Rez HD Comments by Simon Parkin

Second time I am gutted that I don't have a 360 (first was for Space Giraffe)

"Utter utter bollocks. Really going off this site rapidly. :("

fucking leave then, and let the people who actually enjoy eurogamer read it in piece. this is a great review written by someone who clearly loves the game as much as i do. rez is easily one of my favourite games of all time, and i'd give it 10/10 in a trance-vibrated heartbeat - would i be lying to you if i'd had the grand position of VIDEOGAMES REVIEWER bestowed upon me? no, of course not, i'd just be telling you the way i feel.

i think this is what simon parkin might have been doing, but that's just a guess.

When I played the Dreamcast original I really didn't get Rez at all so when I read this review this morning I was amazingly skeptical of the 10/10 score.

But that was on a small 15" tv in stereo sound.

Now I've got my own place, with a proper 5.1 home cinema sound system and a 43" plasma TV running in High Def, playing Rez finally makes sense. I've finished the game and for the first time in a long long time I'm utterly gobsmacked by the overall experience. I completely agree with the review - if you dismantle it and look at things logically it's just panzer dragoon in wireframe. But taken as an experience it's far, far greater than the sum of its parts. It's one of the few games that has easily stood the test of time, and probably will for many many years to come. And for that it earns its 10/10 with flying colours.

And for only 800 points. Geometry Wars used to be the biggest bargain on the marketplace, but now this has beaten it. If you've got the kit to enjoy it you won't regret it.

Got to the second stage today, all swirly purples etc, lovely. Very impressed with it so far, playing through the first stage a couple of times gave me a lovely warm gaming glow inside. Splendid.

one shouldn't be on acid while writing reviews

Why oh why did they miss out on calling it "Hi-Rez" then :P "Rez HD" sounds a bit dull doesn't it?
Game is awesome though, owned the japanese PS2 version from earlier, but it's a game that deserves proper hi-rez, argh..

I haven't got a 360 but would like to play this in the future. Ever since seeing screenshots of the dreamcast version i have thought the game very aesthetically pleasing. I am a bit worried though as I really dislike trance music (psytrance included).

Is anyone else who normally avoids trance still a fan of this game?

(Downloading now)

Played it all night, simply brilliant.

@gruiformes: I love the game to bits, but it wouldn't occur to me to listen to the music anywhere else. It's just not my thing (I'm pretty much rock/metal through and through). But in-game it works really well. In fact, it probably works better simply because it's something I wouldn't normally listen to.

I love it! I never played Rez before but I got the same happy feeling as when I played Lumines for the first time. I definitely think it helps if you have a music ear though because that's what I mostly love of the game. Just like with Lumines it's so cool to shot stuff in rytm with the music and almost be involved with the music.

I realized I was sitting and tapping my foot to the rytm and "digging" the music while playing. But even the core gameplay isn't bad. I got to the boss in stage two yesterday and it's a beauty.

For the price it's a definite 10 in my book.

Weezer As someone who writes for a living, who actually makes money from the the process of delivering coherent sentences...

Yeah, it looks like it too...

Er... irony?

I don't think so.

I think you made a mistake, and are trying to cover it up by calling it irony, and failing.

First off, great review. Really well written and described Rez and its re-emergence to a 'T'.

I bagged it myself last night and look forward to cranking up the 5.1 and losing myself in the beat.

That review was painful to read. Reminds me of this kid I knew back in high school who would whip out the thesaurus at every opportunity. He never did get an A in English!

I disagree. There aren't any particularly long or thesauraus-y words in here at all. Sure, it's a little poetic but that suits the game very well. Crucially, underneath all the clever language and sentence construction there's solid point after solid point.

lol @ weezer and his 'irony' too.

nize!!!!

loved the original

OK i finished 4th stage how the hell do i unlock stage5 ?????????

OK i finished 4th stage how the hell do i unlock stage5 ?????????

100% Amortization in all stages (ie. get to layer 10 before fighting the boss). On the level select menu, you'll see which one you haven't got that on yet.

Rez is pretty and unique, but it's not a 10/10.

Games, while about enjoyment, need to contain game play. In Rez that's wafer thin, and it's exceptionally easy too. Anyone even vaguely skilled will be finished with the game in a few hours. I haven't played it since the PS2 version, I walked through this in one straight go. Score attack remains, but the scoring system isn't nearly clever enough to sustain that as a long term thing.

Downloaded this game today, having only briefly played the DC version ages ago.

I was afraid it wouldn't be 'for me', but I love it! It really puts you into a trance and it is utterly absorbing. I was going to quit after the second level.. but then, why not do the third one too? Oh go on, why not number 4 as well? I've come this far, might as well finish it, etc.

Superb.

I feel I am missing out on this like I missed out on Kid A and Amnesiac.

I like it, but I don't 'get' the 10/10 fuss.

Gonna try it when stoned with the lights out and the sound up, I think then it will be awesome.

Rez is great, but Panzer Dragoon Orta is still better imo ;)

(hmm guess Arbiter already said that)

Have to agree with Bloodflower on this one. I love Lumines, but that had quite deep gameplay. Here, I just don't get it yet. And it doesn't look or sound that great either. I don't even feel it beats PS1 Wipeout in that respect. Hmmz.

@monkie_king

'Does anyone else find Rez makes more sense with look-invert disabled? I play all 1st/3rd person shooters with look invert, always have done. But for some reason, targeting in Rez feels more natural if I think of it as moving a pointer around a flat 2D plane, rathen than aiming up and down in 3D space. Odd.'

I did he exact same thing after 30 secods of play. I think it's because you don't navigate in 3D, and the targets come to you.

...perhaps.

/late

DanWhitehead

'So what political, psychological or sociological statement do you feel Rez is making if you feel it is on the same artistic level as 2001, A Clockwork Orange or The Shining? What layers of interpretation does it allow?

I never said that Rez is an exact parallel for any of those movies in terms of psychology or narrative subtext. Clearly its not. I was merely using Kubrick as an example of a master craftsman whose best known works can be written off if you strip them down to their raw components, much as people are saying Rez is nothing special because you just fly along and shoot stuff. Reductionist arguments like that are a waste of time. Combine that with the expected cries of OH NO PRETENTIOUS every time someone expresses a thought about a game that goes beyond the traditional realms of PLAYABILITY and GRAPHICS, and you've got a subject that gets my blood hot.

In fact, I'd argue that one of the things that makes Rez special is that it can't be accurately compared like-for-like with any movie, book, whatever. It's pure videogame, and stands as an example of what the medium can do without trying to be something else. And I say that as a huge fan of ambitious narrative in games.'

This is why some people hate or look down on Outrun 2006, whilst it seems to be one of the games I'll play again and again for possibly the next 5 years if not longer, unless a better version comes along.

Virtua Tennis, Sega Rally, the Sonic games, NiGHTS and Daytona did this also. It's also why I love Mario Kart, Pacman, Burnout, GTA and Chase HQ.

The experience, the journey, the feel or the fun are as important as the components. I play some of these games with my subconscious -- without even playing proper attention to the game sometimes. Thinking about other things and then wonder how I did so well when I suddenly refocus and crash / die.

It's different to leveling up or tuning cars.

Greater than the sum of its parts. But many want Gran Turismo. It's completely different.

I can't and have never been able to get into either Halo, Gran Turismo (single player), Metal Gear Solid or Splinter Cell. I don't hate these games, and I know that they're very good - but just not for me just yet it seems.

I also understand that some people love Golf and red wine. Not for me right now - maybe later in life. The PS3 - now there's another one...

Some other gamers need to look at this type of conclusion and just walk on by...

/bed