A long-lost feeling crept over me as I played Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles -- I felt scared again.
Not "long lost" as in I haven't been crept out in a while, period -- other games, movies, and haunted houses take care of that for me just fine. But not Resident Evil. I haven't considered the franchise to be survival-horror for a while now. To me, the games have been more action-adventure lately, with a few minor frights thrown in here and there.
But Darkside Chronicles is different (yet thoroughly familiar as most of it covers almost the entirety of Resident Evil 2 and Code: Veronica). The mood, the music, the scripted moments -- this on-rails, co-op shooter (due Nov. 17 for the Wii) brings the series back to its frightening roots....
Setting up
Besides RE2 and Code: Veronica, Darkside Chronicles covers a period of RE lore around 2002, between the events of C:V and RE4. At the start of this section, main characters Leon Kennedy and Jack Krauser (from RE4) arrive in a South American village to a scenario that feels awfully familiar to RE4 or RE5 players -- that is, the locals aren't exactly the tourist-welcoming type.
But here's where I noticed the renewed emphasis on making the game scary again. Instead of just jumping into a firefight with zombified townies, a tense intro sets the mood. The characters look around for a bit and notice the village is completely empty. Krauser remarks, "There's no one left." Both seem a bit confused by the scene, as though they've never been in a Resident Evil game before.
In other words, it feels like you're watching a couple of zombie newbies who really aren't sure what's going on, about to face an unknown fear for the first time. It's a fitting slow-paced build-up for a horror game.
Having appropriate mood-setting music helps, too. "[Prequel Umbrella Chronicles'] music kind of sounded like elevator music," says Product Marketing Manager Matt Dahlgren. "The developers have made a full orchestra soundtrack [for Darkside Chronicles]. They use music a lot to really intensify the key moments."
Killer view
You wouldn't expect a guided on-rails tour to be very scary -- think The House of the Dead -- but the developers took advantage of the format to create a more movie-like experience. And actually wrestling control away from the players has its advantages.
"They're going for a more dynamic experience," says Dahlgren. "So they pulled the camera in a little bit closer to the player, and it pans around mimicking their first person's viewpoint. What that does is takes you on a journey, and there are certain things that the player can see and certain things that they can't. And the producer can time things to catch people off-guard."
This is all illustrated perfectly in one particular stage: Inside a large house, the lights go out, so players must use their Wiimote flashlights to look around. While you have control of where your beams of light are shining on-screen, the game will direct you through a frantic race through the blackness, with hidden creeps coming at you from all directions.
Fear is back
No one's claiming that this will be the scariest game you'll ever play or that this will be the best chapter yet in the Resident Evil series. But you can certainly appreciate enthusiastic effort to bring "horror" back to the should-be survival-horror franchise -- everything from the overall mood to the tiniest of scary moments.
"There's a lot more suspense in this game," says Dahlgren. "So there are times where you see your partner go around the corner very carefully then something jumps out at you."
Just like a haunted house.
