Rez HD
Now that’s a flashback. Rez was originally released by Sega for the Dreamcast and PS2 in 2001, and has just arrived on the Xbox 360 Arcade in an HD version. Rez is a rail shooter, but a musical one, a dated-yet-awesome musical one. It’s like Tron at a rave, with trance beats, iTunes-visualizer-esque visuals and a flying through cybertunnels, cyberhacking the network backstory. Rez’ creator is Tetsuya Mizuguchi, and you can read an interview with him at Game|Life here.
Notably, Rez was the game for which the Trance Vibrator peripheral was released.
I’ve almost played through the first three levels, and I would qualify this game as bitchin’ awesome hot shit. It’s original, easy to control, fun, and synesthesiatastic. At 800 Microsoft pesos, or around $10, I’d say it’s worth the cash, if only as a utility for inducing bliss – or possibly vomit – after a hard night out.
This game is SO awesome. It reminds me of Starfox. The shapes and stuff. The awesomeness. I love this game.