Rez HD

[otaku]

So who bought it? Just downloaded and blazed through the first three levels and got the first three achievements. Definetly gonna play more its nice to be rid of the jaggies and have it run smoother can't wait to get it HD (using std tv right now) hopefully if the game does well we will see a proper sequel. And I hear you can use extra controls as trance vibrators so I look forward to trying that out (when I figure it out)

[diskoboy]

You definitely need to be playing this in HD. It's just absolutely stunning. Even standard Rez looks nice on a HDTV.

I'm just hoping we start seeing gamer chairs specifically made for this game. I'd buy one in a second...

The one thing I did find odd is why the controller vibration is turned off by default.

[cityside75]

Bought it, love it. Either it's easier or I'm suddenly better, got an average of 96% shot down across the first 4 levels, and nailed a 100% shot down already on level 2. The 360 controller is a superior piece to the DC controller, so that could be why I've improved too.

I stopped before Level 5, and will probably go back and finish it tomorrow. It's beautiful in HD, and 5.1 surround is amazing too.

As a fanatic of the original, I already notice lots of little differences, which is nice. They've changed up some of the attack patterns, and there are definitely some differences in the sounds too, some seem to be a different pitch and there were some new sounds I don't remember from the original. So it feels familiar, yet fresh to play too.

I put the extra controller under my feet too, as recommended on a few sites, and that's a cool little addition too.

A big thumbs up here!

[Perkar]

what's the purpose of putting the extra controller under your feet?

[otaku]

yeah I noticed some differences to. Love the trance vibrator feature (I like the feet as well) can't wait to get my girlfriend over to try it out properly though hehe :) I think she'll like it.

[DefaultGen]

.....

[Julio III]

what's the purpose of putting the extra controller under your feet?

Apparantely Mizuguchi (the game's creator) plays it by placing a 2nd controller under his feet and one behind his back. He recommends it. Now, you can have a 4th controller as well, what you gonna do with that one?

I'm a huge fan of Rez. I think it looks stunning on an HDTV through the Dreamcast and VGA still.

[kaedesdisciple]

It may have taken a while, but this game is so worth the wait. I have owned it on the DC and the PS2, but this version controls the best for me. I also believe it to be the ease of the 360 controller. It looks absolutely stunning in HD, like it was always meant to be this way. However, after playing it with the 2nd controller at my feet, I am NEVER buying a used 360 controller. Who knows where these things will wind up?

[YoshiM]

I never got a chance to play the original so I ponied up the points. The game oozes style and is just a blast to play. Haven't tried the vibrating controllers yet.

[ProgrammingAce]

I was wondering about the scoring too, i managed to get 100% in 3 of the 5 levels on my first try. While i'm pretty good at Rez, that's unheard of.

The 360 version seems much easier to control, i think that has a lot to do with it. Plus it seems like the enemies are spawning a lot further out then they were on the other versions. I'm assuming the 360 has a better draw distance then the other versions.

[Cryomancer]

Yeah, I beat the main game on my first try this time, I ahvne't played the DC verison in ages, and when I did I never beat stage three. It certainly seems easier, but it could be down to the controller.

[Graham Mitchell]

I got it last night. It's the first time I'd played it I got through the first level. I'm gonna put on my flame-proof suit here and say that after all the hype I read on DP over the years I expected some really funky type of gameplay. What I got was a Panzer Dragoon clone set in Tron-land. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Graphics are pretty cool, but in the first level are pretty minimalist-a lot of wire-frame. I'm hoping it gets a little more lush. They could do so much with that art style.

And I' gonna try that controller on my feet! After a shower, of course.

[ProgrammingAce]

Play through past the 5th level and come back...

[evil_genius]

I never got to play it in surround sound before tonight.

[diskoboy]

Jesus christ, you wanna talk about hard? Try playing it with the 'glare' option on.

It's like someone shining one of those giant spotlights in your eye.

