Supplier: Microsoft
Reviewed By: Rogue5
Price: 800 MS Points (~$10)

As far as music games go, Rez is a cornerstone. Sure a number of really awesome music-based games were released prior to its original Dreamcast launch, but Rez was the first to gain substantial success while offering something more than simple follow-the-leader gameplay. While most other music games are essentially QTEs-to-Music (including the latest behemoths, Guitar Hero and Rock Band), Rez is an infusion of music into a completely different type of rudimentary gameplay; the rail shooter.

So check it out; the premise for the game is that you’re a hacker who’s been sent into a supernetwork controlled by an A.I. named Eden. Due to being so awesome, Eden has decided to shut down the supernetwork and you are tasked with preventing it by infiltrating the network, killing viruses and blast through firewalls along the way. The magic happens because every lock-on and shot on each different kind of enemy you run into has a different auditory effect, and each stage of a level (10 per area) introduces an additional layer of music. The building up of music makes this game exponentially more intense. By the time you reach the boss at the end of an area, most people can’t help but be completely immersed in the game.

Think of it as tunnel vision (like when you play Tetris for a long time and get Tetris-eyes), but with your ears as well as your eyes (Tunnel-listening? Selective hearing?)

It’s not just the music that sets Rez apart. It’s the combination of intense visuals, with the user-interactive trance music, and in some cases vibration, that create a synesthesia in Rez. For better or worse, while playing you end up focusing on nothing but what you’re hearing, seeing, and feeling. A lot of people hype a game’s ability to immerse you in its gameplay; with Rez the gameplay isn’t immersive (as it’s so simple), but everything else is. Rather than engaging your thinking, your internal thought processes are almost irrelevant as you’ll tend to focus solely on your external senses (sight, hearing, touch.)

Now, before you write this off as BS, it’s important to note that while this description conjures up images of high-as-kite hippies, the fact of the matter is that it’s a videogame and not some experimental or drug-induced mind-control. I’m just saying that Rez, more than any other game (more than any other form of entertainment?), has the ability to draw you in using only your senses, whereas most ‘immersive’ entertainment rely on story and/or how you relate with the characters. Will you zone-out while playing? Maybe, maybe not. If you do zone-out, will you enjoy it more? Definitely.

Just as one does not simply walk into Mordor, a gamer does not simply play Rez HD without acknowledging its previous iterations on DC and, later, PS2. In fact, Q? Entertainment also included the original version of the game in all its low-res, 4:3 glory. It may not be the definitive version, but playing the original allows you to see just how improved Rez HD is… While most people who’ve played the game before may have a hard time distinguishing what’s different with Rez HD, a few minutes with the normal version will make it abundantly clear.

So what exactly is new in Rez HD? Most obvious are the graphics, which have been cleaned up due to the higher resolution. It also supports 16:9, making it even more a feast for the eyes. Fortunately, because the gameplay is identical to previous releases, you should have no trouble adjusting to this definitive high-def version despite the additional screen real-estate.
On top of better imagery, the audio has been given 5.1 support (did the PS2 version have it?), which, being a music-game, can’t be overstressed. With surround sound systems as popular as they are these days, playing Rez HD now, while not a completely different experience from the original, is noticeably superior in the audio department.

Trance Vibration is welcomed back, but this time, rather than a separately purchased add-on that could understandably be mistaken as a sex-toy (and in some circles used as such), Rez HD uses additional 360 controllers to offer the functionality. Yes, the 360 controllers could conceivably still be used as vibrators, but they also serve their intended purpose better than the original Trace Vibrator as they’re far more accessible (and much less suspicious.) Playing the game with the lights off, the sound high, and a Trance-enabled controller wedged between your back and a couch is almost a completely different experience and unlike any other game you’ve played.

Unfortunately, all of this innovation – this non-standard game form– leads to another distinguishing characteristic of Rez; it’s not for everyone. Actually, if trance/techno really bothers you, you won’t like Rez HD. You just won’t. In fact, it may even come across as annoying. If that’s the case, you probably won’t be able to play it enough to get into it, which means the whole experience will fall apart before you even get the chance to enjoy it. A real shame too, because for the rest of us, Rez HD is frickin’ awesome.

By: Rogue5

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Published on: 2008-02-06 (380 reads)