Rez HD

"Better Then Ever- Worth Every Cent and More"

If you've played Rez on the Dreamcast or PS2, think that, but with special effects.

If you haven't, you're in for a treat.

Rez is an on-rails shooter, which basically means you don't have even the slightest control over where your character is at any time. All you can do is aim and shoot. It doesn't sound fun if you haven't played one before, but Rez is more about atmosphere then anything else, and the atmosphere is one of the greatest I've ever seen. The game isn't about the gameplay so much as the experience of playing anyway- it's hard to explain, and doesn't really make sense when you're watching a trailer either. Just download it the free trial on LIVE and give it five minutes.

The story is that you're sent to keep an AI at the center of the internet from killing itself or something- it doesn't matter, it's all just an excuse to put you in a wireframed world of blaring techno.

The visuals are highly simplified lines and colors, spiced up slightly by new special effects including bloom, blur, and sepia (old photograph colors). It has a good polycount, but if you play games exclusively to admire a high resolution mole on Snake's forhead then you might need to rethink your play style before picking this up.

The music is techno. It's the center of the game, the element that ties the pulsing controller and the sparse, bright lines together into a cohesive drop of videogame acid that you will never be able to forget. It is the key, the core of the experience, the life of the world you inhabit. It builds slowly from area 1, teaching you the basics as you sink softly into the game, into the great variety and majesty of area 5 where you view and experience the history of life itself. As you lock on to and shoot enemies, you'll begin to notice the sounds you make adding to the soundtrack, giving it another dimension. Even if trance isn't you style, this is worth a listen.

The only flaw I have with this game is that it's a bit short. Only five levels and two more unlockable make it possible to see everything this game offers in a few hours if you're really good. The designers refused to add more levels since the DC/PS2 version, and though what's there is nice, it's not much. If you're obsessive about 100%ing everything you should have weeks of fun. That said, it's more then worth the ten dollars to experience this game even once. Area 5 is quite possibly the most beautiful thing I have ever seen on a screen.

OVERALL: A great game, a timeless classic, an experience like no other, a tad short.

Don't bother with trailers or reviews; download the demo and beat area 1 yourself before you say yes or no.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 01/31/08

Game Release: Rez HD (US, 01/30/08)