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The visual style of Rez is another very unique aspect. The game has a vector-stylized look to it, but as you progress, the enemies and environments grow in complexity and motion. A level may start as a simple flat plane wireframe, but eventually by the 10th layer be a cyber-rendering of the Taj Mahal. All of the environments move & fluxuate with the beat, adding to the synaesthesic effect of the game.
The game was originally published by Sega and developed by United Game Artists, the internal Sega team headed up by Tetsuya Mizuguchi, for the Dreamcast and PlayStation 2. In early 2008, Mizuguchi's new company, Q Entertainment, was responsible for bringing Rez to the Xbox 360 under the name Rez HD. Rez HD employs 5.1 surround sound, in addition to 720p rendering and 4x anti-aliasing, giving the game a previous unachieved audio/visual fidelity. It was unanimously hailed by critics as a massive improvement for a game of this nature.
The story is that of an AI that governs the world's networks, known as Eden. The AI perpetually gathers up all the knowledge in the world, until one day, becoming self-aware, shuts herself down, crippling the outside world. The player plays as a nameless hacker, attempting to break through her self-imposed firewalls and reboot the system. Each level represents an ancient society, be it Greece, Egypt, or Mesopotamia. The final level, Area 5, is the story of evolution of life, told through small text blurbs in between each segment.
Note that the songs appear in remixed form on the official soundtrack, entitled "Rez: Gamer's Guide To..." Also, the version of Adam Freeland's "Fear" contained in-game is the only mix of that song to contain those specific elements and that particular musical arrangement. Songs
Rez is a musical on-rails shooter that blurs the line between user input and audio/visual feedback, creating a unique sensory experience.
Overview
Rez is a on-rails shooter with a behind-the-back perspective that calls to mind similar games, like Panzer Dragoon or Space Harrier. The game is notable for its artistic style and an amalgamation of audio, visuals, and user input, creating an effect known as synaesthesia.
Sensory Overload
The game was originally published by Sega and developed by United Game Artists, the internal Sega team headed up by Tetsuya Mizuguchi, for the Dreamcast and PlayStation 2. In early 2008, Mizuguchi's new company, Q Entertainment, was responsible for bringing Rez to the Xbox 360 under the name Rez HD. Rez HD employs 5.1 surround sound, in addition to 720p rendering and 4x anti-aliasing, giving the game a previous unachieved audio/visual fidelity. It was unanimously hailed by critics as a massive improvement for a game of this nature.
Story
Epileptic Dynamite
Gameplay
The core gameplay in Rez involves moving an on-screen reticle over targets and locking-on to them by holding down the fire button. When the button is released, up to eight homing shots can be released to eliminate enemies. The player also has a limited number of smart bombs that turns on automatic fire to eliminate most nearby enemies for a brief period of time. However, what sets this game apart from all others of its ilk is that with every lock on, every shot fired, and every missile deployed, a sound is made that is tonally aligned with the music and synched up with the beat. In addition to the enemies all having these attributes, this creates the effect of the user essentially improvising the song as they play. Each level contains 10 "layers", each with an evolved version of the music, so the songs build up in a crescendo, always climaxing with the boss fights.Every action you make in this game, whether it be shooting an enemy, picking up a power-up, or simply even progressing to the next stage, has an aural component to it, which, when taken together with the background music and visual spectacle, creates a very unique pseudo-rhythm-game feel.Scoring System
Scoring in Rez centers entirely around multipliers based on the number of lock-ons a player has. For example, firing single shots nets no multiplier, while locking on to four objects nets a 4x multiplier. Higher level players memorize enemy patterns and try to get 8x multipliers as frequently as possible, as well as figure out tricks to milk the bosses for as many lock-ons as possible.Soundtrack
The in-game soundtrack contains edited versions of various electronic music compositions.Note that the songs appear in remixed form on the official soundtrack, entitled "Rez: Gamer's Guide To..." Also, the version of Adam Freeland's "Fear" contained in-game is the only mix of that song to contain those specific elements and that particular musical arrangement. Songs
- [Area 01] Keiichi Sugiyama - Buggy Running Beeps
- [Area 02] Mist - Protocol Rain
Digital Athletics - [Area 03] Ken Ishii - Creation State of the Art (Parts 1-6)
- [Area 04] Joujouka - Rock Is Sponge
- [Area 05] Adam Freeland - Fear
- Coldcut & Tim Bran - Boss Attacks
- Ebz - Fg Gs
- Octaeder - Oval
- Creative State - Ken Ishii
- P Project - Oval
Beyond Mode
Beyond mode is a set of additional challenges, bonus stages, and modes unlocked after getting 100% analysis in all five areas.Direct Assault
Play all of the levels of Rez's normal play mode back to back. Every time you complete Direct Assault you unlock different color schemes for use in you next play through. Dying once will end the run and you will have to start from the beginning.- Normal
- Ambient
- Punk
- Oldschool
- Psychedelic
- Trance
Lost Area
A mission in a long forgotten and unused section of the network; it is rather challenging compared to Rez's normal levels, and considered an ideal score attack level. The track is by Ebz.Trance Mission
Visual and audio overload, the level never ends, and there is not danger to the player. It is a perpetual loop of atonal noise & ambience, and psychadelic visuals.Boss Rush
You play all 5 bosses in order.Beyond Options
- Player Select
- Beam Type
- Camera View
- Immortal
- Overdrive Infinity
| Game Name | Rez |
| Platform(s) | |
| Publisher(s) | |
| Developer(s) | |
| Genres |
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| Themes | |
| Original US Release |
need a fuzzy date? |
| Original US Release |
know the real date? |
| Aliases | Rez HD |
| ESRB |
ESRB: E
|
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