Abstract on-rails shooter and cult hit Rez is to make a long overdue return when it hits Xbox Live Arcade in Q1 2008.

Developer Q Entertainment confirmed the return of one of the Dreamcast and PlayStation 2’s most critically acclaimed titles in a press release earlier today, announcing that the title would return as "Rez HD," a direct port of the original, but with high-definition visuals and 5.1 surround sound.

"Personally, Rez has been and will always be a lifelong concept," honked creator Tetsuya Mizuguchi. "I hope to take what I learned from the experience of creating the original game and look forward to taking it to a whole new level in the future."

If you haven’t played this wonderfully inventive rail shooter, it could just be you’ve missed out on one of the sleeper hits of the last decade. In the game, players assume the role of a hacker trying to access a futuristic computer supernetwork, which is in danger of collapsing under the sheer weight of data and knowledge stored on the network.

To prevent this, the player has to travel through the network, shooting down viruses or firewalls. It’s all played out to a rather ace trance soundtrack, one that builds to a crescendo as the end of each level grows closer. The bosses are more than worth a mention, also - Area 4’s ‘Running Man’ is one of this writer’s all-time favourite videogame bad dudes.

Aaaanyway, we have the first three screens of Rez HD below - be sure to check them out.