[Half Japanese]

I got it last night. It's the first time I'd played it I got through the first level. I'm gonna put on my flame-proof suit here and say that after all the hype I read on DP over the years I expected some really funky type of gameplay. What I got was a Panzer Dragoon clone set in Tron-land. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Graphics are pretty cool, but in the first level are pretty minimalist-a lot of wire-frame. I'm hoping it gets a little more lush. They could do so much with that art style.

And I' gonna try that controller on my feet! After a shower, of course.

I'm in the exact same boat, with this being my first Rez experience. My first response was Panzer Dragoon at a rave, but Tron-land seems more appropriate. It's still a fun game, and I'll get my $10 out of it for sure.

[Princess-Isabela]

I've bought 2 versions for Dreamcast years ago, one Limited Edition for PS2 with Trance Vibrator and now one on 360.
on my first run I got 100% in all 4 levels, 5th level finished with 99%.
been playing this masterpiece for years and this is easily one of my favorite games of all times.
for $10 you're getting fantastic package here.
the only drawback is that Trance Vibrator(which is a usb device), doesn't work on 360, instead they went for using additional 360 controllers as a TV, which is a good alternative.
go and buy it.
NOW.

[kaedesdisciple]

I got it last night. It's the first time I'd played it I got through the first level. I'm gonna put on my flame-proof suit here and say that after all the hype I read on DP over the years I expected some really funky type of gameplay. What I got was a Panzer Dragoon clone set in Tron-land. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Graphics are pretty cool, but in the first level are pretty minimalist-a lot of wire-frame. I'm hoping it gets a little more lush. They could do so much with that art style.

And I' gonna try that controller on my feet! After a shower, of course.

Don't write it off and don't give up on it. Allow yourself to really get sucked into this game and you'll understand exactly what everyone is talking about. If you're only focusing on the lack of incredibly detailed graphics and the fact that the gameplay is like a rail-shooter, then you're missing at least half of the Rez experience.

IMO, the visual style is damn near perfect for this game. The abstract backgrounds, while pretty, still allow you to focus on the task at hand, shooting down the enemies and collecting all of the power-ups while keeping the pattern of the music. Filling in that missing part of the music by either keeping the "proper" pattern or making one up on your own is yet another dimension to this game. There are quite a few different ways to play this game, and they are all fun.

[Graham Mitchell]

Oh, don't worry guys, I'm not giving up on it. I'm just going out of town tonight so I don't have much time to play with it. I'll hit it hard next week.

So, how do you get the vibrating controller thing to work? I turned on the second controller and put it at my feet but it didn't do anything. I tried hunting through the options menu and couldn't come up with anything. Sounds like an interesting feature, and I'm bummed that it's not working. Advice, anyone?

[kaedesdisciple]

While crawling through the options menu, go to the control section, you'll find the options for the trance vibrator there.

[KeyserSoze61]

This is one of those times where the appeal of something popular just escapes me; I just don't see any substance to the game. There is not really a challenge, a plot, nor a reason for me to invest my time into it.

I enjoy on-rail shooters (Star Fox, Panzer Dragoon), but they provide an arcade like, reflex driven challenge. Rez just kind of meanders about and throws a rythym back at you. I really want to like it (just as I tried with the DC version several years back), but I just can't find anything redeeming about it.

[Cantaloup]

This is one of those times where the appeal of something popular just escapes me; I just don't see any substance to the game. There is not really a challenge, a plot, nor a reason for me to invest my time into it.

I enjoy on-rail shooters (Star Fox, Panzer Dragoon), but they provide an arcade like, reflex driven challenge. Rez just kind of meanders about and throws a rythym back at you. I really want to like it (just as I tried with the DC version several years back), but I just can't find anything redeeming about it.

I played the trial version several times -- my first exposure to Rez -- and I have to say this sums up my reaction as well. I just don't get it.

[lendelin]

When I played Rez a couple of years ago on the PS2 I had no high expectations. I heard that it is a unique rail shooter, worthwhile playing, but that was about it.

