The genius of Rez

Ah Rez. The main reason I really really regret selling my Dreamcast all those years ago. A game like no other, it's an experience, a journey, and an amazing feat. Let me divulge:

Rez was a game released for the Sega Dreamcast more or less near it's very premature death. It was created by the talent that is Tetsuya Mizuguchi, the same man behind the excellent Lumines (originally for PSP). Recently, and luckily for me, Rez was rereleased via Xbox Live as an Arcade game for the 360, called Rez HD. This featured widescreen HD graphics and a 5.1 mix to the awesome sound track. I think my heart did a somersault the day I downloaded it!

See, every now and then I remembered Rez on the Dreamcast, and I kicked myself for selling it. I tried to emulate it on the PC, but it sucked. I nearly bought an old Dreamcast just to replay what, to me, is one of gaming's most influential games. When the 360 version was announced, and eventually released after endless delays, I knew that my lucky star was shining!

Rez is a rail shooter. Before you stumble away, it's a one-of-a-kind rail shooter. Inspired by abstract Russian artists and a track of the same name by electronic brits Underworld, you play inside 5 levels of an AI gone mad, shooting your way through bugs in the AI to cleanse it from the madness it's going through.

But that's just the excuse the game needs for it's main value: the music. Every level has it's own trance track, which starts off rather basic, with one or two instruments/layers heard. Everything you do, from shooting, to locking on to enemies, even powering up is musical too, adding to the overall track. As you progress through the level, the music gets more and more complex, with more tracks coming in and more layers added. By around the half way mark you'll suddenly realise that you're listening to something way different to what you started with, but the transition was effortless, and masterly executed.

The graphics are abstract to say the least, wireframes, Egyptian (and even Sumerian) symbols, euphemisms, and lots of trippy colours, the do nothing more than make the music sound even sweeter, and transfix you even further in the trance-like state you're in when playing.
Even the obligatory bosses at the end of each level are amazingly designed, all of which have their climatic music track and all of which are named after planets. The first level's boss for example is called Earth, and each layer you shoot away from it causes it to scream in a singing/hurting kind of way, again making the music even better.

The game also uses force feedback to great effect. Your main controller throbs to the base/drums, while you can also activate your other spare controllers to act as "Trance Vibrators" that are synced with other instruments/frequencies. This might sound gimmicky, but as Rez does a great job at absorbing you inside it's world, the vibrations add that little extra to break the man-machine barrier.

I have played Rez a lot. I will play Rez a lot more. I can fire it up any time I feel bored because it is endlessly entertaining. I'm currently trying to complete it's 5 "areas" with 100%, and I've done the first 2 areas, unlocking bonuses galore. I'm the last person to replay any game, even more so if the game offers bonuses and unlocks cos I just can't be bothered. But with Rez it's not replaying, it's re-experiencing.

Those of you with 360s should download this straight away, those with a PC can get close by trying Lumines at wildgames.com. Though different (falling blocks puzzle), Lumines has a different but equally absorbing musical twist, that has to be heard (through good headphones!) to be believed.