Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles, the sequel to the highly successful Wii title Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles, is in development exclusively for the Wii and is set to hit North American retailers this winter. Capcom also introduced its plans for a new Resident Evil “Classics” line, which will bring the critically acclaimed GameCube classics, Resident Evil and Resident Evil Zero exclusively to the Wii, allowing a whole new audience to experience the world of Resident Evil.

Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles‘s story is based on Resident Evil 2 and includes the popular characters, Leon S Kenney and Claire Redfield. Its on-rails style gameplay and active camera will create a more immersive “Chronicles” survival experience. As in the last installment, this is a first-person game with extreme shooting gameplay and interactive pathways. Filling in many of the missing pieces of storyline that were not covered in the original “Umbrella Chronicles”, Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles will give hardcore fans the chance to re-live some of the most classic moments of the Resident Evil franchise, while allowing new players to take advantage of the intense action-horror experience only possible on the Wii.

In August, Havok announced that Capcom’s three recently shipped worldwide blockbusters Lost Planet, Dead Rising, and Resident Evil 5 were developed using the Havok Physics technology.

Used by more Nintendo Wii developers than any other physics middleware solution, Havok Physics delivers the broadest range of production-tested collision detection and physics simulation features and tools to Wii developers looking to extend their existing game franchises.

“With Havok’s proven technology, our development team in Japan was able to create a more dynamic world in Darkside Chronicles than was possible in the first game”, said Mike Webster, Director, Marketing, Capcom.  “One of the goals in Darkside Chronicles was to make the world seem more alive, and the integration of Havok Physics made it possible for objects in the game to break apart, explode, or move much more realistically.”

“Capcom’s creative and talented team of developers shows what the Wii is truly capable of.  Havok Physics helped create more immersive player interactions with the game world, and between characters in the game,” said David O’Meara, Managing Director, Havok.  “It is extremely rewarding to see how Capcom utilized Havok Physics to bring the dead to life in this latest installment of Resident Evil on the Wii platform.”

Gamers can choose to take on their enemies with the help of an A.I.-controlled character or enlist the help of a friend to fight via two-player co-op. Adding new dimension and strategy to the arcade-style gameplay in the “Chronicles” experience, the new Evade system will utilize the Wii Remote for a more intense experience when fighting enemies.

Capcom’s new Resident Evil “Classics” line will allow the new audience who has embraced the Wii to experience some of the greatest games in the Resident Evil franchise for the value price of $29.99. Both set to launch this year, the remake of Resident Evil and Resident Evil Zero have been refitted to support the Wii Remote, giving the Wii audience easy access to the rich characters and in-depth storylines of the series and the chance to experience both games on a new platform.

More articles about Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles