Rez

"Sega has made another sleeper hit..."

I will just explain the basics first.

Rez is made by Sega(Unites Game Artists to be exact), it is a 3d/2d shooter, some people would argue if it is a rail shooter or not, but the fact is that this is a shooter. It is a one of a kind game for the simple fact that its the most visually stunning(stimulating is more the right word) game I have ever played. One of the coolest things about this game is the fact that it is simple, 2 buttons is all you need to play this game, 1 button is for shooting(hold down and you lock on to enemies) and the other button is to use your power-ups that you get. You move the cursor around with your analog stick and you move it over the enemy to target it(like I said very basic). It is completely in English so you dont have to worry about it being import friendly or not. On to the scores...

Graphics 10/10

As stated before this game has some of the most amazing graphics ever seen on a console. Its not your average graphics though, there are no realistic human bodies, or amazing looking cities, none of that here. The way that they use the lighting and the cell shading are the two main graphic effects used in the game are so amazing, you will never see anything as breathtaking as secret stage 5(just wait till you get it), and there are little things like when you destroy enemies they will burst into many many pieces, or the fact that when you change form(ill explain later) your blast will also change into different types. The boss battles are the best thing about this games graphics. They take up the whole screen(classic shooter thing) and they all have different forms that they switch into, especially the last boss it changes into about 10 forms( heck the thing is made up of about 300 pieces).

Sound 10/10

Okay you could almost say that this is a music game...lol. While the game is based on music(every time you shoot it will make a ''frequency'' based on what level you are on. You can tell that they made the enemies appear just at the right time so that your shots blend into the music. What kind of music is it you ask...trance, which fit this game perfectly, with some of the most popular trance artists making music for this game you are guaranteed great beats. This game must be played with the speakers up because it is only have the experience with it.

Gameplay 9/10

Shooter one of the best genres there is(IMO), the gameplay is slower then most shooters, you wont see that many projectiles flying at you(well the exception of the boss battles where you see about 100). You can level up your character by acquiring orbs, if you collect 10 orbs you get to move up a level, by moving up a level your shot will change into a more powerful shot, it will also travel to your enemies faster. You can change into a total of 6 forms and that is the game determines your life, if you get hit you will drop down a level, untill you are at your last form and you get hit=game over. There is also the power-up which drops from enemies also. When activating this power-up you release a orb that will continue to shoot every thing on the screen for a few seconds, very very nice visual effects come with it too. There are a total of 10 areas in each stage then at the last stage you will encounter a boss. You get rated after each stage based on enemies analyzed, enemies shot down, and support items. You get rated on a scale of 100% for each category and this is how you acquire secrets in the game. I really dislike the fact that some levels in each stage have only a couple enemies, while others take minutes to complete?!

Replay 9/10

When I first played the game I saw that there were only 4 stages, they go by fast, and it doesnt take long to complete the game (couple hours). When I started to play the stages over and get 100% in all my categories for each stage I began unlocking modes and stages!!!, I didnt even know that there were secrets to find and that completely blew me away!!! The only thing I didnt like was that there should have been a 2 player mode!!!, thats why I gave it a 9/10.

Overall 10/10

This game is definitely a sleeper hit. With the great sound and even better graphics this gem will forever be one of Sega's finest. It has lasting appeal and is a great way to show people why the Dreamcast is the best system ever. It is sad that this game will be missed by a lot of people because of its unique gameplay that will not appeal to your average gamer, but hardcore gamers will realize that this game is a definite import must-have!!!

Thank you Sega and thank you UGA for this great experience that I enjoyed to its fullest!!! Do yourself a favor and grab this gem, because its only $30-40, and everyone must play this game once, Sega outdid themselves again...

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 08/02/02, Updated 08/02/02