beautiful faces in the game’s selection of BOWs!
You’ll have a good selection of weapons to take on the monsters thrown at you throughout the game, and as aforementioned, you’ll always have your handgun with unlimited ammo at your disposal if you run out of ammunition for other guns. I actually found myself using the handgun most of the time, only switching to other weapons when facing bosses. And since collectibles are obtained by shooting objects in the environment, it’s much more wise to always have your handgun equipped at all times. Unless you love wasting shotgun shells to destroy furniture…However, in the end, the PlayStation Move is your gun (you can also play with just a dualshock) and aiming controls very smoothly and precisely just like how it did with the Wiimote. Just don’t be nervous! Tame those shaky hands.
Things could get hard at times, though, especially when you find yourself without a herb or first aid spray to bring you back. It’s not extremely hard mind you, but there are moments where you’ll face death, whether it be from enemies just ganging up on you (stupid Crimson Heads and Hunters!) or the bosses, you have to make sure you’re pulling off good shots when you feel overwhelmed. That’s where the critical hits come into play, and it’s always satisfying to see a zombie’s head explode right in front of you after a well-placed shot. And like previously noted, the motion controls were great and I never found myself having an issue with the glowing ice cream cone in my hand. Hell, I also played the games with just a dualshock and found myself just as satisfied. The motion controls do their job right and make you even more immersed in each scenario, adding to the level of tension.
Once you finish beating all the main scenarios there’s still a lot to do. The game has great replay value thanks to its arcade-y nature alone. You can replay chapters to get a better grade, and you can go back and try to obtain every last collectible (which range from files to classic items from the games represented). And like I stated back in the beginning, there are a batch of unlockable chapters for you to enjoy as well, with the most notable ones starring Wesker. There’s also a Special Stage after you clear all the chapters and even a cooperative mode you can unlock.
I know what you may be asking: How does the game look in HD? Well, quite nice. It’s nothing extremely drastic, but everything does look cleaner as far as textures go. The visual enhancement does help enrich the game’s atmosphere, too. It’s always nice to go through the iconic mansion in a now fully rendered state, which now looks even nicer thanks to the new HD visuals. The cut scenes also look just as beautiful as they did originally on the Wii. The one aspect that I have some minor issues with is the audio. The sound effects and all the gory sounds are aurally satisfying, but the music in the game isn’t really anything special– other than a few awesome tracks like the theme that plays during the menus.
The Umbrella Chronicles is a solid retelling of Resident Evil 0 and 1, tying both stories together nicely as a lead up to “Umbrella’s End.” The Resident Evil 3 scenario could’ve been way better, and I was quite disappointed with all the things that were changed and omitted altogether. But the final scenario makes up for that, and it’s quite epic to take the fight to Umbrella’s Russian doorstep with the series’ most beloved pair ,Chris and Jill. However, The Darkside Chronicles surpasses all of this…
Amazingly told. That’s how Darkside Chronicles’ story is. Sure, one of the scenarios saw some big alterations again, but still, Darkside Chronicles was a huge improvement over its predecessor. This go around things are narrated by the Ladies Man himself, Leon S. Kennedy. Set before Resident Evil 4, the game’s original scenario “Operation Javier” takes players to South America as Leon and Krauser team up to find Javier and uncover any connections he has with Umbrella. Of course, things go awry once the pair arrives, and…zombies! Then we have flashbacks to Resident Evil 2 and CODE: Veronica that play out as separate scenarios. They’re intertwined into the main scenario beautifully with Resident Evil 2 coming into play after Krauser tells Leon to explain everything he’s been through after being ambushed by BOWs and with the CODE: Veronica portion used to explain the Veronica Virus after it’s revealed that Javier is in possession of it . Krauser’s just not used to that type of stuff. Noob.
To me, the Resident Evil 2 scenario in the game is the biggest tease in the world from Capcom. It’s like they’re saying, “Oh, you want a Resident evil 2 remake? Well…Here it is! But it’s on rails! Haha.” Despite that, I absolutely loved the entire Resident Evil 2 scenario here. It’s not a complete remake, but it’s a superb reimagining of one of the greatest survival horror games of all time. All the major story beats are there and we’re given a tour through all of the main areas extensively . We even got an expansion of the sewer area! Just like when I originally played it on the Wii, I still get tears forming in my eyes when I play this scenario. There’s just so many memories with this game and seeing them recreated is quite special, even though Leon and Claire are together the entire time (which isn’t exactly how things played out in the source game, but yea).
