Second Resi on-rails shooter for Wii

By Oli Welsh Published 11 March, 2009

Biohazard: The Darkside Chronicles surfaces.

The latest issue of Japan's gaming bible Famitsu reveals a new game in the Biohazard (a.k.a. Resident Evil) series for the Wii, called Biohazard: The Darkside Chronicles.

As reported by Kotaku, The Darkside Chronicles is an on-rails, light-gun-style shooter in the vein of Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles. It slots into the series time-line in 1998, sharing the same setting as Resident Evil 2.

A Capcom representative recently promised that Wii owners would be "very happy very soon" with new developments in the Resident Evil universe.

The Darkside Chronicles is currently unconfirmed for release outside Japan, but "new game announcements" are expected at a Resident Evil 5 launch party in San Francisco tomorrow night.

"We have more announcements to make for Resident Evil soon," a Capcom spokesperson told Eurogamer.

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About Oli Welsh

Oli is Eurogamer's acting deputy editor and reviews editor and likes to take things one word at a time. He is among the best dressed people in South London.

Read more articles from Oli by visiting the Oli Welsh archive page.

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Comments (36) Latest comment 2 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • DFawkes #1 3 years ago

    I was hoping for a new proper Resi game, I think I'll pass on this. I say that, I bet I buy it on release :p

  • Cadence #2 3 years ago

    I for one am not "very happy"

  • sega #3 3 years ago

    Oh god you have got to be kidding!

    Another on rails zombie shooter on the Wii?! I already have four of the damn things! And not four crap ones either - House of the Dead 2, 3, Overkill and the original Umbrella Chronicles. We do not need another!!

    Oh well so much for the Wii conversion of Resident Evil 5 - guess I'll just have to make do with Resident Evil 4, I hear it's better anyway. :(

  • Rash' #4 3 years ago

    will have it's work cut out after Overkill. like the rest was hoping for a proper Resi game. shame... will have to let Overkill sedate my zombie fix.

  • Ninja_Tino #5 3 years ago

    Oh for fucks sake! This is entirely ignorant of me, as I have no idea about the making of games, so I apologise before I say it but, stop being so lazy, Capcom! On Rails seems such an easy route. How about a Resi 4 style game set in Racoon City? We know, apart from Eurogamer, the control scheme works great for the Wii, so just put in the effort Capcom. Again, completely ignorant.

  • Kazzahdrane #6 3 years ago

    Not as good as a new Resi game for Wii, but better than the port of RE5 some were hoping for imo. Would much rather have something original that plays to the Wii's strengths (motion controls/IR) than shows off its weaknesses (graphics, processing power).

  • sega #7 3 years ago

    I agree azmol01 - too many games get bastardised for the Wii. What annoys me is I've seen some game series that appeared on the GameCube looking worse when a new installment is made on the Wii. Are we really supposed to believe the Wii is less powerful than a GameCube when it has a GameCube in it?

  • CallousB #8 3 years ago

    If you feel the need to rehash RE games for the Wii Capcom..then at least be a bit more inventiive.

    I would have been happy with a side scrolling Resident Evil point and click adventure game using the gameplay model of Zack and Wiki...but another zombie lightgun game isn't needed.

  • andywilkie35 #9 3 years ago

    cunts. was hoping for a resi 2 remake or a completely new resi with resi 4 controls and this is what wii owners were supposed to be looking forward to?

    they clearly don't have much grasp on what people actually want.

    Just seen what azmol01 said. I agree

  • FogHeart #10 3 years ago

    There are two essential light gun games (HotD:o and Ghost Squad) two good ones (RE:UC and HotD:2&3) and now two in development (DS:S and now RE:B:DC).

    Enough is enough, devs. Move on. I'm glad that we're seeing decent production values in Wii games now, but it's still as if the learning curve must be utterly flat for the projects to get approval.

  • Der_tolle_Emil #11 3 years ago

    I'm really looking forward to this. UC was refreshingly different compared to other on rails shooters and I hope this one will be just as good.

  • penhalion #12 3 years ago

    @sega

    All joking aside RE4 on Wii is definitely a better RE experience than RE5 on either PS3 or 360. Single player on RE5 is just plain broken thanks to the lousy AI. Unless they can patch in some better AI, single player above easy level is virtually impossible.

