In
Rez, you are a cyberspace hacker who’s trying to infiltrate a mainframe
computer named the K-Project. Over the years, the soul of this mainframe has
been lost, and it’s spirit, known as
Eden
has become confused and is rapidly spinning out of
control. The mission you have is to journey into Synaesthesia and reawaken the
soul of
Eden
and help it reclaim the spirit it once had. Rez is an
incredibly brilliant, lusciously designed computer music shooter that immerses
you into a cyber world. Rez’ gameplay is great but the visuals are where
it’s brilliance and creativity comes to life. You’ll be amazed as the screen
comes alive with brilliant color, and awesome innovative designs that
effectively transport you into an alternate computer reality. This intensity is
only heightened by the music, which is synchronized to the graphics, and rests
perfectly in creating a hypnotic experience. This can become overwhelming,
causing a bit of sensory overload at points, with dozens of objects flying at
you at once.
There
are two main areas in each mission, infiltration where you have to destroy
viruses and Boss mode, where you have to defeat a firewall. Infiltration mode is
the main game, where you have to destroy viruses, the basic task here is to
point your lock-on laser and shoot to obliterate them. There are many types of
viruses in the game, ranging from the simple to the complex, and they’ll also
shoot objects at you if you don’t shoot them fast enough. You can also collect
a series of icons which can increase your characters’ level, making
them more complicated in design. While the controls aren’t as free flowing as
would be ideal, since you can’t really adjust your viewpoint, the interface
still allows for plenty of variation within each environment. Even though Rez
takes place on rails, you can still move your viewpoint around somewhat and
aiming the energy laser is easy to accomplish.
The
gameplay is surprisingly simple and takes place from behind the character. This
is basically a shooter, where you trigger your weapons beforehand, so you need
to anticipate your position in advance. You can lock onto up to seven enemies at
a single time for bonus points, but it’s better in the non-score attack modes
to simply destroy them as soon as they appear. To help you through those
difficult spots are the Overdrive Nodes, which are used to auto-target the
enemies. However, its probably wiser to save these for the Bosses and their
Firewalls. This isn’t good because each hit drops you down a level in your
evolution and makes things more difficult since the lower level forms have fewer
abilities. On the other hand, you can also collect Progress Nodes, when you
collect 8 of these, your character evolves to the next level. Infiltration mode
consists of ten short segments called Layers. You can only advance to the next
layer by shooting a special Password protector icon, which transports you to the
next area. The interesting thing about this is that layers begin simply but
gradually become more complex and challenging as you progress. This gradual
increase in intensity allows for a buildup to the epic boss battles. Rez is
smartly designed because each level grows increasing complex and slowly allowing
the player to become accustomed to their surroundings makes the game much easier
to get into
After
you’ve beaten all the Layers, you’re then faced with a battle with the main
boss of the level. Players will have to shoot down the firewalls avoid enemy
fire and decrease the bosses’ energy bars in order to win and beat that level.
This isn’t as simple as it sounds, since many of the boss battles take an
extended period to beat and there are multiple phases in each battle, making
them endurance matches. These can become incredibly difficult enemies at the
later levels, but persistence and stamina makes all the difference, keep your
concentration levels high and you’ll do fine. Once you complete each level
you’ll find that there are 5 levels in Rez, which are only unlocked when you
complete the previous level. This seems like it means Rez is a short game, but
the cool thing here is that once you beat all the levels, you can go back and
play the again with new color schemes, more difficult enemies and other twists.
Rez also has several different modes that are unlocked when initially defeating
a level including a Score Attack mode, where the object is to get a high score,
a Traveling mode, where you can’t die and can just experience the game for
itself. These add more replay value to the game and make its longevity more
appealing.
As
you might have guessed, the visuals are simply amazing and despite taking an
early 80’s sensibility remain quite contemporary. Rez is a cool throwback with
sleek vector line wire-frames, simple polygonal objects, bright flashing colors,
and general abstract geometric feel that give it a distinctive and quite
beautiful style. What’s cool about this design, which even extends to the
blocky fonts used throughout the menus and indicators, is that this takes place
in an intense computer generated environments that evoke the best parts of the
classic 1982 movie Tron. Rez takes a definite abstract look throughout and the
look might be a bit shocking, especially if you’re used to today’s realistic
games, but older gamers and fans of the era should definitely eat it up. The
futuristic, stylish look feels authentic, yet is presented in waves of surreal
colors and effects that make it feel hyper-realistic. What also heightens the
sensory overload are the graphics perfect synchronization with the music. When
you shoot an object, not only does the screen explode in color, you also trigger
a sound sample which adds to the effect. Rez is an incredibly fluid, fast moving
title that creates a sensory environment resplendent in computer effects. With
all the realism that’s been going on, the abstract feel of Rez makes it look
and feel completely different from what’s out there.
Musically,
Rez implements an outstanding techno score that
really helps get the player into the action.
Featuring a progressive, driving soundtrack, it fits the feel of the game
perfectly and we loved the way the dual shock buzzed to the rhythms of the beats
on each track. The artists used include several lesser known names and also
better known composers such as Ken Ishii. What’s really cool is that the
tracks build in intensity as the player progresses through the layers, making
this seem almost like a music composition program. Add in the fact that you
trigger sound samples when you destroy an enemy and the fact that the speed and
pace of the game is tied into the beats of the music and you have a title that
sounds as stylish as it looks. Of course, after Sega blessed gamers everywhere
with the great music Space Channel 5 and Jet Grind Radio, it should come as no
surprise that this legacy continues on the PS2.
So
what exactly is Rez? Is it a music composition game like Frequency? A
retro-shooter like Tempest 2000? A cyberspace themed game that evokes Tron?
Actually, it’s a little of all these elements mixed together to create
something new. This description might sound confusing, but the combination of
elements truly creates something original and daring. While it’s a bit short,
the levels themselves are incredible and the changes that occur to them add to
the game’s replay value. Some may complain that this is too much a rails
shooter, but their missing the point, and that is that Rez immerses the player
into a cybernetic world, addicts them with a combination of intense visuals,
hypnotic sounds and colors, then adds in some excellent and challenging gameplay
to make for an unforgettable experience. While players used to more standard
formulas may find this too odd, the more adventurous should find that Rez offers
an incredible journey into another world.
- M.Palisano
GRADE: A+
