Rez Review

The game's initially selectable four areas each contain ten “layers”, all of increasing complexity, concluding with a boss (or “firewall”) encounter, each of which provides one of the most truly original, astonishing, awe-inspiring gaming moments in memory, which, in a just world, would go down in the annals of audio-visual entertainment history, but I'm not cruel enough to spoil them here. All I can say is that each boss confrontation presents some of the most innovative design in gaming history, beautifully complimented by astonishing graphics. The graphics. Oh, the graphics.

Right from the get-go, Rez initiates a relentless visual assault, which refuses to cease.

Too many games nowadays evaporate from the mind just after playing them, let alone watching them. Rez is one of those rare games that provides a memorable experience for the mere onlooker. Each level begins simply - just a simple horizon and string of rudimentary enemies, but grows in complexity as you progress through each layer, building and building, until you have a breathtaking representation of the location which provided the inspiration for the level, such as Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt. The visual style definitely harkens back to the days of “Elite” and the original “Star Wars” game, and certainly takes inspiration from Jeff Minter's seminal “Tempest 2000”. But Rez does it so much better. It's Elite to the Nth degree. It's Elite set in the Tron universe. Right from the get-go, Rez initiates a relentless visual assault, which refuses to cease. Which brings us back to the game's climactic, unlockable fifth level, which I mentioned earlier. Arguably the highlight of what is already destined to become a classic game, this level catches you off guard by throwing it's minimalist palette at you, consisting almost entirely of white, grey, and smatterings of purple, providing a stark contrast to the “every colour of the rainbow” approach used to great effect in the first four levels. This visual about-turn is neatly complimented by a similarly inspired change in aural style, in the form of Adam Freeland's epic “Fear”, beautifully rounding off a magnificently accomplished soundtrack.

Ah yes, the soundtrack. Often an overlooked element of the gaming experience, it takes a game like Rez to show how a masterfully constructed aural element can transform a good game into a great game. Everything in this game makes a sound. From the triumphantly choral “Aaahhh” that accompanies successfully firing at eight targets, to the barely audible “click” made when you press the lock-on button (which I occasionally found myself unconsciously tapping in rhythm with the music, such is the game's impeccable sonic synchronisation), right through to the immensely satisfying “Terrwang!” that supplements a hit on the “Running Man” boss. Everything you do has a direct effect on the soundtrack, elevating a simple, linear beat into a giddily magnificent concoction of sound.

Boss encounters are instantly memorable.

To play this game on a portable TV with Mono sound would be to do it a massive injustice - to be truly appreciated and experienced to it's full, awe-inspiring potential, Rez must be played on as large a TV as possible and, most importantly, with a surround sound system. This means you'll have to go against the developers advice and play it in a dark room, with the sound up to eleven. Everything has a health warning nowadays, anyway.

That's it. That's all I can say. Unfortunately, Rez is a game that falls into that “Marmite” category, where you will either love it or hate it. If you think all that I have written stank profusely of hyperbole, get out and rent it at least and, should you fail to be enchanted by it's sheer unbridled splendour, then I have pity on you. It is genuinely one of, if not the most inspired, inspiring, amazing, venerable games in this reviewer's memory. It makes one truly sad for the recent demise of the United Game Artists, and the subsequent departure from Sega of the game's visionary creator, Tetsuya Mizuguchi. It is a sure sign of this game's quality and aesthetic, artistic merit that it is already one of the principal games put forward by yes-people in the “Are Games Art?” argument. And that can only be a good thing.