Joystiq

Geometry Wars is 'not going to stop'

Ludwig Kietzmann — 2008-08-11T14:30:00+00:00

Much like the endless assault of the franchise's squirrely squares, devious diamonds and annoying arrows, Geometry Wars is sure to keep gamers frantically twiddling their thumbsticks for some time to come. Speaking to MTV Multiplayer, geometric warlord Stephen Cakebread has assured fans that the creative team hasn't run out of ideas yet.

"We have enough game ideas to do 'Geometry Wars' for probably about 10 games," said Cakebread. "It depends on what will work." Things that didn't work and ended up being removed from Geometry Wars 2: Gimmicky multiplayer modes, such as a a soccer/football-style game that had players shooting objects into gravity-well goals. Things that might work in the future: Developer Bizarre Creations isn't saying, as it might "use them in the future for god knows what."

Things that work in today's industry: Good franchises! "Geometry Wars is definitely a franchise," noted Bizarre manager Craig Howard. "It's not going to stop." Well, not unless you release a bomb.

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Bizarre Creations definitely has PSN in plans

Justin McElroy — 2008-07-28T12:30:00+00:00

Filed under: Sony PlayStation 3

One of our favorite PR moves is the affirmative denial. It's risky, and not to be attempted by newbies. But when they can pull it off well, it's dazzling. It's like watching someone able to rub their head and play the Minute Waltz at the same time.

Check out Bizarre Creations games manager Craig Howard's answer to 1UP's query about Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2 coming to PSN: "Geometry Wars Retro Evolved 2 is currently an Xbox 360 exclusive title, although PSN is definitely in our company plans going forward." (And he nails it!) No, we don't know what his comment means either. But we think our PS3-owning friends would be completely justified if they had a little extra spring in their step today.

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Geometry Wars 2 realigned for July 30, 800 points

James Ransom-Wiley — 2008-07-24T11:15:00+00:00

Filed under: Microsoft Xbox 360

What's the antonym for delay? Whatever the word, we're not used to using it around here. So when Bizarre Creations community lead Ben Ward let us know this morning that Geometry Wars 2 will be released on Xbox Live Arcade one week earlier than expected (next Wednesday!), we were at a loss for the word (of course, we could have settled along the lines of "bumped up," but opted instead for a geeky math-related term: realigned -- get it?). Ward also confirmed that the age of super-budget priced geometric space shooters is over, as we'll be paying 800 Microsoft Points ($10) this time (of course, the premium comes with a whole lot more game -- more on that in a minute).

In addition, Ward revealed that the Geometry Wars 2 trial version is "basically" the full Deadline game mode, including multiplayer support (up to four players locally). We've posted Bizarre's descriptions of Deadline and the 5 additional game modes, preserved in their original British flavour, after the break. (But before you read on ... FUN FACT: Geometry Wars 2 is the first Bizarre game published by proud, sorta new parent company Activision.)

Gallery: Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2

Deadline

The first mode is Deadline. This is also the mode which is unlocked in the trial version of the game (both single and multiplayer). The idea is simple: score as many points as you can in 3 minutes. You have as many lives as you want, but of course if you die a lot then you won't be scoring as many points as the next guy. You also have bombs, but these are limited (you start with three).

Destroyed enemies drop Geoms (little glittery yellow things) which you can pick up by driving your ship over them. These Geoms increase your score multiplier, so grab as many of these as you possibly can! Every game mode has Geoms, and you should always pick them up. I can't stress this enough: pick up the Geoms to score big! Your multiplier is no longer capped at 10x either, so having multipliers of many thousands is quite normal (if you're good enough)!

King

This mode is easy to explain, but very tactical once you start to really get into it. Again the premise is very basic: circular "zones" appear all over the grid. You can drive into these zones, and whilst inside them you are safe (the enemies can't enter the zones). You can shoot outwards, destroying the baddies outside your zone. However (and it's a big HOWEVER), after a short time the zone will collapse and you'll be left exposed. Whilst outside a zone you can't shoot at all, meaning that you had better hot foot it to another zone as quickly as you can!

Try to collect a bunch of Geoms as you move between the zones. If you're playing with a friend in co-operative mode, try this tactic: one of you stay inside the zone shooting outward, whilst the second player collects the fallen Geoms. Then swap when the zone decays. That's the trick to scoring big in co-op!

