Rez HD

The latest game to enter the 360 live arcade is an old 'on-rails' shooter going by the name of Rez HD. If you haven't heard of Rez, that's not a problem, as the countless copies being sold on eBay for the Dreamcast or PS2 at any time are always marked '@@@@@LOOOK RARE@@@@@' or something like that. Well it's not rare anymore - it's available as a download onto the 360.

So, another on rails shooter?

What makes Rez so different is in it's delivery. The graphics are nothing to get excited about, although they fit the game perfectly. What Rez does so brilliantly is merge sound, graphics and feeling all in one package. The music plays along with the game. You fire a shot, it is played into the music. The music pumps its bass - your controller pulses with the music. Before you know it you are staring trance-like at the screen, watching, hearing and feeling the game.


The original game had a 'vibration pack' that you could buy seperately, in Japan only I think. There are websites showing these vibro-packs being put to some rather naughty uses which I will not go into here! The pack would be attached to the player or the player's chair to give even more immersion into the game. The 360 doesn't need such an attachment - just plug in some more controllers and the game will quite happily vibrate them in time. Be careful not to over-do it, as fillings can come out!

There are many hidden modes and levels for when you have completed the first four, and an online scoreboard will keep you competitive if that's your beef. Sadly, only 200GS is on offer for all you gamescore whores out there, but I bet some of them are still tricky to get.

This game is definitely going to keep me playing.

Introduction

I guess starting a blog is easy for some people. This first paragraph has gone through a lot of changes, and all I am trying to do is introduce myself. I suppose I should start by telling you something about me and what this blog is about? Well, my name is Harry, online I go by the name of Hakk - a name that goes back a long way in video games. I didn't like to put "HAR" when I got my name on a game when high score tables limited you to 3 letters. I don't know why I didn't like it, but it just didn't look right. So I went with "HAK", again I must have had a reason, but hey I was like 8 years old or something. Later I expanded the name when more letters became available and it stuck.

This blog is Yet Another Videogame Blog. I am often victim to waking up in the sitting room, possibly with a keyboard pressed into my forehead. I often get wrong off my girlfriend for not coming to bed when I said I would. I always tell myself, "Just One More Go then I'll switch it off." But do I?

So I thought as I spend (some would say waste) a lot of time on these games, I thought I would share my thoughts about them - especially ones that cause me to lose precious sleep.