  • el_vicio #13 3 years ago

    "We have more announcements to make for Resident Evil soon," a Capcom spokesperson told Eurogamer."
    Is that a response to an inquiry about the Famitsu unveiling or was that stated earlier ?

  • Cadence #14 3 years ago

    Penhalion, would the game work if you just removed Sheva? I mean are there some elements to the gameplay the just wouldn't work if she was taken out (coop puzzle solving for example?). I wonder how hard it would be to hack the game so she never appeared.

    /knows nothing about hacking.

  • sega #15 3 years ago

    From what I can tell, Sheva seems to be a lot like the Ashley character from Resident Evil 4, except with her own weapons. Surely arming Ashley to the teeth would make it easier rather than harder - how is this messed up? Does she just run away and do her own thing and get killed in the process or what? I'm curious now.

  • lemonfist #16 3 years ago

    That was unexpected. And completely unexciting.

  • Canyarion #17 3 years ago

    A remake of RE2 or RE:CV would have been so much cooler.

  • bdc #18 3 years ago

    Wow this is a pathetic announcement. 'Very happy' my fucking arse.

  • Malek86 #19 3 years ago

    Now, when someone says "the 360 only has FPS", some will answer "yeah, but the Wii only has rail shooters".

    As for that more announcements thing, we can only hope they will actually be interesting this time around.

  • smelly #20 3 years ago

    I love the way that "on rails" is a dirty word to you guys..

    But if it was an FPS game where you're forced down linear corridors - pretty much on rails.. you'd all be wanking over it.

  • Malek86 #21 3 years ago

    smelly: hey, at least we could backtrack if we wanted. I like to be able to actually run backward, as much as Serious Sam hates it :p

  • schnide #22 3 years ago

    No-one knows for sure if this is the announcement that people were supposedly waiting for, do they?

    But either way, as Wii owners, surely you've come to expect this by now?

    That's a serious question by the way, it isn't taunting anyone.

  • JahB #23 3 years ago

    What really annoys me is that these cheap to develop games sell really well on the Wii and instead of re-investing these funds into new big-budget projects for the Wii, they get pumped into brand new games for the 360/PS3, what gives?

    i'm not trying to get the flamewar going, but honestly, why would a developer spend lots of money on developing a wii game when they know for a fact that a cheaply produced rush job will sell the same numbers?

  • Sean.Aaron #24 3 years ago

    This is going to be better than is being made out. Check out the news at IGN.

    Set in RE2 Raccoon City, but new environments and story bits -- not just a retrospective a la RE:UC, which is why it doesn't have the same name.

    Also noteworthy is they're using Havok physics -- isn't this the engine that the Force Unleashed devs said they couldn't get running on the Wii?

  • raion #25 3 years ago

    me happy.

    seriously, I have all the on-rail shooters out for wii, and I love them. the more the merrier.
    yes, "on-rail shooter"
    is one of my top 3 favourite genres.

    and by the way, resident evil 4 gameplay is waaaay overrated. I find the controls infuriating.
    actually it's a curse that plagues nearly all survival horror games. the horror comes from the controls and not from the setting/monsters/plot.
    I'd rather just focus on the fun shooting, than wrestle with a control scheme that makes the supposedly badass para-military guy feel like an old lady.

    yay capcom!!

  • JahB #26 3 years ago

    Also noteworthy is they're using Havok physics -- isn't this the engine that the Force Unleashed devs said they couldn't get running on the Wii?

    nope, that was Euphoria. Havok is the standard ragdoll physics engine for most games

  • kinky_mong #27 3 years ago

    The only on-rails shooter I want to see on the Wii is a proper Starfox/ Lylat Wars sequel. Sort it out Nintendo!!!!

  • photoboy #28 3 years ago

    If by "very happy" they meant "really f***ing annoyed" then they've done their jobs well. Given how crap I found RE5 I had some hope that there was a proper RE4 Wii Edition styled sequel on the horizon...

    If I want to play an on-rails shooter on the Wii, House of the Dead Overkill is the only place to be as far as I'm concerned.
    Edited by 1 at 11/03/09 @ 17:27

  • Cloud-Strife #29 3 years ago

    They really think all wii owners are two years old...really happy...yeah right...

