Geometry Wars on Wii and DS offer wireless downloading, shininess

by Scott Jon Siegel { Jun 29th 2007 at 7:45PM }

The handsome devils over at Gamespot recently spent some time with early builds of Geometry Wars: Galaxies on both the DS and the Wii, and walked away happy with what they saw, even in the games' nascent stages. According to their preview, both versions feature a level structure, with solar systems divided into planets, and each planet being one playable level. Both the DS and Wii version will also include the full content from Xbox 360's Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved, but Gamespot reports that that content amounts to one planet, in proportion to everything else offered in the game.

Other juicy details include cooperative multiplayer, and wireless sharing of a multiplayer DS demo of the game. The DS version can actually share a full copy of Retro Evolved wirelessly with other DSs, but perhaps what's more exciting is that the Wii version can do the exact same thing, making Galaxies the first game we know of to offer Wii-to-DS wireless downloading.

The preview also gives some detail on control schemes. The Wii version has players using the nunchuk to move the ship, with the Wii remote functioning as a cursor to indicate the direction being fired in. The DS version, on the other hand, uses the d-pad to move the ship, and the stylus to aim and fire. Gamespot has also included video coverage of the Wii version, so we'd encourage you to head over and check it out. Both versions are due out sometime later this year, but impatient folks can still find Retro Evolved on Xbox Live Arcade, or Geometry Wars XP on Steam.

[Thanks Grog]

Tags: gamespot, geometrywars, geometrywarsgalaxies, shmup, shootemup, sierragames

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Jack @ Jun 29th 2007 7:53PM

Wonderful! Now what's the price going to be?

BNinjaC @ Jun 29th 2007 7:54PM

Not too sure on the control scheme but this looks really good otherwise. I might just dust off the auld wii for this. Anybody know if this is a full priced title?

Nathaniel N. @ Jun 29th 2007 8:01PM

I sent this in as a tip weeks ago with their first producer interview... It's been pretty well known for awhile.

Joel @ Jun 29th 2007 8:08PM

I'm not sure how well a d-pad will work to move the ship compared to the analog stick on 360 and Wii versions.

2ez @ Jun 29th 2007 8:10PM

The control scheme they describe is actually what I imagined when they first announced the game. This will be a definite buy for me.

Émile-A @ Jun 29th 2007 8:08PM

It will surely be full priced because there is ''nEw C0nT3nt!!11!''

Adv2k1 @ Jun 29th 2007 8:39PM

wiimote controls, and I'm pretty sure it will be full price.

I never played the game on 360, boy it looks pretty and very overwhelming but who knows.

accidental @ Jun 29th 2007 9:10PM

Price wise, Retro Evolved was $5 on XBLA and is the size of only ONE level in Galaxies so even if Galaxies only had 10 levels that'd be $50 worth of Geometry Wars.

I don't know how many levels/planets it has but looking at the Gamespot preview there looks to be at least 6 or 7 solar systems and they have about 8 - 10 planets in each. Even at a minimum that's 48x the amount of content that's in Retro Evolved.

I think a full price tag will be worth it.

Jake @ Jun 29th 2007 9:14PM

It is kinda funny to me that an XBLA hit has become a Wii retail game. I mean, there are more levels and all, but it is still Geo Wars.

Makes me think of the sound of an old school cash register opening. You know it didn't cost very much to port this to the Wii and add some content.

But the bottom line is that the game is quite fun and quite possibly worth what they end up charging for it. I am guessing less than $50, probably 30 or 40.

Mr Khan @ Jun 29th 2007 9:19PM

Wrong

You can download exclusive items and several exclusive pokemon from Pokemon Battle Revolution to the DS Counterpart games

Still good news though

WhatIsThatThing @ Jun 29th 2007 10:28PM

Wow. I'm getting this game. Having never played the game (I don't have a 360), and the original stuff is in this game, it seems like a suitable buy, even at full price. Also, is it just me, or did that interviewee look like a drunk British John Flansburgh?

Alex @ Jun 29th 2007 10:34PM

Does it seem to anybody else that they got the controls backwards?

I mean.. having a pointer/stylus (I'm honestly not crazy about the latter) to account for the ship is one thing, and then you can just have robotron-style firing, but to use the pointer as direction of fire seems like too much clutter.

Hafk @ Jun 30th 2007 12:47AM

@ 12

Wrong, I seriously think that they have them perfect, you will be able to keep a constant target while still avoiding bullets. Your description would be more difficult, because you would have to adjust your aim every time you moved.

isaac @ Jun 30th 2007 4:16PM

i've played retro evolved with the suggested scheme for controls. i got creative and connected my wiimote +nunchuk to my computer via bluetooth via glovepie via PPJoy.

they are perfect.

much better than even the 360 version. the natural movement for a mouse with a cursor is all right, but far too slow. the natural movement of a wrist to point is very fast and accurate. i was doubling old scores easily. it's absolutely amazing.

galaxies sounds fun, but you don't have to wait for the GW experience if you're dedicated enough. slap this fantastic combo onto a projector- same thing, same exact. not to mention itunes in the background with ALL my music available easier. slap some hotkeys on the extra wiimote buttons and you'll be customizing your playlist while you attack vicious squares.
i got carried away.

enjoy guys.

Mikeo @ Jun 30th 2007 2:02AM

Gamespot screens = are those EVEN Geo Wars?

It looks like a level 1 eyesore developed by a hobbyist developer. Really, screw the extra content and the "premium" content- buy this on Steam.

This bastard-child is just one lovely example why I'm still not planning on getting one in the near future.

Mikeo @ Jun 30th 2007 2:04AM

Premium pricing* (d'oh!)

Rubang B @ Jun 30th 2007 2:30AM

Hey Mr. Khan, I think they mean it will be the first Wii game that can host a DS demo, since Iwata said they'd use Wiis as DS download stations back in the day and nothing's been said of it since. So buying the Wii version will get me the DS version too, shazam!

Platinum_Skeet @ Jun 30th 2007 4:13AM

It's coming out to the 360 there's a section with achievements and everyone knows Wii doesn't have achievements.

ALH @ Jun 30th 2007 5:11AM

bleh. The idea of having geometry wars on a handheld is exciting because its a damn addictive game, but i dont think im sold on buying a version for wii- new controls or not- when i can have a non horribly upscaled version on mah 360.

also lol @ generators, looks like when they told the maker of 'grid wars' to shut down his fan game they took some of his ideas too

t_m @ Jun 30th 2007 9:20AM

wii to ds downloads actually work? o why the **** isn't nintendo poundig the hell out of them?

Seriously, sometime i think nintendo is the most inept business company on the planet.. and then they keep accidentally making a fortune and confounding me...