Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles Preview

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Hitting pause brings up a basic inventory screen and Wiimote graphic, which allows you to assign weapons (including the shotgun, assault rifle, SMG, pistol and grenades) and herbs to the d-pad buttons for real-time weapon-switching. Combat ranges from picking off rank-and-file shambling aggressors to quick-witted blasts at the series' iconic former mutts, while the grenade does a good line in crowd control. A composite gameplay trailer shown aside from the demo suggests that things get more complicated, too, with managed retreats from tougher enemies, and numerous bosses - some familiar, some not. Motion controls don't seem to feature (beyond pointing to shoot), although there is some waggling to free yourself from zombie clutches.

Kawata admits that The Darkside Chronicles won't include online gameplay (he blames the potential for lag), but he seems eager to bring in global leaderboards, even though nothing's decided. On the local end, boards for individual sections will allow you to compare kill counts, and there should be further replay value in further playable characters judging by his slightly embarrassed "hush" gesture when one of the other journalists present raises the question. Perhaps we'll see something akin to the original Resident Evil 2's A and B scenarios, although sadly I don't get the chance to ask during a clipped interview slot.

One thing we do get to, however, is Kawata's attitude to R&D chief Keiji Inafune's globalisation strategy. It's noticeable that while many of Capcom's games - most notably Dead Rising 2 - have been part-placed with European or American studios to try and enhance their worldwide appeal, Resident Evil remains staunchly Japanese, outsourced to Cavia. And Resi 5 producer Jun Takeuchi's new game, Lost Planet 2, is internal. Are Kawata and Takeuchi in line with their boss?

"Yes, you know I'd love to see what a Western company could do if they were going to make a new Resident Evil game," says Kawata. "And by that same rationale I'd love to see what Cavia could do if they were going to make a brand new Resident Evil game. I don't think that just because it's Resident Evil it needs to be made internally, but I can say our internal teams work very, very, very hard, and if we were to give this franchise to an outsource company then they'd need to be able to work with the same gusto in order to achieve the lofty expectations that the series has."

Kawata reckons The Darkside Chronicles fits into a "lightgun horror" sub-genre, compared to HOTD Overkill. It's a perceptive point, but we'll see how they do.

Kawata also responds to the poor US sales of MadWorld, made by some of his former colleagues at PlatinumGames, and whether adult content can succeed on the Wii. "I'm not afraid at all," he says about The Darkside Chronicles' prospects. "I think it's going to sell. If you look at the previous instalment, it sold quite well, and again the Resident Evil brand is incredibly strong, and it's known throughout the world."

Later, when the recorder's off, he asks me why I think it didn't sell. I tell him that Platinum, like Clover before it, makes very good but very esoteric games, which are hard to market (which may or may not be true). But, and not just to suck up to him, I add that I don't think The Darkside Chronicles will have the same problem. It's not just that it's a remake of a popular game in an evergreen series; after accusations that Resident Evil 5 lost sight of the horror and suspense that underpinned so many of the preceding instalments, The Darkside Chronicles is taking an interesting turn. Plus, of course, Resident Evil 2 is the besterest.