Evolved

You can think of Evolved as a super charged version of Retro Evolved 1. You start with three lives and three bombs, and you keep playing until those lives run out. There are quite a few changes this time though ... here's the short list:

New enemies make an appearance, like the gates, rockets, etc.
Overall balance has been changed, so the game gets more exciting after a shorter amount of time (no more spending the first three minutes of the game waiting for it to get intense!)
No more multiple weapon types. We nuked the first "starter" weapon from GWRE1, as well as the big, slow gun. The only weapon that you'll use throughout GWRE2 is a tweaked version of the faster-firing weapon (which was pretty much the fan favourite to begin with anyway).
Tiny spinners (the little purple guys which split from the big spinners) no longer track the player. They stay rotating in one spot, acting more like a "blocker" than a normal "follower" type enemy.
Gravity wells now destroy enemies on exploding! Not only that, but it'll give you 5x the score for the privilege! Gravity Wells should now be a priority to take out when things get busy. Note: destroying enemies in gate explosions (and bouncing bullets off of gates) also gives the same 5x score bonus.
Repulsars have a new look, and slightly changed behaviour. They no longer repulse your bullets, but they are still only vulnerable from the backside.
Lives and bombs are still given once you reach a set score, but this time the gap between them gets exponentially larger each time. In other words the first extra life/bomb is given at 100,000, then the second at 10 times this amount, and the third at 10 times that amount.
Of course, "Snake spawn" is no longer an issue. :-)

Pacifism

Everybody remembers the Pacifism achievement from Retro Evolved 1. At the time it was hailed as the first of a new breed, encouraging a different way of looking at the game. Well we couldn't just leave pacifism in the past ... in GWRE2 it's been promoted into a full game mode of its own. Yay!

As you might have already guessed, you can't shoot whilst playing Pacifism. Oh, and you only get one life and no bombs. The only offense you have against the infinite blue shapes is to drive through the gates (a new enemy type), which triggers a big explosion deadly to the bad guys. Driving through multiple gates in a row will give you bonus points, so try to chain together as many as you can without stopping.

One word of warning: avoid the deadly yellow gate ends! Make sure you drive straight through the middle of the gate, without touching the sides!

Waves

If you've played the hidden Geometry Wars mini-game in PGR4, then you'll have an idea of what to expect here. The Waves game mode gives you one life (and again, no bombs), and asks you to survive as long as possible against wave after wave of incoming rockets. The rockets travel either horizontally or vertically, so you'll need to pick your route through them carefully in order to come out the other side unscathed.

If you're having trouble mastering Waves, bring some friends along and quadruple your firepower. Oh and check out the Surf achievement, where you must stay alive for 8 wave spawns without firing a shot. Sound tough? It is!!

Sequence

The final game mode is Sequence ... and this is one for the professionals. There are 20 levels, and the aim of the game is to make it through all twenty without dying. On the plus side, each wave is identical every time you play ... so if you remember the spawns then you'll be at a great advantage. The bad news is that each wave is pretty freakin' hard, and you only start with a set number of lives and bombs to do them all with.

Every level must be completed in 30 seconds, and if you lose a life you skip to the next level (thus forfeiting the points you could have scored if you had stayed alive).

Sequence gets interesting in multiplayer, especially when you're playing competitively to beat each others scores. More devious players might experiment with the green Weaver enemies ... try pushing them into another player to kill them off early in the level! When one of you dies you have to sit out for the remainder of the time, meaning your opponents can really score big whilst you're on the sidelines. Ouch!

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Geometry Wars 2 available Aug 6, features 4-player modes

James Ransom-Wiley — 2008-07-14T20:15:00+00:00

Filed under: Microsoft Xbox 360

Four polygonal ships rendered on the same screen ... at the same time?! On August 6, Bizarre will prove the impossible possible when Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2 bursts onto Xbox Live Arcade. The sequel features a "remixed" version of the original game, along with 5 additional game modes: Waves (from PGR4), Pacifism (Achievement Evolved!), and newcomers King, Deadline, and Sequence. Each game mode supports up to 4 players locally (read: not online), for either 2-vs-2 or every polygon for itself gameplay. Additionally, GWRE2 will feature a Co-Pilots mode, where one player steers and the other shoots. As expected, all those particles still add up, as online leaderboards make a return -- hey K4rn4ge, you still got it?

Bizarre will reveal further details leading up to the game launch, including info on new enemy types and 12 new achievements -- and hopefully ... a price! 400 points, pretty please?

