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REZ (PS2)
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Publisher: Sony; SEGA.
Developer: United Game Artists. Released: February 2002 (Europe). Genre: Rhythm; Shoot 'em up. Other versions: DC. Posted 3rd December 2012. By Chris Weatherley © 2012 |
Aside from gaming, one of my other passions in life is my love of music. I am from the ilk that will listen to pretty much anything at least once, but my true tastes lie with the unusual, the experimental and the electronic. I look for this in my games too; unfortunately the 8-bit titles of yesteryear would very rarely produce such a marriage of unique original music and fine game mechanics. Titles like Beyond the Ice Palace and BMX Simulator had fine compositions, but rather average gameplay and lacklustre graphics. The BGM in most non-entertainment genre titles is simply an added benefit, not integral to the game itself. That’s where Rez steps in, making the music vital to the experience, distinguishing it from typical linear sci-fi shooters in a major way. So, with my natural curiosity of unusual games coupled with my love of electronica, Rez seemed like the right game to fill that void. Who can ignore a game described by its architect as having “Synesthesia gameplay”? Get your raving lasers at the ready people, and prepare to infiltrate Eden.
In the far future, the K-project super network has been activated with the sole objective to gain control and structure to the ever expanding population of the planet. At its heart is the advanced A.I. system Eden, which due to the vast amounts of paradoxical and nonsensical data it receives, starts to question its own existence and begins to shut itself down. This would destroy society, so you, the hacker, have to enter the cyber world of Eden’s mainframe and re-activate the network. An intriguing story of movie script nuttiness and life as the protagonist hacker will take you on a visually mystifying and orchestral cacophony of wonderment. Don’t worry though; this is no number crunching puzzler, it’s a basic rail shoot ‘em up with a difference. It aims to create a multi-sensory experience that sucks you right in, the sights and sounds harmonising with your very actions. An original concept certainly, and it pulls this off in distinctive style, with only a few bugs in the system among the touches of brilliance.
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Firstly, it looks excellent. Blending the simple with the advanced in equal balance, the un-textured polygons and wire frames are reminiscent of the days of Star Wars, Tie Fighter and maybe even Starfox. These are rendered superbly and move with a fluid and almost organic poise, particularly on the stage bosses, but it’s the mind-warping backgrounds, morphing buildings and surrounding environment that makes Rez really distinctive. The use of colour is spot on, not a large pallet by any means, but a brilliant array of mood-matching colours and gradients, clearly borrowing design cues from the movie Tron, just that little more garish and busy. It’s a remarkable imagining of what the inside of a computer’s mind would be, it has structure and order, but is also manic and ominous; the fine line between genius and insanity. It scrolls smoothly, with good use of background effects and supporting sprites, all at a pace that mirrors the music that at times becomes very quick and exciting. It’s the small added touches that make an impact too; the blurring burst of acceleration while transgressing to the next stage, the pulsing of your sprite in time with the beats and the controller’s vibrations, plus the overlaying stream of nonsensical computer code that constantly trickles down the left edge. Parts can appear a bit too simple at times, but predominantly it is a graphical masterpiece of ordered chaos.
Onto Rez’s party piece, the primary factor that distances it from other spacey shooty things. The quality and acuity of the sound is of maximum importance to the concept, and basically I was blown away by the one-of-a-kind virtues this game has. The music tracks themselves are paced to each level, harmonising to the changes of speed, amount of health, enemy conditions etc. All while the bass hits pump vibrations through the controller, the tempo builds and the rhythm deepens the further you progress. Any hint of quintessential sci-fi sounds are replaced by synthesizer chords, piano blips, snare rolls and hi-hat crashes. Locking your laser weapon on and blasting away a ‘virus’ or ‘firewall’ produces these effects, and done right, you can create some great tunes as you play. It’s all good fun this, bringing out not only your competitive side to beat the game, but also your creativity as you progress deeper, with musical arrangements becoming more urgent and complex. Using the optional ‘Trance Vibrator’ peripheral, a vibrating block you place about your person, you can make the sensory aspect of it more intense. I would imagine that many women and a few men would have used this for other more intimate reasons, seeing Rez take on an even more unique facet! I believe there is a video of one such young lady available on the internet, but I promise I haven’t seen it.
