Rez

"You can beat it in an hour.... but what an hour!!"

Background: Rez is one of those rare games that cannot be classified. Is it a music/rhythm game? Not exactly. A rail-shooter? Yes... but no. An unforgettable trip through your senses? Yes.... that's it. Sega and UGA have really done an amazing job on Rez, and it's a shame that the game will never be as successful as something like MGS2 or GTA3. Rez doesn't have that kind of mass-market appeal, and in this case it is a good thing. Either you will love Rez, or you will hate it.

Music: The most important part of the game. Each level is composed of ten sections, and as you clear sections, a new layer of music is added onto the soundtrack for each cleared section. This means that on the first section, the music will be hardly noticible, but by the time you are on section nine or ten, the stereo is going crazy! Every action you take in the game (shooting, blowing up enemies) also adds to the ambience in a very satisfying way. The music is a mixture of techno and house, which fits the game very well. But be warned if you don't like this kind of music. Hating the music in Rez would really ruin the experience as a whole.

Graphics: Vectors! And some flat-shaded polygons. No fancy texture mapping here. And that's fine, because Rez doesn't need them. You will feel as though you are travelling through a massive computer network, which is what you're supposed to be doing anyway, so it fits. It looks like a mixture of Tron and the VR sequences in the movie Lawnmower Man. The particle effects are great, as well... and the bosses take creativity off the scale!

Controls: Two buttons.... plus the D-pad or analog stick for moving the lock-on cursor. It's very easy to pick this game up - my girlfriend (who never plays video games) got all the way to the stage one boss on her first try playing Rez. The vibration feature is well-used, too... everything in the game pulsates, and the controller shakes in rhythm with it.

Value: Ok, I'll be honest... you can beat Rez in a little over an hour. But that's just the basic game. There is a LOT to unlock afterwards, and getting 100% stats on all the levels... so that boosts replay ability quite a bit. Plus, it doesn't matter that you can get through Rez in a short amount of time - I can think of many deep experiences that only take an hour to feel. Rez is one of those... and in some ways it is more of a toy than a game. It is hard to explain to someone who hasn't played it......

Think of it this way: you do not buy a lava lamp to light up your room. That's what lightbulbs are for.

Read that sentence again... and if you understand what I am trying to say, you will likely enjoy Rez as much as I have. My only complaint about Rez is that it ends.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 02/08/02, Updated 02/08/02