Gallery: Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2

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Bizarre Creations's new racing IP due FY 2010

Ross Miller — 2008-05-09T15:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Driving

Note: Image from PGR4, not new Bizarre IP

Activision-owned Bizarre Creations' new racing franchise -- which is not PGR5 -- is due out in the 2010 fiscal year, which begins on April 1, 2009. In a conference call (start at 29:55 mark), Activision Publishing CEO Mike Griffith said, "Bizarre is deep in development on two multi-platform titles and we are looking forward to the release of our first new racing IP in fiscal 2010, which already looks very strong."

Bizarre just recently said goodbye to its Project Gotham Racing series, handing off PGR4 downloadable content duties to IP owner Microsoft.

Check out Activision's Family Album to learn more about the company's internal studios.

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Family Album: Activision

Justin McElroy — 2008-04-09T11:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Features, Business

Thanks to a pending merger with Blizzard, the Activision family is going to be growing in the near future, but a look at its current development resources reveals that the company already has a pretty diverse galaxy of stars. With such a variety, how will you ever keep track of all the devs under the Activision bumbershoot? Worry not, dear reader.

We've got you covered.

(Also: Check out our other family albums.)

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PGR4 DLC brings new cars, modes, achievements

Kyle Orland — 2008-02-08T12:10:00+00:00

Filed under: Microsoft Xbox 360, Driving, Online

Not content to let their premiere racer rest with just a release and a quick update, Bizarre Creations is offering up new downloadable content for Project Gotham Racing 4. The content is split into two downloadable packs:

Free Challenge Pack (free download!)

A playable, hydrogen-powered Peugeot Flux
Tourist Mode - Just drive around the city and admire the scenery with no explicit goal
"Free Roam" Cat and Mouse Mode - Implements the delayed updates previously discussed here
Seven unlockable achievements

Premium Challenge Pack (400 MS points)
Includes all the content of the Free Challenge Pack, PLUS:

Seven new cars - Including the "1987 BMW M3 E30 DTM," whatever that means
World Challenge Arcade Mode - With 20 new events in three themed chapters
Three more unlockable achievements

The packs will be available for download on Feb. 14, just in time to play Cat and Mouse with your valentine.

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Bizarre seeking level designer with shooter experience

James Ransom-Wiley — 2008-01-30T19:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Business

A new job posting on Bizzare's website targets single-player level designers, preferably with 1st/3rd person shooter experience. The call-out adds to growing speculation that the studio's action-oriented wing (which just wrapped up The Club) has been assigned to develop Activision's next Bond game. We know, at least, that the team will likely work with an existing IP owned by its publisher parent; and with Bizarre actively seeking 'shooter' talent, the options appear considerably narrowed. With nearly every Activision shooter closely tied to a developer (including Call of Duty 5 to Treyarch), our money's on the currently orphaned 007 franchise.

Update: The next Bond game is in Treyarch's hands, according to the studio's website. So, uh, all bets are off... [Thanks, Nima]

[Via VideoGamer]

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Big surprise: Guitar Hero 4, Call of Duty 5, and Tony Hawk 11 confirmed

Ross Miller — 2007-12-03T13:55:00+00:00

Filed under: Driving, First Person Shooters, Sports, Rhythm, Business

Activision's biggest pre-merger franchises are all (GASP!) getting sequel treatment. In a fact sheet concerning the Activision Blizzard deal (PDF file), the publisher lists Guitar Hero 4, Call of Duty 5, a new Tony Hawk title (which would be its 11th iteration), a James Bond game and a racing title with the recently-acquired Bizarre Creations, as well as licensed titles with Dreamworks and Marvel.

None of these sequels come as a surprise, as they are all critical and commercial successes, but this is the first official confirmation of their existence. According to Activision Blizzard's earlier conference call, 50% of Activision's revenues are derived from franchises it owns outright, including Guitar Hero and Call of Duty. It should be noted that as well that all three franchises also have competition from rival Electronic Arts in the form of Rock Band, Medal of Honor and Skate. No word on project release dates for any of the sequels.

Read - Fact sheet [Warning: PDF file]

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Reminder: Bizarre not working on PGR5, working on 'new racing series'

Christopher Grant — 2007-11-15T02:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Microsoft Xbox 360, Driving, Business

Buried in the Q&A section towards the end of a Bizarre Creations newspost regarding an update to the Cat and Mouse mode in PGR4, the recently acquired third-party developer (Activision nabbed the UK-based devs in September if you'll recall) confirm that they won't be working on Project Gotham Racing 5. Instead, they're hard at work on "a brand new racing series" no doubt full of cars and tracks and all the other thrilling hallmarks of the genre.

