Developed by Bizarre Creations
Published by Microsoft Game Studios
Released for Xbox Live Aracde (11/2005)
Also on PC
Backward compatible with Xbox One
Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved received some good coverage back in its day so chances are you've probably at least heard of it at some point. Geometry Wars was definitely key in cementing Xbox Live Arcade as a legitimate storefront. What began as a mini-game within Bizarre Creation's own Project Gotham Racing series was fleshed out into a full-fledged title. This game pretty much revived the twin-stick shooter, a genre which had been mostly dormant since the arcade games Smash TV and Total Carnage back in the early-mid 90's. After this title was released to Xbox Live Arcade and sold well, all of a sudden there were numerous other twin-stick shooter games coming out. Make no mistake, Geometry Wars is a big part of the reason they exist and to be honest I think you'll be hard pressed to find another twin-stick shooter that can match its simple glory, except maybe the series' own sequel.
The controls in Geometry Wars are as responsive as you could ask for in this kind of game. The visuals, while simple, are very eye catching and the music complements the action perfectly. The difficulty ramps up nicely and before you know it the screen will be covered in enemies.There is a huge incentive to stay alive in that you earn score multipliers which in turn will grant you bonus ships and bombs. That's pretty much it, really. Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved takes a very simple formula and hones it into a finely polished gaming experience. It's good, old-school fun trying to beat your friends or even your own high scores. There's no real end to the game, just survive as long as possible and rack up as many points as you can along the way.
Also included is a retro mode, which allows you to play the game as it originally was in Project Gotham Racing 2, which will definitely help you to appreciate the enhancements they gave the game! I'd recommend everybody at least give this game a shot if by some odd chance you haven't encountered it already, but shmup fans in particular definitely need to have this title on their hard drive! This was also released as a physical copy on the Xbox Live Arcade Unplugged compilation disc.
Final Verdict: Geometry Wars features simple arcade-style goodness that everybody can enjoy. The difficulty is sky-high, but ramps up progressively so that it doesn't hinder the game experience one bit. Highly recommended!
Purchase Links:
Buy Geometry Wars - Xbox Marketplace
Search XBLA Unplugged - eBay
Related Links:
Twin-Stick Shooters - Xbox Overview
Geometry Wars - Metacritic
Geometry Wars - GameFAQs
Geometry Wars Achievement Guide - Xbox Achievements
Geometry Wars - True Achievements
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