Rez is one of those games which grows on you the more you play it, and it is getting better with game progress and with better skills of the player. From the first evening's 'not bad at all'-impression to the the level 5 "great game"-enthusiasm the game is immersing through the combination of a simple, straightforward, and rewarding challenge and unique graphics which are at the end just plain beautiful. The gameplay mechanics aren't new and innovative, the combination of gameplay, sound and graphics certainly is.

It might be that disappointments expressed in posts are the result of high unrealistic expectations; the game is exceptional, but over the years it was put on a high pedestal with the common cult-euphoria and nostalgia where it certainly doesn't belong. The game might be a victim of its own reputation.

I'm sure the game will stand the test of time and will become a classic.

[geneshifter]

Like others, this is the first time for me to play Rez. I also just do not get why this game is soooo popular. It's more or less like Space Giraffe to me: just plain weird and simple button mashing.

[ProgrammingAce]

Like others, this is the first time for me to play Rez. I also just do not get why this game is soooo popular. It's more or less like Space Giraffe to me: just plain weird and simple button mashing.

If you're mashing buttons, you're doing it wrong and your thumb is going to fall off by the time you get to the 5th level.

Instead, hold down the A button, highlight all the enemies on the screen at once, then let go.

[kaedesdisciple]

If you're mashing buttons, you're doing it wrong and your thumb is going to fall off by the time you get to the 5th level.

Instead, hold down the A button, highlight all the enemies on the screen at once, then let go.

Exactly. You know you're doing it right when you're progressing well and it all feels like one fluid motion.

[Vectorman0]

So is the general verdict that this is superior to the PS2 version? Are there any advantages to the PS2 version that make it worth owning in addition to this?

[agbulls]

i just played the demo, and have owned the PS2 version since launch. I can't seem to find one thing that would keep me playing the PS2 copy -- I guess it was a mistake to hold onto it this long.

[blissfulnoise]

So is the general verdict that this is superior to the PS2 version? Are there any advantages to the PS2 version that make it worth owning in addition to this?

No.

Filler text.

[ProgrammingAce]

The first printing of the Japanese version has the coolest manual i've ever seen in a video game. It's all rice paper and butterflies and stuff.

Doesn't do much for the people who have the american version though...

[geneshifter]

Exactly. You know you're doing it right when you're progressing well and it all feels like one fluid motion.

Ahh, OK. I'll try that later today and see how that changes the gameplay.

[PDorr3]

I really really loved the PS2 version, one of my favorite games ever. I never got to experience it with vibration since my ps2 had something broken inside and di not allow vibration, so playing the 360 version was even BETTER for me personaly thanks to rumble. Also one thing I reccomend to any serious Rez HD fans is this:
http://www.turtlebeach.com/products/efx3/home.aspx
retails for $100 and these things are godly for Rez, allowing awsome surround sound with bass and all in this awsome headset.

If you are one of those people that when you hear a sound you can see a color (I only do this if I think about doing such a thing, but it comes easily) then you will understand and love Rez, as it is more of an experience of synaesthesia (sound, visual, and touch) wrapped up in a rail shooter. If you go into rez thinking of it as a rail shooter in the tron universe you will be dissapointed.

[SkiDragon]

I don't think Rez is meant to be a hard game, or one played for points. I hit the button in time with the music, simply beacuse it SOUNDS better.

[kaedesdisciple]

I don't think Rez is meant to be a hard game, or one played for points. I hit the button in time with the music, simply beacuse it SOUNDS better.

I know! For instance, I love extending my fight with the area 1 boss because of the sounds it makes when I max out the shot on the beat over and over.

[Chuplayer]

I just got my 360 back from M$, and I downloaded this last night. I can't believe I didn't import this for the DC. It's so cool! It's like Tron on steroids. It's like a next-gen Atari vector graphics arcade game. The game is so awesome, and I love it. I just don't get why SEGA's name isn't featured more prominently. It's quality SEGA goodness, after all.

Also, I tried out the trance vibration out with a second controller. Maybe it's because I have a cock, but it didn't do much for me.