Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles [Wii]

In addition, two main aspects make for a much stronger experience in Darkside Chronicles this time around. Shaky cam is used primarily during semi-scripted movement, and once the action starts the screen freezes or jitters only a very small amount, and it makes a world of difference. In addition, nearly everything in the stage reacts to gunfire – a huge improvement over the other two levels, even in their updated forms – as melons split, boxes shatter, doors are gunned down into particles, and even hanging meat and curtains move from gunshots. The use of the Havok engine was apparent before, but it's truly being realized in this latest level, and it rocks. Everything comes together in RE's South America level, and it's a huge step in the right direction in nearly every way.

The level concludes with a boss battle against a gigantic amphibian monster (half a squid, half a lizard of some sort) and fades out to Leon and Krauser running to the aid of a mysterious woman. Even the boss battle shows great signs of things to come though, as the CG is simply amazing, the environment moves and shatters around the heroes as they put fire on the boss, and the entire battle ends with an interactive sequence including a small water-logged church.

In addition to my main playthrough – where I used Leon, by the way – I went back and played the level again with Krauser on hard, and also tired a few minutes of the first level in the demo, which is based on RE2. Krauser's mode within the South America level was pretty much identical (though it's cool to see the same event from the other player's perspective), but the game's hard mode had me dead just before I got to the swarms of piranha, so it's much less forgiving and a tougher battle all around. Fun, but tougher. As for the first level, things still look less-than-impressive on the visual side (there's less destruction in the environment, and the lighting is a bit off still, giving the stage a dark but overexposed look) but the shaky cam has been reduced a bit from what I can tell.

My time with the level was very short, so without a side-by-side it's tough to really have a verdict on that yet, but I was hitting targets easier, and specific areas that were trouble back at E3 weren't a problem, so it seems as though changes were made. Either way, if the South America level is a sign of things to come, Darkside Chronicles is getting some serious improvements in the later part of its development cycle. I was skeptical after E3, but TGS made me a believer. Hopefully ever level in the game has a chance to get as polished as South America.

We'll have more on the game – including an interview with the developers – as TGS continues. Until then, check out our first off-screen footage of the game by clicking the video gallery below.

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