Rez

"A work of art, for fans of music and unusual designs"

WHO?
You are an expert hacker.

WHAT?
Eden, the new articifial intelligence designed to look over the world's cyber network, cannot handle the responsibility of the millions of things going on at once, and locks herself up within her system, never to look at the outside world of the network ever again. In the meantime, viruses become rampant and it becomes clear that Eden must be saved from her sleep, so that she may understand her responsibility and make the network a secure place once again.

WHY?
If you don't do something, there is no more Internet for you, young man.

HOW?
By infiltrating the systems, defending against viruses, breaking through firewalls, and collecting data to find Eden's exact location on the network. Using your target reticle, you can lock onto up to eight enemies at once before shooting. If you get in trouble, you can use an overdrive to kill everything on the screen. And if you fight well enough, you will be rewarded with new forms for yourself, which corresponds to extra lives.

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GRAPHICS
Rez takes a radical approach here by going into a very computery design: wireframe. Textures are few. All you see are lines, which in turn shape buildings and structures. Enemies explode in a flurry of beautiful colors. Transitions are smooth, everything moves to the beats, and the scenerey around you moves and changes as you explore the network. Some will find it beautiful, some will find it butt-ugly. You'll have to play to decide.

SOUNDS & MUSIC
The featured music is trance and techno, therefore, liking the genre at least one bit is a must to throughly enjoy this game. If that kind of a music is a turnoff for you, I can't guarantee anything. Sound-wise, things get very, very brilliant. Enemies feature different sound effects in each level to match the music and scenery. It's like playing an instrument to accompany the music - the blend is very well done.

GAMEPLAY
This is a point of focus here. Fortunately for us, gameplay works extremely well. You can choose whether to use the analog stick or the D-Pad to aim (I'm talking to Dreamcast users here), and change the button configuration any way you want, even reverse the up and down if you prefer airplane-like controls. The controls are easy to learn and figure out, and though things will feel a bit sensitive at first, you will quickly master the ins and outs of targeting and shooting. If you liked the style of Star Fox, Rez plays in a very similar manner, in the exception that you must shoot down bullets and missiles instead of avoiding them.

DIFFICULTY
The game is quite easy to get through. Things aren't overly complicated, and only a few of the enemies will actually shoot you - in most cases, you'll shoot them down before they'll even get to aim. There is no difficulty setting per se, but the game itself changes the levels slightly to reflect the mode you are playing on. For example, the "play" mode will have an average number of enemies to give you a chance to get the feel of each level, as you're likely to do be doing them for the first time. However, the "score attack" mode throws a considerably larger flurry of baddies at you, which is good since you're aiming for great scores! If you are a fan of pure challenge though, you will get disappointed.

REPLAY VALUE
There are only five levels, but they are enough, more than enough. There are lots of things to unlock, different color modes, invincibility, and other goodies that will keep you playing for a good amount of time, although less than your average game. Most of the appeal will be on unlocking new features and getting higher scores.

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GOOD
-The mix of graphics, music and sounds provide a genuine synesthetic experience.
-There are lots of things to unlock.
-The controls can be changed in nearly every way (even though the default settings are good enough already)
-If you own one of those (in)famous Trancevibrator and have the required gender to use it, well...

BAD
-Much of the game relies on a "get it or don't get it", in other words, the click factor. Those who like the game like it a lot, and those who don't, don't like it at all.

SO WHY AN EIGHT?
There is a lot going for the game: a great concept, an excellent, near flawless execution, and an overall fun experience. However, it is definitely not a game for everyone. If you prefer traditional gaming, I suggest you give Rez a rent just to make sure.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 07/23/04