Child of Eden

The Short


Pros
- Gorgeous game with a totally unique art style
- Plays extremely well with the Kinect, better even than the optional controller support
- Combination of music, rhythm, and visuals make for an entrancing experience
- Can be played either simply (play just to complete levels) or with a surprising amount of depth (chaining combos with a rhythm, etc.)
- Each stage as a distinctly unique visual theme, enemies, sounds, and music

Cons
- Only five stages, with one being a "boss rush" stage, essentially
- Can beat the entire game in under 45 minutes
- Translucent, flashy colors can lead to some confusion

Child of Eden is a gorgeous game. 

The Long


Child of Eden is a game made by Tetsuya Mizugchi, creator of the other music/trance/shooter game Rez on the PS2 and later XBLA. That game was accented by its bizarre, unique art style paired with solid shooting and heavy high-score based gameplay. Rez was a fun, brief experience that I think fully reached it's potential as an XBLA downloadable game, as it added leaderboards, a more manageable price tag (vs a full disc release), and high def graphics.

Mizugchi's new game, Child of Eden, is similar to Rez in many ways. It's still a shooter. It still has a heavy focus on this very bright, florescent-esque art style that combines nature, technology, and urban themes with these bright colors. And, like Rez, it's a game that probably would have benefited from being a downloadable title rather than released as a full disc game.

This game may look like it has no rhyme or reason, but once you start playing it the game makes sense.

Child of Eden actually has a story, one that it presents at the start in an unskippable chunk of text. Basically, after a point in time the internet has become a really big physical place...or digital place...I think? Anyway, a child is born of the internet (now titled "Eden") and is attacked by viruses! So you, the latest version of Norton Internet Security, have to break into the internet and blast some viruses that look like whales that turn into phoenixes in order to save the titular "Child of Eden." This is also literally how real antivirus software works. They are like the Navy SEALs of the internet.

Control in the game is simple. With your right hand you can brush a targeting over the screen, "painting" up to eight targets before releasing a lock-on shot by jerking your hand back. Or you can use your left hand to shoot a constant, rapid-fire barrage of shots on a small point. You can't use both at the same time. Raise your hands above your head to us "Euphoria," basically a screen-clearing bomb, and...that's pretty much the game. These types of games on Kinect tend to work best with the tech: you have quicker, faster precision than a controller, and you feel like you are in Minority Report.

I think I need to lay off the drugs. 

It does have a few minor Kinect issues, though. I tried to play the game sitting down and, unlike The Gunstringer, Child of Eden had lots of problems confusing my legs with my hands, which messed up the control. It's a minor thing, but expect to be standing for most of the experience.

The game is a simple one, that isn't particularly difficult overall. The real challenge comes in trying to get high scores and 100% runs. There's a trick to the game where if you paint the maximum amount of enemies and then shoot them in time with the rhythm, the game gives you either a "Perfect" or "Good" bonus. Chain multiples of these together for insane multipliers and boost the crap out of your score. While there's no score indicator on screen, it can be pretty strenuous in some of the later levels to both try and kill everything but doing it with the beat. It's another layer on the game the hardcore score-o-philes will enjoy.

Ok, I lied, I have no idea what is going on here. 

My biggest issue with the game is its length and value. Don't get me wrong, the experience is fantastic. The graphics, especially now that they were made for HD, are absolutely stunning, and they fuse with the music and sound effects to really get you involved. Combining this with Kinect, which makes you feel "in" the game more than a controller does, you get really entrenched and entranced by the whole experience. The problem is that this experience is way too short.

The game only has five stages, with the last stage of those being mostly just a bunch of bosses. While each stage is amazing and completely unique (each is themed around a different style, such as nature or urbanization), they are usually only about 10-15 minutes long, meaning you can beat the entire game in around 45 minutes to an hour. Keep in mind this was a full priced Kinect release ($50), which is still $10 less than a regular Xbox 360 game, but still feels extremely overpriced. This game (like The Gunstringer, which came out after it) was originally planned as an XBLA game but was later given a full disc release. I think The Gunstringer learned from this game's mistake, by dropping the price another $10 and throwing Fruit Ninja in to sweeten the deal. While I really like Child of Eden, I just wish it was longer. I mean...five stages? Five stages? That's it?

I like you, Giant Space Phoenix, but your game is too short

I still completely recommend Child of Eden as an experience. It's beautiful, immersive, and plays perfectly with Kinect. That said, the lack of stages and options really brings this game down. If it had released as a $15-20 XBLA title, it would be much easier to recommend (though still too short, honestly). As it stand, considering the game is still in the $30-$40 range, I can't recommend it until another price drop. 

Still, you should totally pick this game up if you have a Kinect. Note that I heard the Playstation 3 version (which uses Move) is also pretty good, but I don't have Move so I can't attest to it either way. 

Overall, a solid three out of five. Just make these games longer! Or add a bunch of stages as DLC. Or something.