Platform:  Atari Jaguar CD

Release Date:  Late 1995 – 1996

Developer:  Atari (?)

Genre:  Music Game / Puzzle / FMV

Rating:  3.5 out of 10

Vid Grid is a game that came bundled with the Atari Jaguar CD add-on, one of up to 3 (in the same retail package) during the final months of the Jaguar CD’s short but bright life.  The Nerd Berry and I dug this out for the first time a fortnight ago, and I cannot begin to describe what a sublime process took place as we listened to the CD scrape the unit’s inner door.  Playing Vid Grid is a truly mind expanding experience, pushing the conventions of video gaming to the uppermost limit.  This was the killer app of the mid-90’s and it is almost a cultural crime that others of our generation (as well as those past and future) have not undergone the divine pleasure of piecing together these masterworks.

Vid Grid is filled with 9 of the most inspired musical pieces in the history of civilization accompanied by stunning artistic interpretation in the form of music videos.  I hesitate to refer to them as only music videos as the symbolism and commentary on humanity present within cannot be conveyed by such a banal description.  This game represents the pinnacle of video game technology and relevance with its mind twisting puzzles metaphorically referencing the struggles that all of us must face daily.

The difficult task one must undertake upon hearing the beautiful cacophony of plastic scraping plastic is to attempt the recreation of these reflections of existence via a simple cursor.  These “videos” are progressing on a temporal scale, but each self-contained fragment of realization is out of alignment, requiring the player to reassemble the “video” as it reaches it’s inevitable end.  With such myriad of visual stimuli, the process becomes extremely difficult, due in no small part to the meditations on life encompassed by each segment.

Not only will these 9 pieces of art keep a player busy for years as they ponder the endless mysteries within, but Vid Grid includes an extensive multi-player mode by connecting the spiritual awareness of us all and the fundamental concept that we are all of the same metaphysical fabric.  No tangible reward can ever truly signify how poignant the completion of these enigmas are, but the personal and emotional gratification is adequate enough to sustain an individual’s positive sense of self for decades to come.

Vid Grid is not only a cultural watershed in the realm of entertainment and art, but a deeply personal experience that will leave the player forever touched in the most profound of ways.  Why this testament to life and love has faded into obscurity throughout the ages constantly perplexes me; perhaps enlightenment must be selective by nature.  Vid Grid is truly destined to resonate across eternity.

Reviewed by The Cubist