Rez has more than earned its classic game status and the updated Rez Infinite manages to be a fantastic experience whether you played the original game or not. There are so many elements that just blend together and create a fantastic, fluid experience that is only enhanced through the use of Virtual Reality.
The Rez experience is one that at first might seem very limited. After all, it is an on-rails shooter where you move at a predetermined speed. However, you control the actual aiming and shooting, with a targeting reticle being the most important aspect of the interface. Like many action games focused on shooting, enemies will come at you from all angles, making it a challenge to properly time together chains of hits that instead of creating generic blasting sounds that blend together to create music. There is a strong rhythm aspect to this that encourages you to shoot down enemies to a particular beat, but you can go your own way and create your own melodies. If this sounds bazaar - well, it is. However, as a core gameplay hook however, it is incredibly well executed and a lot of fun.
More than just typical shooting however, you have opportunities to pick up power-up items that will allow you to charge up a crazy powerful Overdrive attack or even allow you to take on a different form. These Overdrives are particularly helpful when dealing with bosses, as they are also the most challenging parts of the game. Not only do they look impressive, but a handful of them are so incredibly unique that they have becomes some of the most memorable battles in the genre for me.
This core combination of gameplay elements come together wonderfully to make Rez such a unique experience, but it could be said that with only five areas and bosses, that the content is a bit shallow. There is some truth to this as Rez was never a particularly long game, but if you value quality over quantity, the stages have always been worth playing time and again. However, Rez Infinite provides an Area X mode, which gives you the ability to zoom in or away from your enemies, fly around large obstacles and giving you a level of control that the original game did not possess. Again, this is a somewhat short segment - it can be beaten in about fifteen to twenty minutes, but there is some pretty solid replay value here as the musical beats play out differently in Area X each time.
While Rez Infinite can be enjoyed on a standard monitor, virtual reality creates an entirely different level of immersion. Not only does VR make the core game better, but the Area X experience is absolutely fantastic. It took only a slight adjustment on my part to get used to the option, and once I was, I lost myself in the crazy, science fiction-y environments that brimmed with music and futuristic visuals. I mean it - the core game is fun, but Area X is an incredible experience all on its own here and I played it several times, losing myself in the moment each time.
If there is a complaint to be had here, it is the one I have touched on a couple of times before - Rez Infinite is not a long game. If you're looking for a dozen hours of varied gameplay or don't really care for titles that have a rhythm style to it, Rez Infinite will probably not suit you. In under two hours I was able to complete everything that Rez had to offer, but what it offers kept me coming back for more. There is a decidedly hypnotic quality to the way that sound and sight come together here, especially when you put on the VR goggles and just allow the experience to suck you in.
Rez Infinite marries intuitive controls with futuristic visuals and fantastic sound design to create one of the more memorable experiences in gaming history, updating it with some new content and allowing virtual reality to make the experience even more immersive. It is fast, a little frantic and a lot of fun. This is a perfect title for VR fans looking for something to show off to their friends.
Game Information
PC - Oculus Rift
Developer(s):
Monstars Inc.
Resonair
Publisher(s):
Enhance Games
Genre(s):
Action
Mode(s):
Single Player
Other Platform(s):
PlayStation 4
Source:
Provided by Publisher
Article by Nick
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