Just beat Rez with high quality stereo speakers! Yayayayay!

[Lanfear]

Because I got bored. Each segment was like.. the exact same thing. Kill x number of guys and then shoot y ten times to move up 1 segment. Oh boy 9 more segments.

[Mozgus]

Because I got bored. Each segment was like.. the exact same thing. Kill x number of guys and then shoot y ten times to move up 1 segment. Oh boy 9 more segments.

It's a rail shooter, dude. What did you expect?

[Lanfear]

.. I don't know that Ive ever played a rail shooter.

I just expected glorious gameplay because everyone seems to love it.

[Mozgus]

.. I don't know that Ive ever played a rail shooter.

I just expected glorious gameplay because everyone seems to love it.

Like some other genres, rail shooters are less about gameplay and more about immersion. I know I've been mentioning it a lot lately, but Panzer Dragoon Zwei does not have deep gameplay. What it does have is a solid hour of a roller coaster ride through an absolutely fucking epic conflict with scripted chaos going on all around you. Rez is less about the cinematic moments, and more about the trippy visuals and powerful audio. How many other games have a warning message right at the start that basically says, "if your speakers don't rock, you can't enjoy this game"?

[Original_Name]

Because I got bored. Each segment was like.. the exact same thing. Kill x number of guys and then shoot y ten times to move up 1 segment. Oh boy 9 more segments.

Dude, how long did you play it for? Did you even go past the seventh segment? Where the basic wireframes begin to construct a complex city which vibrates to the beat of the music with pulsating bursts of color illuminating the landscape in the background, as buried pharoes breathe in time beneath the wireframe hills which dynamically change shape?

Immersion is key to me, but I guess I'm the minority who cares about more than just gameplay.

[Original_Name]

.. I don't know that Ive ever played a rail shooter.

I just expected glorious gameplay because everyone seems to love it.

Like some other genres, rail shooters are less about gameplay and more about immersion. I know I've been mentioning it a lot lately, but Panzer Dragoon Zwei does not have deep gameplay. What it does have is a solid hour of a roller coaster ride through an absolutely fucking epic conflict with scripted chaos going on all around you. Rez is less about the cinematic moments, and more about the trippy visuals and powerful audio. How many other games have a warning message right at the start that basically says, "if your speakers don't rock, you can't enjoy this game"?

Hey, Mozgus, did you ever actually beat it? What did you think about the ending? The Hardcore Gaming 101 article is a big help to deciphering its Kandinsky-inspired meaning. It actually an incredibly well thought-out, philosophical message once you understand it.

[Original_Name]

I need to put more time into Rez.
And I guess I should do it when the wife is away and I can blast the speakers

I definitely recommend you do! You could use headphones too, if you want. It sounds just as good, just make sure that it's loud. Up until the final level it's just really cool, but the final level turns it into a philosophical extravaganza (it may confuse you, as is perfectly understandable, but the Hardcore Gaming 101 article on it clears it up nicely).

It just really meant alot to me because it filled a void on the console that I desperately wanted to be filled - philosophy. I'm very much interested in philosophy, and that has been an aspect enjoyed almost exclusively by RPG's. Now, the Dreamcast has some fantastic RPG's like Skies of Arcadia and Grandia II, but those games are rather stant in the field of philosophy. Shenmue and its sequel are almost there, in that they are a spiritual variation of Hamlet - a righteous protagonist who becomes so wholly involved in his quest for revenge of an unjust act that he loses himself (actually, Shenmue takes that concept even further by making the protagonist begin to essentially become the very antagonist he hates), but that's philosophy on a rather small level. Rez, however, covers Kandinsky's philosophy that states that music is art in its purest form, as atoms are composed of electric waves; electric waves are essentially vibrations. Thus, music is very pleasing to us, as sound is transmitted via soundwaves; logically, vibrations stimulate our vibrating atoms. In the manual, it states that an AI named Eden (the white figure seen at the game's title screen, seeming quite discontent) has become so over-encumbered with knowledge that she begins to question her very existance (as many philosophers begin to do as they become more intelligent), it is your job to reboot her and bring her back to a more pure, working order. How do you do this? You are a computer hacker, whose avatar can be interpreted as many things: a virus, an intoxicant (entering Eden's brain to cause euphoria), synthesaesia (synthesis of visual and aural art, as Kandinsky strived to create), or just plain music. I won't go any further, because I don't want to give away the game's awesome ending statement (although it seems to vary depending on how well you play. The ending statement I got was absolutely incredible. PM me if you'd like to know about the ending I got), but to put it simply, it does way more in about five hours than most RPG's can do in 80.

Anyway, it gave me just what I needed to cement the Dreamcast as my all-time favorite console. Still, I enjoy looking to the self- and religion-questioning nature of Final Fantasy VII and Xenogears, but now the Dreamcast has its own special touch of philosophy for me to enjoy.

On its surface it's just a really, REALLY cool game, but if you delve deeper into it you find a game with very deep meaning.

Sorry if I nerded too hard on you guys; I aspire to be an English professor, so I tend to go on.

[weasels]

REZ was a great game still have it actually for the DC. the only thing i wished was ,like everyone, that it had more levels..........or had a sequel. lucky enough for all of us the game still is awesome to look at and every time i play it there's always something new that i missed.

[gradualmeltdown]

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Level 5 of Rez is the single most amazing piece of interactive entertainment I have ever experienced. Perfect exectution, music, graphics, style, theme, feel, endings, boss, meaning. Just all of it. I love REZ!!!! Now its time for the pink butterfly ending

The music from level 5 is based around an Adam Freeland song (really good electronic music superstar). He released the track 4 years later on an album! Just another reason Rez was completely cutting edge when released.

[Mozgus]

Hey, Mozgus, did you ever actually beat it? What did you think about the ending? The Hardcore Gaming 101 article is a big help to deciphering its Kandinsky-inspired meaning. It actually an incredibly well thought-out, philosophical message once you understand it.

Of course I beat it plenty times. I just don't care to study the cryptic story.