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So, the spiritual sequel to Rez is here. Like it's predecessor it's a rhythm action game, where the goal is to shoot down incoming targets. Gameplay-wise, it functions almost exactly the same - you have your lock-on laser and screen-clearing bombs, with the addition of a rapid firing tracer which you need to shoot down incoming bullets. The game can be played with either a controller or with Kinect/Move - I have neither, and so I can't comment on that functionality. From what I've seen though, it certainly seems like it'd be pretty immersive - one hand controls the lock-on laser, and the other controls the tracer. But it's the music and visuals that really make these games, and in Child of Eden they're really something else.

I've got Rez HD on XBLA, and that looks pretty good (especially with bloom turned on), but it's still pretty obvious it was developed for the Dreamcast. CoE looks just like you'd hope a modern-generation Rez would. The sound too I think is a vast improvement. Whereas Rez felt kind of dark, CoE seems charged with energy - in fact the name of the screen-clearing powerup is "euphoria", and that's a pretty fitting word for the mood.




The game is once again kind of an experiment with synaesthesia (a condition where sensory perception is crossed or merged, so that you might hear colours etc), and CoE does this much better as well. In Rez you would get different sounds when locking onto different numbers of enemies, and of course vibration feedback via controller ("not a usb sex toy, honest"), but CoE incorporates feedback much more substantially. Firing in time to the beat causes things like the level background reacting, layers of music being added, and score multipliers - so by playing the game you are actively shaping your visual and audio experience. It certainly feels pretty immersive at any rate. I have also heard that levels may change based on your past performance in them, though I have not played the game long enough to comment on this.

Plotwise (obviously not an essential element, but it always helps to have some kind of setting), your goal is to save Project Lumi, an attempt to recreate the personality of the first person born in space, from virus attack. Lumi would sing songs of hope and happiness to the people of Earth, and as you play through the game's five main stages, you're constantly hearing her songs and catching glimpses of her. It really helps give a sense that you have a meaningful goal, whereas in Rez your mission to save Eden was something that could easily have escaped your notice.




That brings me onto game length. There are five main stages. If all you wanted to do was beat the game, it would be pretty easy and wouldn't take that long. However if that was the case you probably should have got a different game. I think that this is a game that if you replay it at all, it will be because you just wanted to experience it again. There are rewards and things to unlock, and these are dependant upon your performance, but they feel like more of a bonus than an incentive. They also seem to be unlocked pretty quickly - I've had the game about a day, and I think I got an achievement for unlocking 50% of the extras so far. But as I said, you probably won't want to play stages multiple times just for the extras - you'll just want to play them for their own sake. I should mention the art gallery as a possible exception to this though - some of the stuff you can unlock in there looks stunning. There was an intriguing line in the manual as well, that mentioned that something interesting might happen when playing music from my hard drive after unlocking 100% of the extras. I'll let you know when I find out what it is, but it certainly sounds promising.

The "shortness" could work in your favour though. I think that this is a game that a lot of people won't "get", or they might try it out and find it's not for them - and I can see it selling for great prices. Like Mirror's Edge (which I thought was great), in a few months you might be able to pick it up cheap. As it is, I paid £25 for a pre-owned copy, and taking the game's length into account I think that's a pretty good price. At any rate I would definitely recommend that you rent the game and try it out. You'll probably enjoy it regardless, but if you need new stuff to hold your interest then there's no loss.

To sum up, I think this is a fantastic game and an amazing experience to play through. I would recommend it to everyone, but realistically the length will be too short for some people. Try it at the very least.

...Man, watching that gameplay video make me want to play this with the computer's superior monitor/speakers. Better go bring the xbox downstairs!