Child of Eden?

[cube_b3]

To play or not to play.

I probably will never play Rez (unless I ISO it or something), the game is rare and expensive.
PS2 version is not really worth it.

So I was thinking I got MOVE that is as useless as the Wii.

Child of Eden is new and inexpensive and it is a sequel to Rez from design to plot, so anyone here played it?
Should the PS3 version be considered as good as Kinect?

[DaMadFiddler]

I liked Rez better than Child of Eden--it was more unique upon its release, its underlying message and story are a bit more subtle, and the gameplay is a little tighter and more challenging.

That said, Child of Eden is very much worth playing, and it's an excellent piece of eye candy as well. (It's the first thing we tested when we got our "new" Sony HD CRT last year, and the experience was mind-blowing.) I don't have a Move, though, so I can't tell you how that experience is. I played it with the regular DualShock 3 controller.

There are plenty of options for playing Rez, though. Be patient, and you can find a Dreamcast copy for 30ish. Try to find a Japanese copy rather than a European one, though, as the EU release tends to have boot issues. I never really had any complaints about the PS2 version either... sure it's got some jaggies (as do all PS2 games that don't use software antialiasing), but on the other hand it's also got a higher frame rate (60 instead of the DC's 30). And if you have access to a 360, an HD version is downloadable on XBLA.

[cube_b3]

WOW! CONGRATULATIONS ON THE HD CRT BUD!

As for XBLA come on, you know I would rarely invest in something that is not tangible.

I am definitely going to get Child of Eden, and if the experience is good I wouldn't mind playing the prequel .

[DaMadFiddler]

WOW! CONGRATULATIONS ON THE HD CRT BUD!

Well, like I said, that was a bit over a year ago... but it is a really nice set. Someone downtown was giving it away, so we snagged it: http://reviews.cnet.com/direct-view-tvs ... 87600.html

It's considered the gold standard of CRT sets, and many reviewers used it as their reference set until 1080p became commonplace.

As for XBLA come on, you know I would rarely invest in something that is not tangible.

It's a $10 download. I prefer physical copies as well, but really now. Even as a download, Rez is well worth the $10. It's also the only way to get the game in HD (and with 5.1 surround sound).

[DaMadFiddler]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/REZ-Dreamcast-S ... 4610eef6e8

Here. $34 for Dreamcast. Just buy it and put the issue to rest.

[cube_b3]

Wow, I can see the passion.

But I'm going to go and buy Child of Eden first. It will simply be better to look at and economical.
More importantly, if I will invest I will buy the PAL copy. My sister lives in England and she is visiting next month............

You've got me thinking now...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Rez-SEGA-Drea ... 4ac847f572

What do you think?

And now check out the irony. If she gets this for me then I will proceed to download Rez and burn it cause my dc doesn't have a mod chip and I hate booting games with Utopia or Gameshark.

___________________________________

In other news at a garage sale 3 months back I bought a Sharp CRT for 20$ I think it is close to 30".
4:3. But oddly component cables can be plugged in, so I would imagine it is atleast 480p which is close to HD right?

[cube_b3]

Jizz in my pants
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Dreamcast-Wit ... 3f28603594

[Maturion]

I recently bought Child of Eden, and, just as DaMadFiddler, I liked Rez better. Child of Eden just wasn't that entirely new and didn't feel so exceptional like Rez did back then. It's still a good game, though.

[DaMadFiddler]

Rez is a little special to me. A big part of that was tied into the time period, though, and as society moves forward, it may have lost the context to have that dramatic impact.

Today, wide-scale releases of "artsy" and experimental games are fairly common. the low overhead costs of digital distribution and an increasingly mainstream geek culture have lowered the barriers to such titles.

But back in 2001, games were still largely locked into the restrictions of the major publishers, who--as a general rule--were not especially open to the big risks involved in games that didn't follow established formulas.

Also, in 2001, 3D gaming was just coming out of its first generation. Sure, there had been a few timid forays into those uncharted lands with titles like Star Fox, but for the most part, 3D gaming was brand new with the Playstation, Saturn, and N64.

And it sucked. Hard.

