Joystiq review: Geometry Wars demo

by Christopher Grant { Nov 19th 2005 at 2:00PM }

Let me begin with this: we love Geometry Wars! This Xbox Live Arcade offering combines fast-paced shoot-'em-up gameplay (think Ikaruga) with that old-school Arcade style (think Robotron). You control your ship by maneuvering the left analog stick while controlling a steady stream of projectiles with your right analog stick. The control scheme is a little like pat your head/rub your belly and takes some getting used to, but learning curve aside, you're in for some twitch gaming action!

You are rewarded with weapon upgrades every 10,000 points, extra lives every 75,000 points, and an extra screen-clearing bomb every 100,000 points. If only it were so easy! The speed picks up rapidly and before you know it you are literally swarmed with flying pinwheels, exploding purple squares, elusive green squares, gathering black holes, and flying snakes. The game becomes a frenetic test of reflex, the screen a mess of exploding fireworks. While it�s capped at four minutes, none of us have lasted long enough to exhaust it!

geometry wars high score Some of you are surely scoffing right now. �But Joystiq, I played that game a billion years ago when it was in Project Gotham Racing 2!� Not quite. The demo (and the $5.00 full version too) boast �Evolved mode, which combines modern graphics with old-school fun.� The graphics are better in this incarnation, and the fun is amped way up. If PGR3 isn�t the highlight of the 360 launch, Bizzarre�s other creation surely is! High score thus far: 263,000+. Anyone have a higher score? Post it here.