Sega Nerds

REZ beta project leaked

Posted by Graham. Filed under G, Retro, Video. Tagged with Downloads, Dreamcast, Fan Sites, Fan Stuff, Rez, Unreleased.

 

It has only been about 2 months or so since Rez HD made an impact on Xbox Live Arcade, with it’s highly unique and, quite frankly, insane stance on the rail shooter.  But any true Sega fan will know that the Dreamcast (and then slightly later the PS2) is where it all started.

But what many don’t know is that Rez was not the first of it’s kind.  Before Rez hit our screens the game K-Project was under development, also known as Project Eden and Vibes.

By all accounts the game is just basically an early version of Rez, with the same gameplay and musical connections.

While the early versions of the game may only exist on someone’s hard drive, a pre-release version, then known also as Project Eden and Vibes, has been released by an anonymous source as a bootable Dreamcast disc image.

The Dreamcast version of K-Project features a different soundtrack and a slew of other differences from the retail version.

Well, now K-Project has been leaked onto the Internet, much to any Dreamcast fan’s delight.  The beta code is available to download a few places, it would seem, as The Lost Levels forums tell us.

I’m yet to try it out, but from the sounds of it, it should be quite a joy to play.  Also, it has been said that the download features the debug mode, so gamers can fool around the game, should they wish.

Here’s a list of differences between Project-K and Rez, (Taken from the NFO file):

- Debug menus appear in the beginning of the game; this can
  sometimes disappear if this isn’t your first time playing the disc.
- A mouse cursor appears during the beginning; a mouse can probably
  be used to mess with the debug menus.
- Loading screen shows ‘Project Eden’; the title screen says ‘VIBES.’
- The menus are different from the retail release.
- Some of the sound effects have changed from the retail release.
- The music is mostly different from the retail release.
- The bosses act differently than in the retail release.
- The timing of the attack waves is less precise than the retail
  version, and sometimes groups of enemies will appear and disappear
  during transitional sections.
- The VMU displays a different animation than the retail version.
- The options on the main menu are different:
  PLAY - Same as retail.
  EXTRA - Play all areas one after the other, like BEYOND mode in retail, sans options.
  REPLAY - Shows a replay of your last played game.
  DEMO - Similar to HOW TO PLAY in retail, but can select tutorial or short demos from stages 1 to 4.
- Sometimes a small debug window flashes at the top right of the screen.
- Some of the graphics in-game are different from the retail version.
- The end-of-level score screen looks different.
- You can continue right where you died, unlike in the retail version.
- There is a unique intro to each Boss in the Boss Rush area which is
  not in the retail version. You shoot groups of enemies that
  form the name of the boss to earn bonus points.
- There is no music during the Boss Rush.
- The third boss in the Boss Rush is different.
- The final boss is similar to the retail version, but you start in the
  center and gradually pan out at each evolutionary stage. The
  video footage between each stage is also different.
- There is no ending, but the Boss Rush is labelled as Area 6 and you
  are scored separately from Area 5.
- There’s a sinister 3D picture on the options scrren.
- VMU saving, just like the retail version, works fine and takes 9 blocks.

[Source: Siliconera, Via Kotaku]

[Special Thanks: Orta Via The Forums]