Rez
is a vector-based graphics game for the Dreamcast and it's at this point in
the review where I would tell you what the game's about.
However, I don't
really think it's about anything in particular (none that makes sense anyway)
other than being a unique into-the-screen shoot-em-up that has slight overtones
of Galaxians - in that you are shooting down wave after wave of aliens
-, I, Robot - in that it's colourful and just plain bizarre, whilst
being hugely entertaining - and the arcade game shown in the film, The
Last Starfighter. Oh, and of course Tron.
Look at the screenshots and you won't be able to make head or tail of it
either. Even the tutorial confused me by describing that to kill one of the
alien craft that fly about, or interact in some way with everything else, is
to hold down what would be your fire button (A), move the cursor into the
right position and let go of (A) to shoot. I feared for this being a
pixel-perfect exercise, but far from it. You can let your aim glide all over
the place and take out a few baddies at once.
While you do this, the techno-bass soundtrack is built around your actions
and you find, for example, that your fire button is the hi-hat and the more
you press that and the way you move and interact makes the audio experience
a fascinating one, especially combined with the visuals.
So, for what seemed originally to be a flashy and hard-to-understand game
quickly becomes a blindingly cool game with a high pick-up-and-play factor
and is well-recommended for playing in the dark, late at night, with your
headphones on loud, unless you hate your neighbours, in which case dispense
with the headphones.
Anything else I would add to this review in terms of text would be purely
superfluous because there's not a lot more I can add, other than to suggest
that if you're not sure after seeing it on TV or on a demo disc, then rent it
first before buying. The scores at the bottom should speak for themselves.
PS. When you pause the game, the ripple effect over the background is bloody
amazing.
GRAPHICS SOUND EFFECTS AND MUSIC PLAYABILITY ORIGINALITY ENJOYMENT
As of April 2009, Blu-rays and DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TH-37PX80B
37" Plasma TV with a Sony BDP-1500 Blu-ray player and played through a Yamaha DSP-AX820 amplifier.
PC games reviewed by the editor are on:
Since Jan 2011: Intel Quad Core Dell XPS 8100, i7 CPU 860 @ 2.80Ghz, 8Gb RAM, nVidia GeForce GTS 240, Windows 7
Since Nov 2005: Intel Pentium D 830 3.0Ghz, 1Gb RAM, 128Mb nVidia GeForce 6700XL, Windows XP
Since Aug 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.66Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb GeForce4 MX440 graphics, Windows XP
Since May 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.6Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb ATI Radeon 9600TX graphics, Windows XP
Since Jun 2002: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, 64Mb ATI Radeon 8500LE
Since May 2000: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, Voodoo 3 3000 AGP
Rez
is a vector-based graphics game for the Dreamcast and it's at this point in
the review where I would tell you what the game's about.
