Rez: HD

Platform: Xbox 360 Live Arcade
Verdict: Welcome home Eden
Rating: 5/5
Ever wondered what it would be like to fly and fight through a super computer's network to the hypnotic pulse of syncopated techno while gorging on beat-matched visuals too pure for human eyes? No? Well, welcome to Rez: HD, where hacking can achieve heights of Zen and an AI doubts reality.
For those with a Tron fetish, Rez is a synesthetic wet-dream, inspired by Wassily Kandinsky and cooked up from the crystallised post-club sweat of Tetsuya Mizuguchi, famed creator of other music embracing games like Space Channel 5, Lumines and Every Extend Extra.
Originally experienced on the under appreciated Dreamcast, Rez was one of those games of legend that lit up the DC's line-up alongside more traditional titles. Also ported to the PS2, Rez has finally found a home worthy of its audio/visual prowess on the Hi-Def and surround sound capable, Xbox 360 via the Live Arcade.
Applying crisp, retro-style vector graphics to the traditional on-rails shooter template, Rez sees you hurtling through abstracted virtual landscapes, attempting to breach firewalls and eradicate viruses to get to Eden, an AI that needs rebooting before its soul searching has catastrophic consequences.
Synced to pulsating music (written by masters such as Ken Ishi, Cold Cut and Oval) every shot fired in Rez triggers a timely snare or bleep and each progression in the level kicks out a harder, faster beat.
With a lock on system that removes the traditional need for button bashing, Rez's sublime fusion of audio/visuals and gameplay allows for zoned out, meditative gaming, despite the fact that a giant humanoid made of squares may be chasing you. The inclusion of a chill-out mode that removes the need for shooting is further proof of its wide eyed intention.
For many, Rez's gameplay may be a little too old-school – point and shoot ideals from yesteryear, but they'd be missing the point if they disapproved. Rez is an experiment in fusing stimuli into one indistinct whole and in that it succeeds in spades, even if the trance isn't to your taste.
Finally seeing it in Hi-definition is a dream come true, and for a paltry 800ms points (£6.80!), it can turn your home into a kaleidoscopic collision of colours and sound. Trance vibrator support may even peak your girlfriend's interest too.