We recently had the opportunity to spend some time with Tetsuya Mizuguchi, the producer of Child of Eden. In Paris for a few days, he showed us a preview version of the game, explaining to us its main gameplay mechanics and the different possibilities that the game offers. Equipped with our indispensable camera, we immortalized the moment so you could have a taste of this exclusive presentation. And as Tetsuya is a really nice guy, he offered us this preview version so we could give you more detailed impressions on the experience delivered by the game using Kinect. And to complete this article, we've added the last trailer from Ubisoft. Enjoy!
For those who don't know yet, Child of Eden is the sequel to the famous Rez, released on Dreamcast 10 years ago. First and foremost, I think it's safe to assume we need a little flashback. The purpose of Rez was to destroy a computer virus by traveling virtually through a network in order to free a highly-capable artificial intelligence called Eden. In this sequel the context is quite similar as you'll have to save Lumi, a project which aims at integrating human deep nature into Eden. Unfortunately, it's Lumi's turn to be infected by a virus so you must clean the different archives of the project to allow the transfer from Lumi to Eden.
From a gameplay point of view, the title is evidently a rail shooter based on the musical universe of Tetsuya's band: Genki Rockets. But Child of Eden has an even more musical aspect, as it's mainly based on rhythm and timing. Although its handling appears quite classic with a standard controller, the game delivers all its potential with Kinect and you'll soon surprise yourself moving your whole body while beating time to destroy your enemies in rhythm, making more and more combos.
Unfortunately, men are mainly single-task creatures, so it could be difficult for them to be concentrated on both what happens on screen and on the music which continuously hit your ears. Time will tell if women will face the same difficulties as the so-called ''Stronger Sex''. As mentioned previously, Kinect really brings the experience to such a higher level that it becomes mostly mandatory. Becoming the controller I've sometimes felt like a conductor, directing this visual and musical symphony from my fingertips until I reached a trance-like state, leaving me in a state of weightlessness. This feeling was particularly intense in the level where you fly over water, which you can see in the video.
The E3 and TGS builds had left us a little bit anxious, as the latency between the movements and their transcription on the screen was really significant. But there is no denying that it has become almost imperceptible in this preview version and you can have a look at the video to notice the improvement yourself. Finally, the main drawback that still remains is the game's longevity, since it is only composed of 6 levels, and the few ones included in this preview were completed in 10-12 minutes each. But it's without taking into account the difficulty of the game, and the various attempts to finish certain stages. And for achievement/trophy addicts, you can try to unlock all the creatures from the Archives and gather them all together in Lumi's garden. But I think it's even better to let Tetsuya Mizuguchi talk about his project, so enjoy our exclusive interview video!
I have had the chance to test the preview version of Child of Eden from the comfort of my living room, and to give it a more thorough try. You may have read my positive first impressions during last TGS. This new contact with the game has confirmed that it's an excellent title, and the only "real game" that justifies buying Kinect. To finish, I want to mention the real improvement concerning latency, but also, in my view, a lower musical quality than in the Evolution level from TGS.
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