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Rez
European boxart, DC version
Developer	DC/PS2 United Game Artists XBLA Q entertainment
Publisher	Dreamcast JP Sega EU BigBen Interactive PlayStation 2 EU Sony Computer Entertainment INT Sega
Designer	Tetsuya Mizuguchi
Released	Dreamcast JP November 21, 2001 EU January 11, 2002 PlayStation 2 JP November 21, 2001 NA January 7, 2002 EU February 22, 2002 Xbox Live Arcade December 2007[1]
Genre	Rail Shooter, Music
Mode(s)	Single player
Ratings	ESRB: E (Everyone)
Platform(s)	Dreamcast, PlayStation 2, Xbox Live Arcade
Media	GD-ROM, CD-ROM, Download
Input methods	Dreamcast Dreamcast Controller, Dreamcast Mouse Playstation 2 PS2 Controller, Trance Vibrator Xbox 360 Xbox 360 Controller

Rez, developed under the codename K-Project, is a rail shooter video game released by Sega in Japan in 2001 for the Dreamcast and PlayStation 2, with an European Dreamcast release and United States PlayStation 2 release in 2002. The game was developed by Sega's United Game Artists division, which contained several former members of the disbanded Team Andromeda, the Sega development team behind the Panzer Dragoon series. It was conceptualized and produced by Tetsuya Mizuguchi, when he was still a member of United Game Artists and now being well-known for recent games such as Lumines, Lumines Live! and Meteos. Mizuguchi's company, Q Entertainment, announced at a pre-show for the 2007 Tokyo Game Show that it would be bringing a high definition version of Rez to the Xbox Live Arcade sometime in 2008.^[2][3]

The game is notable for replacing the typical sound effects found in most rail shooter games with trance music, with sounds and melodies created by the player as they target and destroy foes in the game, leading to a form of synesthesia, enhanced by an optional Trance Vibrator peripheral. Although Rez was critically acclaimed, it did not get much commercial attention in the United States, partly due to its esoteric gameplay experience.

Contents 1 Story 2 Gameplay 3 Trance Vibrator 4 Music 5 Reception 6 Rez HD 7 References 8 External links

The game is set in futuristic computer "supernetwork" called the K-project where much of the data flow is controlled by an AI named Eden. Eden has become overwhelmed with the amount of knowledge gathered on the network, causing her to doubt her existence and enter a shutdown sequence, which would create catastrophic problems everywhere should she be able to complete this. The player plays the protagonist hacker, logging into the K-project system to reboot Eden while destroying any viruses or firewalls that happen to inhibit progress, and analyzing other sub-areas of the network to gain access to Eden's location. The K-Project name and much of the game's visual and synesthesia inspiration comes from the Russian painter Wassily Kandinsky, whereas the Rez name was inspired by the Underworld track of the same name.^[4]

Rez is a rail shooter in which the player takes control of an onscreen avatar travelling along a predetermined path through the computer network. The player cannot affect his or her movement in any way (aside from choosing a few minor branching paths by shooting specific targets in one level). The player targets foes by holding a "lock-on" button while moving an aiming reticule over up to 8 enemies. Once the "lock-on" button is released, the avatar fires shots that home in on each target. Failure to hit an enemy or projectile in time may cause a collision, which reduces the player's current evolution level by one and changes the avatar's form. The game is over if the avatar is hit while at its lowest possible level. At higher evolution levels, the avatar appears as a humanoid figure, while it appears as a simple sphere at the lowest level.

Some enemies randomly drop power-up items when destroyed. Two different items enhance the player's avatar by increasing his/her "evolution bar" by one and three points respectively. Another item enables the player to trigger an "Overdrive", which releases a continuous shower of shots at all enemies on the screen for a short period of time. In some game modes, score bonus items also appear periodically.

The game consists of five main areas. The first four are divided into ten sub-sections and conclude with a boss battle. The final area contains a larger number of sections and a boss rush, in which the player must fight variations of the bosses from the first four areas. The player then goes on to the network's core to restart Eden in a final boss battle.

