Rez - Dreamcast

Originality, unfortunately, has become something of a taboo word in the games industry. It now translates as something akin to ‘chance of financial loss’. Rez for the Dreamcast ignores the copying/borrowing convention and brings together two bizarre genres. Rez is the first game to combine shoot-em-up action with trance music-making. An odd pairing, but enjoyable all the same. The videogame market would be nothing without new ideas. So sit back relax, and enjoy the experience.

The visual styling of Rez is similar to the classic film Tron. Simple vector graphics make up the landscapes that you fly through. At the first level of evolution, the graphics are simple and as you progress through the different stages they become increasingly more complex. The gameplay is easy: think of Star Fox or Panzer Dragoon. You move your target over enemy ships to lock onto them and release the button to fire. Up to ten enemies can be locked onto at any one time, and taking out such a number unleashes impressive visual effects.

Now this is where the music generator side of Rez comes into play. Each time you unleash a barrage of shots, each shot will sound a different musical note depending on which enemy you take out. You can make your own rhythms by deciding how many baddies to take out at once. Your fire button when not being used to lock on also doubles as a hand-clap: perfect for tapping along to the beat. Rez brings trance music to life.

This is one of those games that is enjoyable to play with a group of friends. Rez is set over six levels, with each level featuring exclusive tracks from the some of the world’s top DJ's. After you reach level ten of evolution, you will fight an end of level boss that must be eliminated before moving onto the next world.

Rez is different and we like that. It’s not often that you come across a game like this, so take a look at the weirder side of gaming for a change.
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