An above average on-rails shooter marred by a below average camera
At its core, The Darkside Chronicles is a pretty standard game for this genre - you automatically move, leaving it up to you to aim and shoot enemies. These kind of games are too linear for my tastes, but I did still have a fun time playing through this one. Although I miss the feeling of exploration and fear that characterizes many other entries in the Resident Evil series, Capcom has done a pretty nice job making a fun light gun game. Playing this game should take roughly eleven hours for your first time through, and the game remains fun throughout the entire duration, even though it does start to get a bit stale by the final few stages. Thankfully, the story does make you want to beat the game, and the surprisingly challenging difficulty also makes this an engaging game. A few of the bosses feel downright cheap, but they are not unbeatable. Prepare to be frustrated during some of the later bosses, however; even playing this game on the easiest difficulty will result in a bit of frustration.
This frustration is not entirely due to challenging level design, however. Much of The Darkside Chronicle's difficulty is a direct byproduct of its absolutely atrocious camera - whereas many light gun games attempt to keep a somewhat steady camera, this game will constantly shake you around without any warning. Aiming with any level of precision is nearly impossible, and the camera is the game's only crippling flaw. Otherwise, The Darkside Chronicles is a really impressive light gun game for the Wii. The graphics are decent by Wii standards, the voice acting is great, and the gameplay is usually engaging - in short, if you are a Wii owner looking for a fun adventure in the Resident Evil universe, it's definitely worth at least renting The Darkside Chronicles.