We'd seen reports stating the same - that Bizarre's second, more action-oriented dev-team (think The Club) would be working on existing Activision IPs and their accomplished XBLA team (think Boom Boom Rocket) would be continuing with that platform while the PGR team would be working on something new - but confirmation from the developers themselves serves as a nice, short reminder for PGR fans that it's a brave new world for Bizarre.

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PGR4 update changes Cat and Mouse mode, adds tournaments [update]

Griffin McElroy — 2007-11-14T23:15:00+00:00

Filed under: Microsoft Xbox 360, Driving

Project Gotham Racing 4 (or as we like to call it, the meaty, primitive husk which envelops and safeguards Geometry Wars: Waves) is going into the shop for a shiny new coat tomorrow, as Bizarre Creations is releasing a free update for the title which will address the concerns of some of their valued vehicular veterans.

~~A major feature of the update~~ is the Cat and Mouse mode's change from a linear race to a free roam chase around the city of your choice. Now, each team will have only one "mouse" car, which must be at least one class lower than the other "cat" cars on its team. Teams earn points by keeping their mouse alive, by having their mouse perform style moves, and by hitting the other team's mouse.

Also scheduled for the update are four tournament modes: Daily Tournaments (Mon. through Fri.), Super Saturdays, Simulation Sundays, and the Global Cup (a grueling, 512-man event which takes two weeks to complete). Rumor has it that, for a fortnight, the winner gets to sit high upon a tower crafted from the bones of their fallen competitors, and declare supreme dominance over all of Xbox Live. Let us all hope for a merciful and benevolent ruler.

Read -- Cat and Mouse mode details
Read -- Tournament mode details

Update: Apparently, the newly renovated Cat and Mouse mode was late for the morning train, and will not be featured on todays update. However, a Bizarre Creations employee has assured us that the new mode will be "rolled out in a separate update in a few weeks."

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Bizarre likely to work on existing Activision IP

Ross Miller — 2007-10-12T14:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Action, Driving, Business

While still poised to work on a new racing franchise, recently-acquired developer Bizarre Creations has a second, action-oriented team that will "probably be working on a property that [new parent company] Activision already owns," according to executive vice president of publishing Robin Kaminsky (via Develop).

As noted by Develop, major Activision properties include Call of Duty (staying firmly with Infinity Ward, we'd presume), Tony Hawk, Guitar Hero and a multitude of license titles. Could Bizarre be assigned a James Bond game? The Club, Bizzare's arcade shooter, is scheduled for early 2008.

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PGR4 demo to have exclusive content

Ross Miller — 2007-09-18T12:57:00+00:00

Filed under: Microsoft Xbox 360, Driving

A demo from Bizarre Creations' Project Gotham Racing 4 should be hitting Xbox Live soon, according to the developer (via Eurogamer). In addition to five playable vehicles (cars and bikes) that presumably will be in the full game, there will be an Arcade mode exclusive to the demo set in Macau, featuring exclusive challenges.
We're a bit perplexed about the exclusive content. If it's good, why not include it in the full game. Conversely, if the content is not good, or not on par with the full game, why use it to promote the title?

A time trial for Nurburgring Snow will also be in the demo. Project Gotham Racing 4 (with Geometry Wars: Waves) is due out October 2 in North America.

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The Club goes dancing, shooting February 2008

Ross Miller — 2007-09-07T15:15:00+00:00

Filed under: PC, Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360, Action

When Bizarre Creations is not driving fast cars or pulverizing polygons, the Liverpool-based developer likes to blast bullets at a blistering rate with little regard for their surroundings. According to a press release from publisher Sega, their incoming shoot 'em up The Club will ship this February for PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, hopefully just in time for Valentine's Day.

In the meantime, check out our impressions of the title from E3. And speaking of shoot 'em ups, we hear Clive Owen's new film has an action sequence or two.

Gallery: The Club (360, PS3)

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Bizarre clarifies DVD limitations remark

Ross Miller — 2007-08-02T11:58:00+00:00

Filed under: Microsoft Xbox 360, Driving

After recently commenting on the constraints of DVD, Project Gotham Racing 4 developer Bizarre Creations has a new post on their company website providing some clarification as to their opinion of ye olde disc format.

