“You thought Rez was something? Baby, you have no idea what you’re in for.”
It’s funny how I find myself making such a casual statement, especially against a game such as Rez. When Tetsuya Mizuguchi and his team at Sega launched the interactive musical shooter for Dreamcast and PlayStation 2 years ago, it set a standard for design that few games could match during that time frame. The game has simply gotten better with age, and a release on Xbox Live Arcade, with high-definition revisions and online leaderboards, improved it even moreso. But then we popped in Child of Eden, the latest from Mizuguchi and his team at Q? Entertainment. We’ve seen the game in action for months, figuring we would be prepared for everything that it could throw our way. But, just as he did with Rez years ago, Mizuguchi-san takes us on a stirring journey into a virtual universe so vibrant, you may feel compelled to stay a little longer than you were expecting. A quick ten minute shooter, this ain’t.
In the game, you’ve got this beautiful virtual girl named Lumi. She sits in the center of a world called Eden, basically resting amidst the flowers and calling it her paradise. However, a virus soon threatens Eden, threatening to consume her and everything she holds dear. As a virtual agent of sorts, you need to fly through Eden, eliminating the threats and restoring it to what it once was. It’s a flimsy storyline, but told with a sharp-looking display, complete with a beautiful female model and stirring effects. You’ll get into it in no time. But the presentation goes far beyond a simple video. Mizuguchi and his team at Q? have stuffed every nook and cranny in this virtual world with mesmerizing sights. Blocks fly at you in creative formations; huge glowing jellyfish-like creatures and virtual beings float around seamlessly; streams of light constantly shoot across the screen like fireworks; and it all unfolds at a steady frame rate, with nary a bit of slowdown in sight. This game tops Rez’s virtual world a hundred fold, with the kind of sights you’d usually expect from a virtual jukebox, but with far greater interactivity.
It breaks the mold on not only what to expect from music/rhythm games, but also on-rails shooters too. It’s gonna be tough going back to the primitive likes of Area 51 or Target: Terror after you journey through this world. It’s really that pretty. Nothing will also prepare you for the music that Mizuguchi has put together for the game. If you’re a fan of Lumines, then you know exactly what we’re talking about when it comes to tune selection, and how it affects the way you play. Mizuguchi-san worked alongside his band, Genki Rockets, to form a deeply involving – and awesome – soundtrack that you’ll never tire of. They’re a little more new wave than we were expecting, but perfectly aligned with the virtual world that surrounds you here. Each tune brings something new to the picture, and keeps you that much more involved as you play. It’s almost enough to make us want to hunt down the soundtrack and pop it on our iPod – but we fear that we’ll start seeing virtual jellyfish floating around the freeway. And us without our gun, as well.
This feature review concludes on the next page, please click Page 2 below to see more of our final thoughts on Child of Eden.
