Resident Evil: Darkside Chronicles Detailed
Find out all there is to know about the new RE.
March 11, 2009 - As reported earlier here at IGN Wii, Capcom's big Resident Evil surprise for Wii owners turned out to be Resident Evil The Darkside Chronicles, a sequel to the gun shooting game Umbrella Chronicles. Since posting that initial report, more details on the game have come our way from Famitsu.
Darkside Chronicles takes place in Resident Evil 2's Racoon City. It's September 29, 1998, and the city has turned to hell due to the effects of the T-virus. Players take control of Claire Redfield and Leon S. Kennedy to deal with the undead in Umbrella Chronicles forced scrolling style.
Famitsu got a bit of commentary on the title from producer Masachika Kawata at Capcom and producer Kentaro Noguchi at Cavia, the game's development house.
The reason the game is not called Umbrella Chronicles 2, the two revealed, is that the enemy is no longer Umbrella Corporation. Additionally, the term "darkside" can be taken to mean that the game will provide a look at some of the unexplored areas of the RE story, along with the darker passages of the characters' histories . The game will also have more of a horror taste than the first.
While the two wouldn't state the specific titles that will be covered in the game, they did confirm that scenarios from games other than RE2 will definitely make the cut. Expect to see a variety of characters, including RE2's Shelly Birkin.
The general concept may be similar to Umbrella Chronicles, but the two producers stressed that the feel will be like that of a new game. One point of note is the "feeling of being there" that the game promises to offer, thanks to skilled camera work, some nice visual effects, and the fact that you can see your partner character on the screen in front of you. The game will also make use of the Havoc engine for realistic physics.
On the gameplay side of things, the two producers explained that replayablity is one of the focuses. However, they're also aiming to make the game more accessible as far as difficulty is concerned. Expert shooters needn't worry, though, as plans call for the dynamic difficulty system of RE4 and RE5 to be implemented here, meaning better players will end up with a tougher experience.
Your in-game partner character, who, as detailed above, will now be shown on the screen in front of you, is a key to playing the game. It appears that you'll only see the partner character on the screen during single player mode, though. Two player mode will leave nothing but glass between you and your undead foes.
RE: Darkside Chronicles is currently 35% complete and is without a final release date. Expect to hear more on the game from Capcom in the near future.
