Rating: B
At one point in "Child of Eden," the latest game from eccentric designer Tetsuya Mizuguchi, a blue, translucent whale soars up through the ocean surface and out into space, where, in a moment of glittering brilliance, it transforms into a fiery phoenix.
While people have fond memories of the Sega Dreamcast console, they usually reminisce about experimental and unique games like Mizuguchi's "Rez" (2002). Long before "Guitar Hero" and "Rock Band" popularized music games as a genre, there was "Rez," a trippy on-rails shooter where everything in the game, from the vector graphics to the sound effects, was set to the rhythm of techno music. Each enemy had its own sound that would echo out when it was shot, meaning that by playing the game, players were mixing together the techno song themselves in an abstracted way. It was surprisingly satisfying and far more inventive (visually and aurally) than anyone could have imagined. It single-handedly took an existing game genre and married it with inherently musical gameplay, and the resulting hybrid has since become a cult classic of gaming.
"Child of Eden" is the spiritual successor to "Rez," and as such, the gameplay is pretty much exactly the same: shoot enemies, make blissful music, trip out.
The first level of "Child of Eden" feels like an homage of sorts, featuring much the same angular, geometric constructions that comprised the world of "Rez." But from there on, the visuals only become more grand, organic and eye-popping. Whether players are flying alongside neon manta rays underwater or zipping through one of the thousands of roots of a tree, the game's art never breaks its creative stride. Almost like the world's best music visualizer, everything complements the rhythms and tone of the music in fantastically inventive ways.
Then there's the sound design, which has also been amped up and meshes perfectly with all of the indulgent images the game contains. Defeated enemies issue sounds ranging from snare drum hits to popping bubbles, and all of these naturally integrate themselves into the music. Every sound feels oddly appropriate and is always on beat, no matter what.
In exchange for "Rez's" techno soundtrack, "Child of Eden's" soundtrack concerns itself more with the dance and pop genres. It's a small distinction but an important one, as "Child of Eden" is less into the raw beats and more about creating an orchestra of sound. Its music is more fantastical and inherently happy, with deeper levels of layering than "Rez's." Unfortunately, the five main tracks in each of the game's levels appear to simply be differing remixes of the same song, which deprives the game of the same exciting variety between levels that "Rez" had. And though "Child of Eden" has quite a beautiful conclusion, its fifth level doesn't pack the same punch as playing "Rez's" epic finale.
And as inventive as its gameplay is in concept, "Child of Eden" is still a very basic linear shooter. Though captivating, the interactivity with the game is limited. Even with the Xbox's optional Kinect functionality for the game (which allows players to aim and shoot targets by simply waving their hand and gesturing), it's difficult to play the game for long stretches before its hold on the player wears thin. Thankfully, the game understands this and doesn't overstay its welcome at all: The entire game only takes around an hour or two to complete.
There's some decent incentive to replay the levels numerous times, but sadly, given that it is a full price retail game, "Child of Eden's" incredibly brief nature is likely to be its most divisive quality. The game is a hard sell, and it would have likely benefitted greatly from being a downloadable title. Excellent as the content within "Child of Eden" is, there just doesn't seem to be enough of it to surmount its hefty barrier to entry.
But that's all pricing structure stuff, and not exactly the fault of Q Entertainment. At the end of the day, "Child of Eden" isn't trying to justify its cost with smorgasbord of content, it's about being an art game. In that regard, it's difficult to get a grasp on what exactly "Child of Eden" is trying to express, with its flurry of neon colors, idealized technological vistas perfectly integrated with nature, pulsating beats mixed with auto-tuned vocals and (let's not forget) bioluminescent space whales. At times, it is easy to dismiss the whole game as one crazy, interactive acid trip. However, there is a certain inexplicable beauty to it that is rarely explored in video games. Oftentimes the game is pure spectacle, utilizing all the processing power of the Xbox 360 to render lush high definition art and particle effects.
But like staring at an abstract painting, become lost in the visuals and audio of "Child of Eden" long enough and you're bound to pull some high concept meaning out of it all. And even if players never do, and are simply attracted to the game by vocal dance music and bright colors, it's still an utterly engrossing synesthetic mind trip that's hard to forget.
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