Child of Eden

On a very warm day for June, I made the early morning 116 mile trip to London for my first game launch event. To say I was nervous would be a slight understatement, but I was excited at the prospect of playing on the Kinect and to also experience Tetsuya Mizguchi’s new multi-sensory shooter, Child of Eden.

Before I headed down to the event, I thought I’d get myself familiar with Mizguchi’s previous work and also learn the background of Child of Eden. With a bit of help from Google, I learned that I already own two of Mizguchi’s games: Rez and Lumines, both games which fuse visuals and music together. You don’t play these games just to get to the end, Rez and Lumines give you the chance to add subtle beats and sounds by clearing certain items or enemies. I then began to watch the trailer on the Child of Eden website and I could see that this was another progression in Mizguchi’s highly successful genre. The main story of Child of Eden is all about protecting and saving the future of Project Lumi. Project Lumi is a mission to create a human personality within Eden, which is an archive of human memories. With the end of the project drawing nigh, a deadly virus begins to attack and it’s your job to stop it.

With my notes all scribbled down, my bag packed with my essentials and a tummy full of butterflies I tried to get some shut eye before the big day. After getting just a little bit lost, thanks to my poor map reading skills, I managed to reach the event just a few minutes after it was due to start. As I approached the entrance I could see the awaiting cameramen and journalists standing outside enjoying the beautiful weather. I decided to go straight in. Once I cleared it with security that I wasn’t a random person with a kick ass Ready Up t-shirt, I made my way through a darkened corridor. This led me to a small stage which was surrounded with ambient lighting and covered in amazing graffiti. The stage had two TVs which were showing the Child of Eden game, a DJ turntable, with two smaller rooms to my right. I looked around just amazed at how this space was just transformed with different foliage and camo net. I was then greeted by one of the organisers Chris and ushered straight back in. While I stood outside one of the smaller rooms, I heard Chris ask the person who was playing if this journalist could have a go. I nearly looked behind me to see who he was referring to, only to then do a mental head slap when I realised he meant me.

As the game was being set up, I mentally rubbed my hands together in glee. Then it was my turn to play. I didn’t want to let on to Chris that I was a Kinect ‘n00b’  so I did my best to not make a total fool of myself. I was told to use my right hand to guide the blue light to start the first level, ‘Dive’. The level began and I was so overwhelmed by the stunning graphics, beautiful visuals and upbeat soundtrack that I completely forgot what the controls were. With both of my hands going into a mini spasm as I tried to touch all the pretty creatures, I quickly snapped out of my daze and remembered to use only my right hand to move around the screen and lock on to various enemies. With a quick flick of my hand a burst of energy sought out my chosen targets and destroyed them.

Using only one hand was completely foreign to me, so it took me a while to force my left hand to stay put as my right hand got to work. With the level getting towards the end, Chris then informed me after shooting certain enemies the virus which was attacking ‘Project Lumi’ would begin to pop up (as well as other aggressive targets). In order to take these bad boys down I was then told my lock and shoot would not affect them. Instead I had to use my left hand, the laser cannon which constantly shot at anything I pointed at. Now I had the go ahead to use my left hand I decided to try and use both hands in the hope of increasing my awesomeness. I was quickly told that I couldn’t use both hands the way I wanted to because each hand controls the camera. So after having a serious think about how to make this work, I figured I’d go back to my original plan of forcing one hand to my side while the other hand did its thing. With an extremely shaky start I somehow managed to muddle my way to the end. Chris then asked what I thought about the game, and I just stood there with my mouth opening and closing, but no words coming out. I was then able to say how blown away by the visuals and the controls, Child of Eden was more than I predicted and expected.

You can then probably imagine my excitement when I was told I could play another level called ‘Evolution’, which was described as more of a water level with various floating sea creatures. This time I was ready, with my right hand ready to aim and flick and my left hand prepared to shoot those pesky viruses. So as I shot my way through, trying to hit the enemies in time to the soundtrack, I was told that if I threw both hands in the air I could then perform a special attack which would destroy all the enemies on the screen. Finally, I was able to trick my poor brain into using both of my hands. With my second go ended, my time had come to a close.

I believe to truly appreciate a game, you need to not only play it but also watch it being played so you can see if there are any little quirks you may have missed. Watching a video of  the game on a large TV with the volume turned up so loud you can feel it in your bones certainly helped. As I stood furiously making notes while enjoying the hypnotic visuals and allowing the upbeat tempo to wash over me, I looked at my watch and knew it was time for me to begin heading back home.

As I made my way back upstairs with a massive smile on my face I did think it was a shame that only the privileged few would be able to experience Child of Eden the way I have. Well, fear not my Ready Uppers, for I can confirm that from up until the 23rd of June, you will be able to play Child of Eden for free. All you need to do is head down to the following address: 34-35 Dean Street, Soho, W1D 4PR, London. But for those who won’t be able to make it, don’t forget you can whet your appetite and also find out more at www.childofedengame.com. And of course, don’t forget Child of Eden is out 17th June 2011 for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.


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