Onto Rez’s party piece, the primary factor that distances it from other spacey shooty things. The quality and acuity of the sound is of maximum importance to the concept, and basically I was blown away by the one-of-a-kind virtues this game has. The music tracks themselves are paced to each level, harmonising to the changes of speed, amount of health, enemy conditions etc. All while the bass hits pump vibrations through the controller, the tempo builds and the rhythm deepens the further you progress. Any hint of quintessential sci-fi sounds are replaced by synthesizer chords, piano blips, snare rolls and hi-hat crashes. Locking your laser weapon on and blasting away a ‘virus’ or ‘firewall’ produces these effects, and done right, you can create some great tunes as you play. It’s all good fun this, bringing out not only your competitive side to beat the game, but also your creativity as you progress deeper, with musical arrangements becoming more urgent and complex. Using the optional ‘Trance Vibrator’ peripheral, a vibrating block you place about your person, you can make the sensory aspect of it more intense. I would imagine that many women and a few men would have used this for other more intimate reasons, seeing Rez take on an even more unique facet! I believe there is a video of one such young lady available on the internet, but I promise I haven’t seen it.
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So this multi-sensory extravaganza must be brilliant you say? Well, to be brutally honest, it’s not quite as ingenious as it should be. Stripping away the sound, visuals and feel, the gameplay itself can feel a little flat. You can move your target, lock on, shoot and… that’s about it. The navigation of the entire adventure is set on a course which you have no control over. The camera pans at pre-set junctures, the movements of the enemy sprites hardly ever differ; only the lock-on targeting of your weapon is the only variable. Take away the glitz, and it comes down to an uncomplicated shoot-all-the-baddies caper, with little exploration, and at times slightly monotonous button tapping. You do have more freedom in the boss battles, and the variance of enemy type and attacks is good. However, because of the interactivity of the audio, visuals and physical sensations, this is a very rare title that makes the core gameplay of somewhat secondary importance. Another saving grace is the difficultly curve; it starts out rather easy and as all great games should, progressively gets much tougher. With a real b*stard of a final boss; Eden herself, she’s borderline-impossible to conquer.
After all this barraging of incredible acoustics and astonishing images synchronised together in perfect unison, you realise quickly this is the most significant and vital part of the game. Without it, it would be a mediocre and tiresome venture with little appeal or individuality. But it is not, because I for one adore it. I would assume some gameplay aficionados may look down their nose at it, but it does have unique features that redeem it as a great, rare and very original PS2 title. I’m surprised Rez has never had a reboot that heightens and extends the gameplay, providing a freedom and more control. Alas, Rez HD on the Xbox Live Arcade simply upscales the graphics with a little menu remodelling, and few changes to the core mechanics. If Rez had an additional aspect of free roaming, it would be an even more distinguished title, but for the most part it’s still a fantastic and memorable cult classic.
After all this barraging of incredible acoustics and astonishing images synchronised together in perfect unison, you realise quickly this is the most significant and vital part of the game. Without it, it would be a mediocre and tiresome venture with little appeal or individuality. But it is not, because I for one adore it. I would assume some gameplay aficionados may look down their nose at it, but it does have unique features that redeem it as a great, rare and very original PS2 title. I’m surprised Rez has never had a reboot that heightens and extends the gameplay, providing a freedom and more control. Alas, Rez HD on the Xbox Live Arcade simply upscales the graphics with a little menu remodelling, and few changes to the core mechanics. If Rez had an additional aspect of free roaming, it would be an even more distinguished title, but for the most part it’s still a fantastic and memorable cult classic.
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VERDICT
Visual: 9/10
Audio: 10/10 Gameplay: 7/10 Longevity: 9/10 OVERALL: 9/10 |