Once in a while, a game comes along that reminds me why I am a gamer. Is Rez some ground breaking title that will redefine gaming for years to come? Probably not. Does it feature revolutionary gameplay that will shatter your belief system of the medium? Definitely not. Did it strike a chord with me that made it one of my favorite gaming experiences of the past year. Most definitely.

It's not hard to put your fingers on what Rez is about. On the very surface, it is a 3D shooter on rails, which means that while the game is in 3D, you have a limited range of motion. Gameplay is most like another Sega classic, Panzer Dragoon 1 and 2, that were must own games on the Sega Saturn, except with minor differences. However, saying Rez is just a shooter is like saying Super Mario Bros. was just a platformer. The basic gameplay entails you controlling a targeting box. You need to guide the box over enemies while holding down the attack button that locks onto as many as eight targets or up to eight shots on a target that takes multiple hits. There is also a super shot that is reminiscent of the "Death Blossom" for fans of the old "The Last Starfighter" movie. Like I said, the gameplay is not anything earth shattering, but it is also not the main purpose of this game.

Rez is one of those games that I would label more of an experience rather than just game. A lot of people will definitely miss the whole point of this game, and a lot more people will just flat out not care about it, which is fine, this just isn't the game for everyone and it doesn't surprise me to see this barely sell a copy. The core of Rez is all style, sure, the gameplay that is in there is perfectly tight and tuned, but that is not the main course of this meal.

Rez succeeds because of the way everything in the game is brought together in this package. The first thing about the game that people will notice is the graphic style of the game. In lieu of pushing hardware to it's limits with huge number of polygons and texture effects, (although the 5th level isn't too shabby in that respect), Rez goes for a unique style that would easily be appreciated by any old school hacker who cut their cyberpunk teeth on TRON. The story of the game takes you into a virtual network, battling through their firewall defenses as you 'hack' into the core. The background levels feature primarily line drawn vector style images that pulsate and morph as your progress through the level, deeper into the system. Some of the enemies seem directly inspired by the classic TRON movie. Overall, most people are probably going to scoff at the minimalist approach to the graphics and give up before the surprising 5th level of the game.

The other main part of the game is the music. If you can't stand techno-ish trance music, just stop reading now since this game will cause an aneurysm for sure. Each level features original music composed for the by artists such as Ken Ishii, Oval and my favorite track, "Fear" was done by Adam Freeland. The music may not evoke anything special in most people, but the way it's used in the game is what is unique and the crux of what makes this game so special. The base of the music is layered. As you progress deeper into the network, the music gains a level so to speak. Another game that uses this technique, for example, is SSX Tricky, where the music gains layers as you fill up your boost bar. But, in addition to the layered music tracks, everything you do in the game creates different musical tones and sounds, which add to the overall score of the game. If that isn't enough to suck you in, the rumble feature in this title is unlike anything before it. The controller will pulse to the beat of the level, which insanely draws you into the experience as a level starts off slow and intensifies to an all out blast-a-thon towards the later levels and especially the boss battles.

After beating a level, you can go back and play it in "Traveling Mode" where you basically play the level without taking any damage. It is a perfect edition, which allows you to enjoy the scenery and music without just concentrating on the careful targeting of virtual baddies. There are also hidden levels to unlock and different features such as remixed soundtracks, and score attack modes. Successful completion of these modes, time played, etc, all contribute to the unlocking of new modes and secrets. United Game Artists is the arm of Sega that was responsible for Space Channel 5, another game based heavily on music and style. It's nice to see a developer take chances like this in our time of companies wanting multi-million selling games or nothing at all.

I reviewed the Japanese Dreamcast release of Rez, which came out before the PS2 release and differs only slightly in framerate, which isn't easily noticed. The game itself is identical to the US PS2 release and even is completely in English. Rez was not released in the US for the Dreamcast but lucky PS2 owners (I believe there are a few of them) can take a shot at it. In the end, many people may find Rez lacking, but if you are in the mood for something different to take your mind off blasting zombies and tweaking your race car. Rez is a great diversion and a fun experience that really gets you into the game with its clever use of music together with the rumble feature. I have to recommend a rental first though, since this game definitely isn't for everyone out there.