While not as fleshed out and complete as the Resident Evil 2 scenario was, the CODE: Veronica portion was also really nicely done. I have no issues with it at all, despite the stuff that was missing like Chris’s segments. It made sense to have those omissions, since Claire was the main focus here due to her connection with Leon. It would’ve been pretty weird to just start playing as Chris out of nowhere. Chris is still in this scenario, though, and he teams up with you in the final moments. The one thing I really loved about the way the scenario played out was how Alfred’s character was given a bigger, and more unsettling role. Yeah, he still sounds pretty weird, but the way he toys around with Claire and Steve is pretty cool, and it leads to an awesome fun house type level within the training facility that wasn’t in the original game.
Gameplay is exactly how it was in The Umbrella Chronicles with some improvements made to the on-rails experience. You can bring up a menu in-game to select weapons and use green herbs. Yup, you can actually stock up on green herbs this time. It may take you out of the experience for a few seconds but I found no problem with it. Item management is always welcome in a Resident Evil game! Another new feature is the addition of co-op. Granted, The Umbrella Chronicles did have a co-op mode activated after all the chapters were cleared, but in The Darkside Chronicles it’s available right from the start. And through it all, the PlayStation Move controller never gave me any issues, instead giving me more precision with my shots than ever before. I enjoyed using it much better than the Wiimote. However, while aiming is intuitive and all, the camera style may actually prove to be somewhat problematic to some.
The game adopts a first-person camera style not unlike the one used in horror films such as the Blair Witch Project. And thanks to this shaky-cam style, players have found themselves a bit irked by this since you can’t always line up those perfect shots with the camera moving around, and the same applies to shooting small objects in the environment for collectibles. Personally, I absolutely love this camera style as it gives the game a stronger horror feel. It’s more realistic, too. But I can see where all the complaints are coming from. And I was annoyed sometimes when I would miss an object, or even miss an ammo and herbs because of the camera not staying still, especially during frantic moments. In the end, it makes the game feel more like a survival horror experience than a regular arcade light gun shooter.
The shaky cam makes every encounter much more intense, especially when going up against the bosses. There were only a few moments where I found myself really frustrated, like when I fought Mr.X in his final form. The Tyrant moves around quite rapidly and when he does slow down I still had a bit of a hard time lining up shots in his critical points. Granted, that’s not entirely the camera’s fault, but it did help make it a bit more difficult. But even that fight was satisfying, as most of the boss fights in the game are, especially the memorable Birkin encounters. I’m glad to say that none of the bosses were disappointing when compared to their original versions like how the Nemmy battle was in Umbrella Chronicles. I really loved the new enemies in the Operation Javier scenario, from brand new BOWs inspired by classic ones to the menacing-looking zombies. The final boss fight is also quite a beast, and is one of the largest bosses in the series’ history.
The Darkside Chronicles boasts a great amount of replay value, with new unlockable chapters making a comeback, this time focusing on Krauser’s perspective during Operation Javier. The game may be a lightgun shooter, but that doesn’t mean it’s short. It’ll take you around 8 to 10 hours to make it through to the end, with said time being extended or shortened depending on the amount of times you die (you will die!). After that you can opt to obtain all the collectibles and max out all your weapons, all while achieving better grades in each individual chapter. There’s also co-op, so that extends the game’s life if you like playing with a buddy. There’s no online play, though, which is a bummer. Regardless, I just find joy in replaying the game, and sometimes I just go back to the game only to replay the Resident Evil 2 scenario. Oh, and there’s one hell of a secret mode at the end just for all you Tofu fans out there!
The game has made a smooth transition to HD with this port. Everything looks better than before and the cut-scenes are still very beautiful to watch. There are also some truly breathtaking moments throughout the game’s Operation Javier scenario where you’ll just be slowly guided through open areas getting a good view of the forests of South America off in the distance. It looks even more stunning than it did on the Wii. I was also very, very pleased with the game’s soundtrack, filled with classic tunes from Resident Evil 2 and CODE:Veronica for their corresponding scenarios. The new tracks are also superb and I always found myself just letting the ranking screen at the end of each level stay there for a while because of the track that plays in the background.
In the end, The Darkside Chronicles is a huge improvement over its predecessor and not only because it has a reimagined version of Resident Evil 2. The game just tells a better story and manages to weave Resident Evil 2 and CODE: Veronica’s plots together nicely to tell an original story that details Leon and Krauser’s first mission before their epic confrontations in Resident Evil 4. The shaky cam also enhances the experience in my opinion, making things even more intense and giving the game a more profound horror feel. The Chronicles HD is definitely worth it, especially for those who haven’t experienced the two games originally on the Wii. Now we have a reason to dust off our PlayStation Move controllers, thanks, Capcom!
9/10
