review: geometry wars

Game: Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved
Platform: Xbox 360 Live Arcade
Developer: Bizarre Creations
Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios
Genre: Arcade Shooter
Players: 1
Release: Nov 21, 2005
Rating: G (8 +)

Geometry Wars first appeared in Project Gotham Racing 2 as a bonus minigame. With basic graphics and addictive gameplay, players were really enjoying it. And so Bizarre Creations caught on with this and developed a better looking and overall, better experience.

The original graphics from the original minigame are also still there in the option, ‘Retro’. ‘Evolved’ is what you really want to play though. Evolved is a complete makeover of the original Geometry Wars game. The game is on a grid set in front of hundreds of stars. It doesn’t fit all on the screen, though if you move around a little you’ll see the sides. You start off with 3 lives and 3 bombs.

As in the title Geometry, the things you shoot are different shapes, which also have different movements and strategies. The most basic is the green

Control-wise its pretty simple. Left stick to control the ship, right stick to fire in the direction you push, and the triggers to set off a bomb.

Retro is also a lot harder than the Evolved option

Pros:
- Very affordable at only 400 points. Best value game on the Xbox Live Arcade.

- Graphics are very pretty, like a mini fireworks display on your tv set.

- Simple yet addictive gameplay.

Cons:
- Very hard! You need to maneuver your ship so tightly you’ll find yourself cursing aloud.

- Repetitive gameplay, but this is only an Arcade title after all.

By Michael Gray
Sunday 11 November 2007

(Screenshots coming soon, when I figure out how!)