Rez HD

Rez HD

Format

Xbox Live

Publisher

Microsoft

Developer

Q Entertainment

Game Ranked

4 out of 228

No. of Players

Release Date

Out Now

Score

9.1/10

Verdict

Original, invigorating, gorgeous, fantastic.

The videogame equivalent of euphoric substances

When it comes to splitting opinion, there’s really no game quite like Rez. For some, the ‘originality’ in its sound and visuals serves only to mask an underlying on-rails shooter buried deep in the past. Indeed, apart from the unbelievably gifted, those approaching it as a traditional shooter (by which we mean one where score actually matters) will be incredibly frustrated by the constricted field of view you’re offered, relatively sluggish targeting and the fact you’ve essentially seen everything in well under an hour. On the other side of the coin however lie people for whom a dim view of Mizuguchi’s epic seems like reviewing the air and giving it 6/10.

We don’t care how pompous and up our own behinds it makes us look: playing Rez is about something more than high score chasing or even completion. We’ll leave the art debate to one side for a moment, the simple creativity it showed in blending the player’s virtual action into the fabric of each level’s trance soundtrack was a breath of fresh air in a world where ‘rhythm action’ meant PaRappa or Dancing Stage.

Every laser beam was a note, each explosion a percussive smash, every boss an awe-inspiring crescendo of noise. It’s arguably a more sensible purchase now too, as the game’s length is more than made up for by a pick ‘n’ mix price point and some truly lovely HD visuals.

So, does it stand up in an age where music games are more The X Factor than Newsnight Review? Undoubtedly yes, as veterans shouldn’t worry about returning to memories this fond. As for everyone else, as Australia might say, where the bloody hell are you?

Final Verdict

There is simply nothing else like Rez. Bloody shame really. 9.1/10

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Game Scores

Graphics:
8.9/10

Sound:
9.8/10

Gameplay:
8.2/10

Longevity:
8.2/10

Multiplayer:
N/A

Overall:
9.1/10

Better than:
Assault Heroes

9.0
/10

Worse than:
None

Reviewer Profile

NowGamer ArchiveBot

NowGamer ArchiveBot

Advanced TS-41NG article uploading drone


Total Reviews:
174

Average Score:
6.3/10

Years Gaming
18

Speciality

Shoot-'em-up


Formats Owned

Xbox 360

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