Rez

"A Diamond in the Rough..."

Note: This review covers the PAL version of Rez.

“Rez is an endorphin machine, releasing the essence of trance through futuristic sound, visuals and vibrations”. Unfortunately, Rez on the Dreamcast is not exactly what one could call, “perfect”. It's a great game, no doubt, and one that any first time player, depending on their mindset, will remember for months to come. But if you want a seamless experience that shows no hints of glitches or times of stuttering, you might want to look elsewhere…like the PlayStation 2 version.

Now don't get the wrong idea. Other than the obvious technical issues, both versions of Rez play almost identically. They are both games that place you as a nameless hacker, roaming the massive network computer system in search of Eden, a sentient A.I. program, which has shut down because of an information overload causing it to question its own existence. Both games have simple controls that allow you to focus on the experience on-screen rather than fumble with too many buttons. And both games redefine what it means to be an “on-rails shooter” in subtle—and not so subtle—ways.

There are four areas in Rez, with ten “layer levels” in each. The objective is simple: travel through each area while blasting away at enemies. You have the ability to target up to eight enemies at a time. At some point, your avatar will come across a “Password Protector” that holds a pathway into the next layer level. Shooting these protectors not only opens access into the next level but also evolve the level and music track that is playing, making things more fast-paced and vibrant. Until, at the final level (and obligatory boss battle), you are experiencing a truly psychedelic world that is unlike anything else in you've played. If you are able to pull this off in each area, the fifth and final area will be unlocked. Without giving anything up, the fifth level is a major contrast to the previous areas and is, expectedly, the most challenging.

Rez was created to be more than just a shooter, however. More than anything, it is an experience on a GD-ROM. Placing this game in your Dreamcast and playing the first area will help you realize that this is much more than a game. It's an experience with a beautiful combination of colors, music, vibrations…and slowdown, slowdown, slowdown.

Truly, Rez is a unique experience but it is one that is reliant on optimal technical conditions. The game flexes the graphical muscle of the Dreamcast and then some on a normal television and especially on a computer monitor via VGA output, where the visuals are even sharper and seemingly more layered. The vector-based visuals pulsate in sync with the music (most of the time), as does your avatar, which flies around destroying viral entities on the screen.

But it all seems a bit too much for the Dreamcast. Minus the fact that the game runs at a frame rate seemingly lower than 30 frames, when the action gets intense (and you better believe it will especially when you get better at playing the game) the frames seem to drop dramatically. This slowdown, of course, has a detrimental effect not only on the gameplay but also on the overall experience. When the game slows down, the music stutters, causing a misstep in the rhythm. This is especially grating when you're racking up tons of kills and suddenly, but not unexpectedly, your rhythm is fudged up a little. And let's not get into the possibility that, while loading up the boss battle, the music may simply skip a few times while loading data.

While no game can be perfect, Rez for the Dreamcast should have at least had its most annoying bugs squashed. When a game relies on rhythm and body-thumping beats to drive an experience home, a skip in the music is one flaw that can pull anyone out of the euphoria kicking and screaming. Also, for anyone who wants a really challenging shooter, please look elsewhere. Rez is not a terribly difficult game and can usually be beaten in about an hour and a half, probably less if you're a seasoned gamer. But then again, playing to win isn't really the point of this technical wonder.

Finally, one small but annoying issue the game has is locking up between areas. Every once in a while it may lock up on you with a simple screen that reads: "File Read Retry Over 1st read.bin". This is usually avoidable by allowing the game to pace itself i.e. not logging out of an area between level transitions. However, there is always a chance the game will crash after a boss battle. If you keep the auto-save feature active, you will not lose your progress since the error occurs after saving.

As for replay value, it's a game that you'll play on and off for months, maybe even years. You'll choose your favorite area or areas and play those time and time again, just to see how good you can make the music sound. That's not even adding in the extra modes, Beyond and Score Attack, that have a number of hidden extras and areas for added enjoyment.

Everything is here for a great game: smooth graphics, simple yet effective controls and wondrous audio that is, for the most part, spot on. The only gripe that I have with the Dreamcast version is its tendency to slow down graphically during frantic moments (which are often) and its penchant for stuttering aurally during these exact same moments. If you have the option, purchase the PlayStation 2 version of this game. Though the graphics may be harsher, load times longer and some audio effects are less dynamic, the game is, overall, still technically better. Otherwise, the Dreamcast version is still a good choice. Either way, you can't really go wrong with such a great title.

Go to synaesthesia…

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 06/20/06