360 gaming blog.

Format: Xbox 360, PS3
Developer: Q Entertainment
Release date: Q1 2011

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For those lucky enough to have played the Dreamcast you will probably remember a game called Rez. The brainchild of Tetsuya Mizuguchi; Rez was seen as one of the best games on the Sega console along with other Mizuguchi creations such as Space Channel 5 and Sega Rally. Rez was an on the rails shooter set in a fantasy world where you shoot blocks of different shapes and sizes with Japanese pop style music pulsating in the background. It’s a very unique experience if you haven’t already tried it.

Ten years on and with new brand new technology available Child of Eden is being released. Billed as being a spiritual successor to Rez it looks an exciting prospect. It was shown several times last year at major gaming shows and got lots of people excited mainly because it includes Kinect support. I originally thought that it was a Kinect only game, but it can be played using a regular controller too which is good news.

The game takes place inside a computer system called Eden; which is a simulation of someone’s perception of Earth. It has been overrun by some sort of virus which you must vanquish throughout the game. A circle appears onscreen showing you where you are aiming. Using Kinect this circle is controlled by the player moving their hand, with a sharp arm movement pushing the circle towards oncoming enemies. A classic controller may provide more accuracy but for those with Kinect it looks like a perfect game to play using the new technology.

It’s a very basic game in principle but has a very unique art style with 5 different zones called ‘archives’ to traverse and a trippy J-pop soundtrack to match. Each zone is vastly different some with wide open spaces while some follow narrow corridors. What you can be sure of is that each archive will use a bright selection of colours and sound effects creating very unique audio and visual experiences.

It doesn’t have a definite release date yet but hopefully it should arrive some time between March and April. If you can’t wait that long or if you want to know what all the fuss is about you may want to download Rez HD which is available on the Xbox Live Marketplace.

Ryan.
Gamertag: Arctic Hydra 87