Information

Geometry Wars box

Reviewed On: Wii & DS

Available On: Wii, DS

Players: 2

Rating: G

Genre: Puzzle/Arcade


Developer: Kuju

Distributor: Vivendi


Release: 15 December 2007


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In Short...

"Great fun in short bursts, and sure to be a game you come back to quite a lot to beat that high score!"
























































For those unfamiliar with the game, Geometry Wars is an old-school Robotron-style shooter in which you shoot down hordes of enemies, while avoiding them yourself. You also have a set number of smart bombs which kill all enemies on screen, which is helpful when surrounded. As the screenshots will attest, the game and your enemies are presented as geometric shapes in a vector-graphics style that looks very nice. Gameplay is simple, yet highly enjoyable. As a virgin to the game prior to writing this review, I was actually quite surprised by how fun it all was. I’m not typically a big fan of shmups, but something about the old-school approach of infinite ammo, a simplistic goal (i.e. blow the crap out of everything without worrying about hostages or hitting an explosive barrel on your left) and hundreds of enemies spawning at once was quite refreshing. You just keep shooting til you die, then you’re given a score. Simple.

The “Galaxies” part of the title comes from a career mode, of sorts, which sees you and your little triangle going from galaxy to galaxy, completing ‘planets’, which take the form of a battlefield and a specific series of spawning enemies. The level continues until you lose all lives, then you are presented with a score and a medal (bronze, silver and the highest, pink.....no wait, gold) based on your performance. Getting a gold medal can be quite enjoyably challenging, though some levels are easier than others. Also, there seems to be a point where you hit a ‘spawn cap’ and the same series of enemies keeps spawning constantly. At this point, if you can survive a wave of enemies, you can keep repeating the exact same thing over and over (if you’re good enough), only dying when you want to – which is a bit disappointing. Clearing levels nets you ‘geoms’ based on your performance, which are a kind of currency you can use to upgrade your drone – a little ship that follows you around, helping you out. You can give your drone specific behavioural traits – such as attack enemies or collect the multiplier power ups – and each trait can be levelled up the more you use it, making it more effective. This aspect adds quite a bit to the replayability of the game. Geoms can also be used to unlock new galaxies and planets.

The original mode of Geometry Wars is also included, complete with online scoreboards, and basically sees you put against a never-ending series of enemies until you die (no drone though). A decent multiplayer mode is also included, featuring co-op (which pits you both against enemies), simultaneous (where you both play at the same time on your own fields trying to outlast the other) and versus (where one player shoots the enemies and the other player spawns them).

This review was done using the DS game. The main differences between the two platforms (Wii and DS) are the graphics and control methods. Simply put, the DS graphics are really average, but the game looks great on Wii – in a simple kind of way. The Wii uses the analogue stick on the nun-chuck to move your ship and the wiimote to aim, and the A button to shoot. The DS uses the D-pad to move and the stylus to shoot. The touchscreen contains a picture of your ship in the centre, and where you place your stylus around the ship will cause you to shoot an endless stream of fire in that direction. There are other methods of control available if you choose (like moving with the stylus, as well as left-handed modes), but the default method works so well, I changed it once for the sake of experiment and it just felt horrible. The DS also is, obviously, portable and thus is probably more suited to this type of quick-burst gameplay. There are very little bad things you can say about the game itself. It’s not a game you’ll play for hours on end (unless you are an avid fan of shmups), but you will come back to it quite a lot. Enemies sometimes spawn right under you, which is annoying, and the graphics on DS are vastly simplified compared to the other versions of this game. Also, on the DS version at least, the framerate can drop when there are lots of enemies on screen. It isn’t game breaking, though, just annoying. However, what it really comes down to is the asking price. The addition of the “Galaxies” mode is a good one for gamers like me who need something to more to aim for than just a high score (i.e. medals and unlocking everything), and this adds appeal to purchase this version of the game as opposed to the much cheaper versions available on other platforms. If you are a big fan of shmups and haven’t played Geometry Wars before, I’d suggest you have a look at this, otherwise maybe see if you can maybe find a cheap copy, or wait til it drops in price. Wii or DS? Well, that depends on which control scheme you would prefer, and whether you want portability or pretty graphics.

By watchers_eye



The Verdict

 Graphics: B Functional and enjoyable with a retro kinda feel, though the DS version is vastly inferior to the Wii version

Sound: B Decent, but nothing that really stands out.

Gameplay: B+ Old-school and refreshing, this is gameplay in its oldest and most pure form. Great fun.


Overall: B+

Great fun in short bursts, and sure to be a game you come back to quite a lot to beat that high score!






























































































































































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