Rez HD Thoughts

As you're probably aware, elusive Dreamcast and PlayStation 2 legend Rez was released for Xbox Live Arcade a few days ago, this time in super pretty high-definition (not that I can really tell on my 8 year-old standard-def telly). I had never played the game when it initially came out, though I'd been told by numerous people what an awesome game it was. So I finally checked it out on XBLA, for the bargain-bin price of 800 Microsoft Points (which is what, like $10?) and now I understand what all the fuss has been about, and why Sam Kennedy from 1UP called it "one of the most important games of the last decade" in his review.

For those who haven't played it, basically you're a hacker breaking into a computer network, getting rid of viruses and breaking through firewalls. It's a shooter rather than a strict rhythm game, but the music is no doubt one of the most important aspects of the game, working with the psychedelic wireframe and Matrix-esque graphics to totally draw you in. It can get pretty intense, I found that my hands were starting to ache and sweat after a while, something that doesn't happen often (not while gaming, anyway.)

It is most definitely an "experience." The game is beautiful, in terms of audio and video, and is something I would definitely consider as art. It's also just downright fun, and is easy to pick up and just play for a few minutes or hours. Even after I finished the game this morning, there are still lots of greyed-out options on the menu and it will no doubt take me quite a while to fully unlock everything. This shouldn't be too hard since I've become somewhat addicted to the game (and because I'm becoming a dirty achievements whore).

So if you have a 360, and haven't done so already, dip into your weekly Starbucks allowance and go download it. Definitely worth the ten bucks. Pity there's no support for the Trance Vibrator...