Very few of the first generation of 3D games hold up--far fewer than, say, 8-bit 2D games. Most 3D looked like clunky, angular mush, and it's aged even worse. I spent much of my childhood playing NES, SNES, and Genesis games with my friends at their hourses after school, and a good chunk of the late 90s revisiting the single-player games on my computer as emulation started to reach maturity. I had always wanted a Genesis or SNES, and when I was finally able to purchase one many years later in college, it was still a great experience and the vast majority of the games were still fun and engaging, even if new ideas and larger storage had helped push larger ideas since then.

But with the Playstation and particularly the N64, it felt like the focus was all on establishing 3D as the new norm... and while it was an important evolutionary step, it just wasn't ready for primetime. I hated the "3D generation" of consoles, I didn't have any interest in the games, and I was bitterly disappointed that very few developers showed interest in harnessing this new horsepower to broaden 2D game design. It seemed like 3D was really only beneficial to sports, racing, and FPS games, and just sort of got in the way of everything else because well-drawn 2D artwork could far outclass any 3D model capable of being used in real time. Most of the really expansive PC games at the time were still done in 2D for just that reason, and it felt like the consoles--which I've alwas preferred to the hassles of PC gaming--were turning their backs on that.

The Dreamcast was the first system that showed me this 3D thing could actually work. It didn't look clunky or clumsy or half-formed (well, except for the Sonic Adventure camera... and script), and developers were starting to get a handle on gameplay mechanics.

But while the Dreamcast was the first system to really show me that polygonal 3D was not just a clunky replacement for 2D (and various "good enough" pseudo-3D effects like Mode 7 and raycasting engines), Rez was the game that showed me that not only could 3D work, but that it could actually give birth to new, compelling experiences 2D couldn't provide, and game development wasn't just headed down some dark path toward things I wouldn't enjoy.

Rez was what really did it for me. It was a simple design expressing a complex idea, a compelling and instantly classic game design that simply would not have worked in 2D. (Sure, you could have roughly approximated it with something like the Space Harrier engine, but all the little flourishes and bits that tie it together as an experience simply would not have worked that way, and it would have been reduced to nothing more than a cheap rail shooter.) It was one of the first titles that really made me think of the game as a piece of art. And to top it off, it was an exotic import title on the already-legendary Dreamcast, which had opened my eyes to 3D gaming, was the first "modern" home console I'd ever bought for myself while it was still current, ushered in the concepts of homebrew and garage development for a console, and was intrinsically tied to my college experience.

It's still in my top 10 list of all-time favorite games. But in a world filled with quirky projects like Fez and Bit.Trip, I just don't think it would have the same impact on a new audience. Rez is simple and beautiful and engaging, and it was one of the first of its kind. Child of Eden is a natural evolution of that design, and it is great eye candy, but a lot of what made Rez special was the fact that it was "first." It was a new experiment in a time when such experiments were relatively rare (especially on consoles), and it opened up new pathways in the gaming experience. I don't know how you would go about communicating that experience in a modern context.

[cube_b3]

An excellent post as always.

However I think Dreamcast was proper 3rd Generation of 3D.

3D dates back to 3rd Generation of Video Games, almost all racing games have been 3D on Nes/SMS.
Sure they weren't polygonal so we can exclude them, but the 4th Generation actually marketed 3D as a selling point. I remember the box of my Snes advertising 3D games. MD/SNes had polygonal 3D games.

Syphon Filter trilogy has aged extremely well and was probably my favorite game on Playstation.

Another thing the questionable script of SA1 isn't part of 3D .
Just some minor points, I do agree with you that it was probably until 98 or 99, when the industry in general started to work efficiently and effectively with 3D
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Back on topic, I have been distracted with the Rez hunt. I hope people don't go crazy with that auction and I can get myself a PAL machine but in the event I can't I'll go with Eden.

I do not think Eden should suffer from market saturation. As it employs Kinect which isn't exotic but it is a truly unique experience and if it does successfully substitute the satisfaction of pressing buttons and instantly watching the player controlled character respond on screen with mere hand gestures. It would be an unparalleled experience.

I played Kinect Sports and it was just an exhausting experience not a satisfying one.
I watched people play Rise of Nightmares and I felt sorry for people at Sega WoW. There hardword went down the drain as the technology simply isn't meant for real games.

That said, Watching Mizuguchi play Eden on stage was awe inspiring and it looked like this Kinect BS could actually work.