Rez HD Review

Wow. This game is epic. It's a rail-shooter that plays like a music game. It never really explained the plot, but I'm okay with that. It makes up for it in glamour.

You're basically in a computer that wants to kill you. You must use your human-like avatar to shoot and destroy all forces pitted against you. You can try and make combos by locking on or shoot directly by rapidly hitting the button (and destroying your thumb in the process). Your avatar flies around, delving deeper and deeper into this computer world to ultimately get to a boss. Probably the most interesting thing about this game is the world itself. The only solid objects are you (at full health) and the enemies. The rest is an imaginative freeform, sometimes in shapes of pyramids or sphinxes, maybe the Taj Mahal, but usually swirling and bobbing expanses. The music in the game is basically made by you. When you attack, you make a sort of clapping noise. When you hit, a buzz. Everything you do will orchestrate the game, making the game that much more amusing. Yes, of course the developers designed the levels to inspire you to shoot at these intervals and such, but there is room for creativity, and the idea that your gaming abilities are making music is quite amusing indeed. The bosses, although I have only played three so far, are very well made. The first is a sphere that throws a cluster of attacks at you while keeping hundreds of shields around itself. You must pick each one off. The second is a sort of monster that tries to shoot things through pincers at you. You must destroy each pincer, then go inside of it to kill the source. The third boss is a giant tower filled with turrets that shoots homing missiles. As you can see, this game holds back nothing and is a pleasure to just watch.

Graphics: 10 (They don't need to be real looking as long as they are stunning)

Story: 4 (Not much to go on, but the idea of destroying a computer from the inside out is cool)

Sound: 10 (When there's a game practically based on sound and does a great job at it, how can I rate it anything else?)

Gameplay: 9 (Most fun I've had in a shooter, but it loses a point for a slow cross-hair and it's irritating to restart a level from the beginning.) 

Replay Value: 8 (Keeps most of the fun in the second play, but loses a bit of the wonder of what's going to happen next.)

Overall: 8.2 (For $10, how can you miss out on this game?)