Rez

"Don't buy in to the hype"

I was really excited when I heard this game was coming out. I hurriedly bought a copy from a local Babbages when I saw it there for the first time. I took it home and...was completely unimpressed. Hell, I've never been this unimpressed in my whole life. I really like the whole music game thing (Dance Dance Revolution, Frequency, etc.) but this game was a class A bore. I'm sorry to say that I returned it the next night. It was really that bad.

Gameplay - 3

Ever play a game called Starblade? Or, maybe The Hive or Ravage D.C.X.? Basically, this game is a rail shooter. You move along a predefined track as some kind of cyber entity, even though the only thing you actually interact with is the target reticle that moves around the screen shooting the baddies out of the, uh, air. The game has a lock on feature ala RayStorm, which just makes it easier to wipe out all of the enemies and keep on going. And, well, that's about it.

Sound - 7

Okay, the only thing that's really decent about this game is the sound. The music is very amusing, even if there are only about eight or so songs in the whole game, which is a pretty low figure for a game based a good deal on the music. Along with the music, the explosions caused by the enemies create a kind of backbeat or harmony to go with the music in the level. All of this is very cool, and it is interesting. But it's just not interesting enough. It's not really a selling point for an entire game.

Graphics - 6

This game is trippy. The wireframe environments and hard-edged polygons make for a psychotic version of Tron-type computer graphics bliss that is stimulating but, in the end, just eye candy. If I wanted to hallucinate, I would have spent my $50 on some LSD and be done with it (that was a joke, folks). And, besides, this is a port of a Dreamcast game, so we know the PS2 can do better. But in the end it just ends up looking like a screwed-up computer dream that you can't remember when you wake up. Not satisfying.

Replay Value - 2

What kind of a game makes you play the same levels over and over again just so you can play the same levels again? Excuse my french, but this is bullcrap! Basically, you unlock the ability to first play all five levels as one huge consecutive romp, and then you get the ability to change the song you play while doing it. Doesn't that just sound like FUN! REAL GOOD FUN!

Overall - 5

This is a solid bout of mediocrity. It is a game that could have been great had it been little more than a moving target shooting things down. In some ways, 1942 was a better shooter than this turkey. And, in the end, that is all this game is: a shooter. For all the flashy graphics and neat techno tunes, this game is one of the most primitive kinds of games still around. If you really like shooters, buy RayCrisis or Rogue Leader. If you like music games, buy Frequency or Dance Dance Revolution. But, please, don't waste your time with this thing.

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 02/04/02, Updated 02/04/02