3.5/5 ★ – MechaniChris's review of Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles.

Very seriously considered giving this a full 4 stars, which seems insane for an on-rails arcade style shooter, but damn if it isn’t the best version of that genre I’ve ever played. I had SO much fun with this game. It truly feels like when I played Area 51 in the arcade as a kid, but without the impossible-to-not-die aspect that makes those games scarf up your quarters. Conceptually, it’s such a great entry in the franchise. It allows you to play through condensed versions of the two best games, without ever really contradicting anything that happened in them. It almost feels like a movie adaption of those stories at times. More than that, it features a new story that serves as the framing device for the RE2 and Code Veronica segments, while bridging the story between Code Veronica and RE4. I’d always thought RE4 was a weird story leap from where we’d last seen Leon and I’m so glad that area is explored in such a fun way. It does feel a bit odd that I loved this version of replaying Code Veronica and hated the Gun Survivor version, but that’s what good gameplay can do. Not to mention, I actually think this streamlined story with new cutscenes IMPROVES upon the story of Code Veronica at times. It certainly makes Steve a better character and makes the whole affair seem a bit less convoluted. As for the gameplay, obviously I love it. You just shoot at zombies and monsters as the game takes you on a ride. You have infinite ammo on your pistol (which you can upgrade) and you have other weapons to collect and use sparingly. Not to mention, there are tons of collectibles to find by shooting specific targets out in the world, but you’ve gotta be quick. The one thing that drags the experience down, and really the only reason it isn’t 4 stars, is the shaky cam. The camera can be absolutely infuriating when you’re just trying to shoot a lightbulb. You don’t really notice it when you’re killing enemies, but when you’re a collecting items, it’s maddening. Still, this was such a surprise and I would happily play through this again with a friend. It’s just pure fun.