If the past few years of pop culture have taught me anything, it's that the zombie apocalypse is forever right around the corner. There it is! Oh wait, that's just a surly goth... Sometimes it can be difficult to tell the undead from the terminally bored (until the first bite, of course). So I keep ever-vigilant. The question isn't if it will happen, but rather do you have a large enough cache of ammo for when it does? And the answer to that is probably "no."
One of the advantages to the Resident Evil series of everything is that it's been around long enough to make up for in quantity what it might lack in originality. Their zombie- and twitchy-shooter offerings are legion, and their commitment seems to come through repetition. Even so, for the purposes of this review, I'll be examining the game as a standalone item, not incorporating it into the larger Resident Evil picture.
Resident Evil - The Darkside Chronicles is the latest in the series to arrive for the Wii. It's a rails-driven shooter that emphasizes quick reflexes and a steady hand. The storyline... is not important. The basic plot revolves around figuring out why there are zombies and monsters all over the place, which is the video game equivalent of a rhetorical question. The characters are hollow, and the dialogue is laughable, but fortunately neither of those is main point to the game. No, the main point here is to shoot or be eaten. Shoot a lot.
The mechanics are both very conducive to the Wii and also under-utilized. The point-and-click nature of the Wii controller lends itself wonderfully to shooters. Aiming the cursor on the screen and pulling the trigger is both easy and efficient (and if you've ponied up for the additional gun accessory it's probably even easier and more efficient). However, this plus is hampered by the lack of control you may be used to in other shooters, because really, aiming and shooting is all you're doing here. You're not moving the character or point-of-view around, and that is the primary frustration with the game.
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