Best Rail Shooter to date
If you think of it, Darkside Chronicles hasn't changed from Umbrella Chronicles a whole lot mode wise. It has less games in it with only 3 different campaigns rather then the 4 Umbrella Chronicles had. The main reason why Darkside Chronicles is better is that the games chosen were just plain better and it has some gameplay tweaks that just make the game feel better.
Story/Campaign:
Darkside Chronicles has 3 different campaigns, 2 being a on rails point of view of Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil:Code Veronica, and one being Operation Javier, a brand new campaign in South America, 2002 before Resident Evil 4. Resident Evil 2 and Code Veronica are very fun although many will already know the endings. The games chosens were better then Umbrella Chronicles, which is one of the reasons that Darkside Chronicles is better. Operation Javier explains how Leon met Krauser and explains what Leon did during the 6 years between Resident Evil 2 and 4. Also some new cutscenes explain how Leon got involved working for the government. The story and campaigns are fun and well done. You can still pick up weapons, herbs, first aid spray and upgrade your weapons with gold. As you know, all of these are able to play with a friend locally co-op. Unfournately there is no online co-op, but local co-op is still fun. Each campaign might last about 3 hours give or take, and maybe add up to a total of 10-15 hours.
Modes:
The modes are very similar to Umbrella Chronicles. Other then the camapigns, there is a tofu mode where you try to kill as many tofu zombies as you can. Also there might be a little more competition with new online leaderboards. The game maybe a little short on modes, but there is quite a bit of replayibility for better scores and lots of achievements and unlockables.
Gameplay:
The gameplay is similar to Umbrella Chronicles. There some tweaks, like more interesting boss battles, and there is a brand new shaky camera. Although some critics did not like the camera because it was hard to aim and got motion sickness, I never experienced motion sickness and normally the shaky camera is only when your running away from the enemies and you will normally stop in a spot to gun the enemies so it works out well. The controls work out fantastic and the zapper controls work well also. The gameplay is real fun, even if you don't prefer the new shaky camera.
Graphics:
The graphics for Darkside Chronicles are one of the main differences from Umbrella Chronicles. The engine is great for Wii and it is one of the most detailed titles to hit the console. There are some fuzzy textures, but the character models, the great lighting, the nice gunfire and detail are incredible. The game also has beautiful cutscenes to top it off. The shaky camera also brings suspense.
Sound:
The sound is very well done and for the most part is there. Although characters sometimes seem to move their lips at different times, and the voice acting is over emphasized compared to the characters reactions sometimes, the sound is well done. The voice acting was good, even also a little annoying, and the enemies and gun fire soounded very good. The sound quality is also good too.
Conclusion:
Resident Evil: Darkside Chronicles is not a whole lot different from Umbrella Chronicles, but the better Resident Evil games included, way better graphics, new online scoring, and new control scheme make Resident Evil: Darkside Chronicles better then it's predecessor.
Story/Campaign=8/10
Modes=7.5/10
Gameplay=8/10
Graphics=9.5/10
Sound=8.5/10
Overall=8/10