    Umbrella Chronicles was fine but I was hoping for a real one this time around...Resi 4 wii showed that the controls worked great...wish they would do the same for five with cut down graphics or something...

  • makeamazing #30 3 years ago

    On the rails games has its place... in the 1980's... its a poor mans FPS, cheap and chearful. I'm sure designers could make them more interesting, but ones i have played and seen, I am not convinced this will be any better.

  • smelly #31 3 years ago

    > You can't backtrack in an ORS.

    BIG selling point there!! Going back to somewhere i've already been! YAY!

    Says who that you cant anyhows? There's nothing stopping a developer making a game with a "guided camera" which enables you to backtrack..


    > Missed enemies dont chase you in an ORS.

    Says who that you cant? There's nothing stopping a developer making a game with a "guided camera" which enables missed enemies to chase you?

    Besides.. most fps games i've played recently, enemies cant chase me over invisible boundaries (usually doors).. i.e. deadspace (where i stood in a door way shooting enemies who could cross over the door line), etc etc..


    > You dont get to choose which rooms you explore in an ORS.

    Says who that you cant? There's nothing stopping a developer making a game with a "guided camera" which enables the player to choose where he's going (see for example Killer 7)

    > There is no cover in an ORS.

    Time cop would disagree

    > There is no multiplayer in an ORS.

    Pretty much every ORS since Operation Thunderbolt would disagree

    >So smelly, got any more stupid comments to make?

    Not as many as you obviously.

    Edited by 1 at 11/03/09 @ 18:29

  • sega #32 3 years ago

    Smelly - you're so typical of an internet person and such an idiot. An fps and an on-rails shooter are completely different! You can't play on-rails at your own pace, you only control the gun and not the character, you can't hide and strategise your attacks...wait, why the hell am I pointing these out? The differences are damn obvious, if you can't see that then I may as well try and explain them to a tree (and not those talking trees you get in fantasy movies - they'd probably still get it).

  • smelly #33 3 years ago

    "Smelly - you're so typical of an internet person and such an idiot."

    No i'm not.. but do go on and prove yourself to be:

    "An fps and an on-rails shooter are completely different!"

    like duh!

    "You can't play on-rails at your own pace, you only control the gun and not the character"

    Says who? Lets say i made an "on rails" shooter where the player could control the forwards/back/sideways movement of the player - but still limits them to a set path? Is that "on rails"? Mind you - i've just described 99% of modern fps games there (albeit without the turning around).

    "you can't hide"

    I've already pointed out Time Cop here as a classic example.
    But again, there's no reason why a developer couldnt allow you to move into corners, etc - but still guide you along a set path.


    "and strategise your attacks"

    Again.. nope.. wont bother repeating myself.



    "...wait, why the hell am I pointing these out?"

    I dunno.. you didnt prove your point anyhow...




    Okay.. Lets take an fps in a wide open space (say - i dunno.. far cry).. That's obviously NOT similar to an on rails shooter.

    Take any fps which takes you down lots of pre-set corridors shooting bad guys.. That's pretty much similar to an on rails shooter - except in an onrails shooter you dont get lost as the game is forcing you down a set path... A good example of this would be 90% of dead space (apart from the anti-gravity/outdoorsy bits obviously).

    Nobody says On rails shooters have to be stuck back in the Arcades though and not allow the character any degree of movement (which is possible with the wii's nunchuck).

    Now i'd best clarify as there does seem to be a lot of morons on this forum today (such as yourself) - that i'm not suggesting this game WILL do that (I have more faith that EA's deadspace game will do though).. Just that "on rails" doesnt HAVE to be a dirty word as a vast majority of fps games are pretty much on rails anyhows (I'd give examples, but then the fangirls would just jump on them as opposed to thinking about what it is i'm saying).

  • napalm68 #34 3 years ago

    I agree it will have it's work cut out for it over Overkill :)

    I got Umbrella Chronicles, but haven't had a chance to play it yet. I was waiting for the gun I got with Overkill, and have been playing overkill since

  • Ninja_Tino #35 3 years ago

    For the record, Dead Space isn't an FPS in any way, shape or form. Oh, and on rail shooters and first person shooters, really not all that similar.

  • sepiag #36 2 years ago

    I for one am not "very happy"
    Type R
    Train train!
    Edited by 1 at 03/01/11 @ 05:28