The Synaesthesia of Rez

Published February 11, 2008

Rez HD is a game that defies easy understanding even after hours of gameplay. This re-mastered, reinvigorated version of the cult favorite music/action hybrid Rez still resides in a genre of its own creation: Synaesthesia. It has been and continues to be one of gaming's most elaborately creative endeavors, a game that's just as much art as it is an interactive experience.

Surreal doesn't even begin to give it justice.

This artful combination of sublime and surreal audio and graphics with interactive mind-bending worlds makes Rez HD a remarkable achievement. Its melodic, trance-like gameplay makes it as much a pleasure to experience as it is to "beat."

The Musical Shooter

You could classify Rez HD as a rail shooter without fear of reprisal, but you'd only be touching on its foundation. Yes, you play the virtual avatar of a futuristic hacker in a desperate fight to save the super network, code-named Eden, from corruption and eventual self-destruction. And yes, you do this primarily while on a track as you pulse to the beat of the music and shoot down virtual viruses and firewalls with lock-on shots. You can even power up your character with upgrades.

More importantly though, this creative gem is
engrossing and a pleasure to play from start to finish.

While the gameplay goal is to eliminate your targets, open up paths to new worlds, earn upgrades, and defeat final bosses, the manner in which you do it and the way you enjoy it are quite different from anything else the gaming world has ever seen.

Every enemy you target and shoot releases bits and pieces of music that flow seamlessly with each level's unique techno-laden song track, allowing you unprecedented creative license to shoot your way through a level while creating an audiovisual landscape unique to your own particular experience. Your actions and progression change the very nature of the world around you. Play a level a hundred times for a hundred different takes on a level's look, sound and feel.

Hope you've got some Overdrive handy.

It is a strange concept to be sure, but Rez HD delivers on its tremendously creative promise with complete immersion in a wonderfully alien way.

HD Benefits and Options

Rez HD may offer tighter, slicker graphics than its predecessor, but the benefits the Xbox LIVE® Arcade version brings to bear don't end there. First off, Rez purists can take a nostalgic trip with the game in its original form with Rez Standard. In addition, you can save replays of a particularly well-played or just great sounding level you're proud to have helped create. Of course, you'll also have access to Xbox LIVE leaderboards to compare your skills with friends and fellow Rez HD players as well as shoot for two hundred Gamerscore points thanks to twelve different achievements.

You'll also find a few options to help tweak the game for an even more surreal synaesthetic feast. Add Visual Effects such as bloom, blur, or sepia, and mix with Sound Reverb and even Sound Environment effects including underwater, cave, or forest for a totally different feel.

Tactical Rez

It's easy to acclimate yourself to the game's basic mechanics (point and shoot) within a few short seconds, but nobody would call Rez a simple or easy game. Here are a few tips to get you started and feeling comfortable with how to blast your way from level to level.

• Surrounding upgrades: Progress cubes and Overdrive items are critically important items for completing a level. However, tracking them down is no linear matter, so make sure you're consistently rotating your view up, down and around to spot these items when they appear. Also, you don't need to shoot them multiple times to collect them. Target them once, shoot, and return your focus to the enemies at hand.
• Lock-on priority: The bulk of your Rez HD shooting should take full advantage of the Lock-On Lazer's ability. Hold down A and swipe the reticle across as many as up to eight targets. Individual shots should really be reserved for incoming missiles only a few feet away from striking you.
• Hold the Overdrive: While Overdrive attacks won't obliterate a boss enemy, they will vaporize the many missile attacks in each level's final encounter. For that reason alone, hold on to each and every Overdrive upgrade you find instead of using them during the level proper.
• Node awareness: Your analysis rating is dependent on spotting and shooting Network nodes to open up a new area of the level. Unlike many games though, you can actually pass these by and still continue on, you just won't get credit for fully exploring the level. When you do spot one, shoot it once to free it from its current location, and then fully charge a lazer shot to open it up. If you don't max out your lazer shot, you'll need to hit it up to eight times with a single shot to activate the node.

Progress upgrade dead ahead!

Rez HD is an unrelenting original game that refuses to acknowledge genre barriers. This creative vision is worth celebrating on its own as a special achievement in an otherwise easily categorized industry. More importantly though, this creative gem is engrossing and a pleasure to play from start to finish. Test drive it for yourself courtesy of the free trial version available for download on Xbox LIVE Arcade. Embrace the Synaesthesia!

Article by Ryan Treit