The final area features a variable difficulty scale, depending on the player's performance in the first four areas. According to Sega, this system was employed to make the game more accessible to casual players, while also making it more challenging for experienced players, thus potentially increasing its replay value.^{[citation needed]} In addition, completing all five levels unlocks alternate gameplay modes, color schemes and secret areas.

Unlike most games, Rez contains almost no sound effects or spoken dialogue. Instead, the game is set to trance music, which plays in the background and gradually evolves as the player moves among sections. The music is enhanced by musical effects (such as trills and drums) generated by the player's actions, enemies and surroundings. Player actions are usually locked to the rhythm of the music, such that shots and hits against enemies occur exactly on each beat (as opposed to occurring in real time). Graphical elements such as the polygons that make up the player's avatar, as well as background elements, also "beat" in time with the music. In reference to these coordinated effects, Sega focused its marketing of Rez primarily on the game's qualities of "synesthesia", the association of different senses and stimuli with one another.

A "Special Package" version of the PlayStation 2 release of the game was sold in Japan only, including a USB device called a Trance Vibrator, which pulses in time with the music. The intended use of the device would be to hold it, put it in a pocket, or sit on it while playing (a pouch was provided to protect the device); similar to the DualShock, it would vibrate in time with the music, but much more powerfully than the DualShock's own feedback, helping to extend the synthasia to the player's feeling of touch. While not explicitly marketed as a sex toy or masturbatory aid, it has reportedly been used as such.^{[5] [6]} The devices are available from various aftermarket retailers for (as of 2006) approximately $35 USD. The trance vibrator is also compatible with Space Channel 5: Part 2 and the Japanese version of Disaster Report.

There are two models of the Trance Vibrator: The Sega one, which they included in the Special Package release, and a third-party one made by ASCII. Both are compatible with the Japanese version of the game, though international compatibility may vary. The ASCII-branded one is also known to be compatible with the USA version.

Reverse-engineering efforts to allow the Trance Vibrator to attach to and be controlled by a PC have been successfully executed in Japan, resulting in a device driver for Microsoft Windows XP and Windows 2000. Unstable drivers are also available for Unix -based operating systems.

A soundtrack was released with the following track list:

• 1 Keiichi Sugiyama - Buggie Running Beeps 01 (5:20)
• 2 Mist - Protocol Rain (7:08)
• 3 Ken Ishii - Creation The State Of Art (Full Option) (6:33)
• 4 Joujouka - Rock Is Sponge (7:31)
• 5 Adam Freeland - Fear (Rez Edit) (5:06)
• 6 Coldcut & Tim Bran - Boss Attacks (Remix) (7:15)
• 7 EBZ - F6 G5 (7:48)
• 8 Oval - Octaeder 0.1. (3:22)
• 9 Ken Ishii - Creative State (6:20)
• 10 Oval - P-Project (5:38)

The game received an award from The Agency for Cultural Affairs Media Art Festival in Japan.

This article or section contains information about an unreleased video game. The content may change substantially as more information becomes available. Please do not add speculation to this article, and remember to cite a published source for details.

Rez HD (tentative title, developed by Q Entertainment) was announced for release on Xbox Live Arcade by Microsoft during their pre-Tokyo Game Show press conference held in September 2007. Mizuguchi noted during the Show that "I always dreamed of a high-def wide screen and very good sound. Now the future has come.", and described the game as "100 percent the same game" as the original Rez.^[7] Mizuguchi noted that he had to get the license back from Sega to remake the game even though he made the game (because video games are considered as work for hire), and that there are no plans for a 360 compatible Trance Vibrator peripheral.

The game is due to be released in December 2007.^[8]

• Official Rez website
• Rez at MobyGames
• Rez at GameFAQs
• Hardcore Gaming 101 Rez page
• Software for controlling Trance Vibrator, with instructions
• Area 5 game footage on Google Video (100% Shot Down, Support Item and Analyzation)
• Gamasutra article with Jake Kazdal, the only American to work directly on the game, with various behind the scenes insight
• Game Girl Advance article on using the trance vibrator for sexual stimulation
• Rez The Ultimate Audiovisual Experience - by BrunoF
• Rez shrine