Rez

I finally got to play the little game by United Game Artists (Sega) known as Rez and I love it!

Wireframe graphics, a bouncing soundtrack, great sound effects, 3d shooter style play... Hard to explain clearly, but it's a great experience if you like the sort. And I really do!

Is it a shooter? A rhythm game? An acid trip? Yes, sorta, and pretty much!

I've heard the best way to play the game is with a rumble unit (DC Rumble Pak, PS2 Dual Shock, and the notorious Transvibrator Pack that's available for PS2). The game is on both DC and PS2 and I recommend you check it out!

-Chanchai

 

Got this game and thought I'd bump this thread up. At first I didn't quite "get" the game, just seemed like a glorified Space Harrier to me. But after a few more games, I was addicted. Sure it's a shooter, but the thumping techno and trippy graphics really make it a unique experience, so I don't think it's fair to place it with other Bemani games. Still haven't beaten it yet, but definitely enjoying trying to (which is more than I can say for a lot of games lately). Even if you weren't too hot on Space Channel 5 (like me), I still recommend you check it out if you can.

 

Been reading about Rez... think I'll rent it from the neighborhood Blockbuster this weekend.

 

For those who have or have played both Rez and Frequency...which is the better buy?

 

Id go with Rez , Frequency is a straight out Bemani clone .
Rez is more then that .

 

Oh plz
Rez.

Simply no comparison.

 

How Frequency Works...

Rez and Frequency are completely different, though comparisons always seem to pop up.

Rez is a 3d shooter, that is generally very simplistic, but the game's pretty much all about style in the visual and audio sense. I should also add that it is highly recommended to play Rez on a good sound system, vibration support encouraged too. Playing it on a mono TV really kills some of the experience. I also highly recommend playing the game in the dark too! I sort of spoiled friends by having them witness the game on a 61" Television with a powerful sound system in a very dark basement (so we were allowed to pump the volume way up)--Nearly everyone got addicted to simply watching the game in this setting (whereas a totally different effect occured on a brightly lit room with mono speakers and glare on the TV).

As for Frequency, Frequency is much like Beatmania, using 3 sound buttons (for lack of better descriptions). The twist, pun intended, is that to a good degree you work on different areas of a section of music until you complete the whole thing.

To give a better description of how Frequency works (while leaving out some aspect) it's like you pick a popular tune, such as a remix of No Doubt's "Ex-Girlfriend." Now, when you start the actual game, the music has started in a way to introduce to you how much of the music is supposed to sound, from there on, it's just a simple piece and you have to fill in the other parts. So with each group of bars or measures, you have to choose which piece of the music you want to work on (out of choices like drums, guitar, bass, vocal, f/x, etc...). You complete that section in a way that is very much like Beat Mania, and then you move on to the next piece. Complete the whole section and you go to the next section. Mess up on the section too much and you'll probably progress to the next section with very few points. You also earn score multipliers as you complete sections which can be used later on to multiply your score for a certain "track" (piece of music in a section).

That's generally how Frequency works. In a lot of ways, it is much easier than Beatmania, but I have some complaints with how the interface was designed, namely the color choices and spacing of the parts that are to be pressed, it took me awhile to get used to and once in awhile I would wait for a bead (indicating when to press the particular button) to get all the way into the bottom of the screen instead of at the green hole which blends with the background too much. Other than that, it's a fun game.

I personally prefer Rez over Frequency, but the two games are very different. One one end, you have Starfox/Panzer Dragoon/Space Harrier within environments of club/rave music and vector-like wireframe backgrounds sparkled with Geiss Effects and themed textures. On the other end, you have a new "spin" (pun intended) on a somewhat simpler Beatmania (but with more freedom) that is loaded with music that is recognizable to the general populace. Two very different games, both rather stylish and pretty fun.

-Chanchai

 

Re: How Frequency Works...

Ooh, maybe I'll stop by at Blockbuster today to rent Rez. I'm getting a little tired of beating up hookers for their money in Grand Theft Auto 3. =P