 |
| The game's 2002 box art |
Whoa. This wasn't easy.
Out of the ten most favorite games I have decided to put on my list, I have to order them from least favorite to most favorite right? ("Well, that's kinda how a top ten list works right? I mean duuuh", says the snarky reader. "Screw you. Now dance for me.", says the all powerful blog author.)
But anyway, as I said, this wasn't easy. Why? Because if I could travel back in time and mention that I would someday put Rez 10th on a list of my most favorite games of all time, I would get slapped.
By my past self. I would actually get slapped by my past self. Yeah.
But anyway, about the game itself.
Rez puts you in the role of a computer programmer who has been tasked with the job of purging "Eden", a computer network that monitors all the world's data and information, (who by the way, has become self-aware), from the viruses that are trying to tear it down. These viruses only got there in the first place BECAUSE Eden became self aware, the realisation of it's (her?) own existence sent her mad you see. However, the story rarely pops up during the main gameplay, it's all really just an excuse to shove you head first into a world of colour and sound.
 |
| So pwetty... and seizure inducing. |
If Rez had to be bottled up into a genre it would undoubtedly be an on-rails shooter, you move automatically through trails and rooms made up of lines and shapes and flashes and splashes of colour that strangely resemble the architecture of long lost civilizations, (a reference, maybe, to the memories that Eden has stored inside her?), while blasting away at strange and bizarrely wonderful "virus" creatures, from battleships patched together from nothing but basic shapes and discs, to huge disco mirror balls and giant pulsating snakes created from nothing but simple cubes. Levels begin as simple and plain corridors, but gradually evolve and morph into dizzying structures and grand buildings. There are some truly amazing set pieces here, the most notable being the encounter at the end of Area 4, where you face off against a giant running figure while a techno-rock beat blasts into your ears.
 |
| If you can tell what's going on here, you're officially stoned. |
Which brings me to the game's soundtrack. Just like the visuals gain added detail and substance as you progress through a level, so does the level's music. Every new segment you clear adds a new beat, an extra rhythm, and each part complements the whole, until eventually you are floating through a sea of excellent techno wonder. It's perfectly integrated into the game's mechanics, every note that hits your ears causes your floating avatar to pulse, every shot you fire adds extra sound, and each and every enemy makes a different sound when hit. The track will never be the same each time you play. Sound and images become almost one as play continues, merging together into something new, something magnificent, which is what the game actually intended to acheive. And it's something that no other game has been able to replicate since.
I think I've made it quite obvious why I love this game, but I did put it this low on my list for a reason. Sorry past self, but this game is just too short. An experienced player an beat the game from start to finish in about an hour without too much trouble. But I'm not making this list to focus on a game's faults, I'm here to give it the praise it deserves.
So what if it's short? I'd gladly play it through again right now, and love absolutely every mind-boggling, beat blasting, colour drenched moment of it.
See y'all next time.
No comments:
Post a Comment