Rez.
My copy of Rez arrived today from play. It’s the perfect cyberpunk game. The whole thing is set inside a computer and its highly stylized. If you can remember R-Type and games of that genre, then imagine them being played from a first person perspective, thats basically the game dynamic. The visuals are bizarre, most of the game is a wireframe style and your character evolves from a sphere to a humanoid as you collect power-ups. The sound in the game has also been used to great effect, as there is none unless you play. By that I mean you create the soundtrack by destroying enemies (viruses), as you shoot them various sounds are released as they explode. The resulting music becomes a trancey/techno soundtrack to the game.
The most important thing is that although it has a very simple control system - the analogue stick and two buttons - it is highly addictive. Although simplistic in appearance the gameplay is also highly frustrating as it all comes down to timing. As it’s not overly taxing on the brain as it’s mainly reflex driven it is easy to get sucked into the “just one more game” cycle and loose several hours. (see screenshots 1 2 3 4)