Classic Review - Geometry Wars

I hate to say it, but the first Geometry Wars just wasn't my favorite XBLA game. It's good, just not incredibly awesome. This was the first review I ever wrote, so it's not quite as in-depth as my other ones have been.

Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved
3/5

Pros:
-Addictive
-Great graphics
-Variety of enemies

Cons:
-Nearly impossible achievements
-Becomes too hard too fast

The first Geometry Wars game appeared as a mini-game in the game Project Gotham Racing 2 in 2003. Since then, Bizzare Creation's game has spawned several sequels on different consoles, from the DS to the Wii to the Xbox. Having never played any of the previous titles, I bought this game not knowing what to expect, but hoping that it would serve as a fun, bite-sized distraction.

Xbox Live Arcade introduces the game's first sequel, Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved. Several features have been added; the most notable of these is the graphics. The play area has been expanded, and the camera has been zoomed in. Sparks fly when you hit a wall, and the background becomes distorted around the area where you shoot. It all looks and feels very nice.



New enemies have also been added. Joining the roster of blue diamonds, green boxes, and red circles are pinwheels, which move around randomly, snakes that can only be killed by hitting a certain point, red claw-like enemies that follow you at high speeds, and small triangles, which are easily killed but come in such huge quantites that you are likely to be overwhelmed.

In fact, 'overwhelmed' will be a very common feeling while playing this game. The game initially starts out slow. You are first presented with some pinwheels that are hardly a threat, and even when the diamonds appear, they do not present much of a challenge. However, this soon changes, and it won't be long before you are completely surrounded by enemies out for your head. The game takes an extremely large amount of patience and practice, perhaps too much. You will likely only get scores in the 5-digit area on your first go around, and it is then when you realize how difficult it will truly be to get those achievements.



The achievements are another area that the game does not particularly excel in. They vary from unlikely to nearly impossible. The game has the standard 12 achievements for 200 gamerpoints. Out of those 200, I have gained 20. I have played this game a lot, too. The game awards you for gaining certain amounts of points. However, they also award you for getting those same amount of points without dying, which seems rather uncreative. Getting one million points seems unlikely, but one million points without losing a life makes you wonder what exactly the developers were thinking.

However, the game is not as terrible as I am making it sound. It is still fun to play and will have its hooks in you, if only for a day or so. The controls are so delightfully simple, a caveman could do it. Left analog stick to move, right analog stick to fire. The bumper buttons will release a bomb that will purge the screen of all enemies, providing you with a two or three second break. Believe me, you will be wanting as many breaks as you can.

Overall, Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved provides you with a fun experience, with stunning graphics, simple controls, and just pure fun. It is not without its flaws, however, which gives this game a solid 3 out of 5.

Image Credits: Bizarre Creations