If you’ve played Rez, then you know the name, Tetsuya Mizuguchi. In the vein of that game, Child of Eden looks to take the rhythm and music genre to another level. The story tasks the player with rescuing Project Lumi, a system that is under a vicious viral attack on the Eden system. It’s a simple enough story to propel you through the five short levels in the game. You see, this game isn’t about telling you some kind of compelling storyline. It is literally about basking in the ambiance of each of the individual worlds you’ll battle through.

Eden is truly one of those games that can be considered art. It coaxes the brain into psychedelic sensations, with its trippy visualizations and billions of particles dashing about the screen. Much like Rez, players will be bombarded with smooth musical tones that pleasurably invade the ears. Without a doubt Child of Eden is easily one of the most stimulating games out there. It allows the player to be a part of the music, while floating around in a strange and beautiful world.

You can play this game with a controller, but you don’t really get the same experience as the Kinect. When playing with a controller, you’re just holding down buttons and moving the reticule across the screen. When the game is played with the Kinect, players will have to use their right hand to aim at targets. When they’ve tagged a good amount of enemies, with a flick of their hands they can destroy them. It sounds simple until you add in different enemy types, and how you destroy incoming attacks.

The left hand is a rapid fire shot that can be used to peel off the armor of enemies. You can also use it to destroy smaller things in the area, or stop incoming attacks from touching you. The left hand however does not allow players to string together attacks to match the beat. Which players will need to invest in to earn enough stars to unlock the various worlds. So players will switch between both the left and right hand constantly, and try to keep up with the frantic pacing of the game.

It can easily give your arms a workout, and it’s the main reason why the game is so appealing. The controller portion isn’t nearly as interesting, and it comes off as a lackluster shooter when played this way. However, it’s a lot more challenging and immersive when played on the, Kinect. So if you aren’t going to play this with the full body experience, I’d suggest not investing money on it right away. This is truly a game to own on the Kinect, it sits right up there with, Dance Central.

Unless you’re starving for a Kinect game, I wouldn’t go out and splurge on it just yet. Even as a shooter fan or a Kinect fan, it isn’t really difficult enough at all. At $50 this game is more for those who are just looking for an easy but beautiful game. Otherwise, you’ll just be wasting a lot of money for something you’ll finish in no time. It is unmistakable that Child of Eden is something unique, and if you take it as that… you will be satisfied. Child of Eden receives a B- from Half-Ass Gaming, it is an above average shooter with outstanding visual and musical appeal.