Citing the much larger number of environments (10 in PGR4, vs. five in PGR3), the article lauds the new lighting system over having two "fixed" times of day (and therefore two sets of textures). "DVD size is absolutely not [their emphasis] a factor that we consider when designing our games ... and PGR4 is no exception. DVD9 gives us more than we need to create a fabulous experience for you guys," it said, later adding, "we've never had to cut content to fit on the disc, and we probably never will." Maybe it wasn't cut, but we're pretty sure they would've planned for more environments on a larger disc.

The original comment, which sparked the discussion, was, "Whilst this wasn't a problem for our dev team, it was a problem fitting all this data onto a single DVD." While we applaud the ingenuity of a new lighting system, they did say the data for two textures could not fit.

Should the extra content situation ever arise, we're sure they could make it downloadable on Xbox Live, possibly for a fee. Bizarre's biggest concern right now should be including a new Geometry Wars onto the disc -- if it's not there, there's going to be heck to pay. Heck, I tell you.

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Bizarre confirms PGR4's cities, comments on DVD constraints

Ludwig Kietzmann — 2007-07-30T19:40:00+00:00

Filed under: Microsoft Xbox 360, Driving

Bizarre Creations has divulged the final list of cities to be seen and recklessly raced through in the upcoming automotive extravaganza, Project Gotham Racing 4:

Macau, China
Las Vegas, USA
London, England
St. Petersburg, Russia
Tokyo, Japan
New York, USA
Shanghai, China
Quebec, Canada
Nurburgring, Germany

The sequel to the Xbox 360 launch title will also boast weather effects, motorcycles and a Michelin-sponsored test track, with some of the returning tracks from the previous game seeing adjustments to enhance the flow of racing and prevent pileups. They will also be presented at a different time of day, though this aspect itself will not be adjustable. Posting in the official Bizarre Creations forum, a staff member noted, "You won't see different times of day per city because this involves recreating all the textures again (one for day and one for night). Whilst this wasn't a problem for our dev team, it was a problem fitting all this data onto a single DVD."

To counter this issue, however, Bizarre points to the game's varied lighting models: "For example, Macau is always in the daytime, but if you play it during a storm everything looks darker and more foreboding. If you play during a blizzard then things are slightly tinged blue and everything seems more frozen. Of course, playing this track in sunshine will make everything appear bright and yellowy."

Expect to drive around a bright and yellowy Macau sometime in September (if the game's done, that is).

Gallery: PGR4 (Xbox 360)

Gallery: Project Gotham Racing 4 motorcycles

Read -- Bizarre Studio Update
Read -- Bizarre Creations Forums [thanks, Anonymous]

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Joystiq impressions: Geometry Wars Galaxies

Ross Miller — 2007-07-15T20:30:00+00:00

Filed under: Arcade, Nintendo DS, Nintendo Wii

Despite what developers Kuju tell us, we don't think fans of previous Geometry Wars games will necessarily enjoy Galaxies for the Wii. Though it may have been more enjoyable with the classic controller, our playtime with the Wii remote and nunchuk proved needlessly hard to use.

Movement is done with then nunchuk's joystick, and the direction of your fire is determined by where you point on screen and is shown via a thin red line shooting out of your ship. Given the sheer necessity to be accurate in more difficult phases, having to deal with Wii remote's imprecise pointing proves detrimental.

Compensating for the control issues is your little drone buddy that will team up with you against the Shapes of Evil. By collecting geoms, the game's currency dropped by the bad guys, you can upgrade your drone. We couldn't get a descriptive answer as to what upgrades will be available, but a representative gave us the example of buying an upgrade that tells the drone to target a specific type of foe.

Gallery: Geometry Wars Galaxies (Wii)

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Joystiq impressions: The Club

Ross Miller — 2007-07-13T20:50:00+00:00

Filed under: Arcade, Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360, First Person Shooters, E3

Bizarre Creation's next big title, Project Gotham Racing notwithstanding, is The Club, a pretty over-the-shoulder shooter with an arcade twist. Don't worry about a story: each level takes approximately five minutes to finish, and the point of the game is to achieve higher scores.

We got a chance to try out the prison level. The pace is brisk and aiming is easy. Where the challenge is going to lie is maintaining a combo multiplier, which drops when you miss a shot. You can also increase the multiplier by shooting skull signs. In our initial run through, we only found two skulls, meaning we'll have a lot more exploration to do upon its release. Blue barrels cause big explosions and major points, which is a plus.

The game is challenging enough and we did have enough near death experiences. We tried easy mode, meaning health packs are plentiful, but the other difficulty level reportedly ramps up noticeably. Each of the eight levels have six to eight game modes each, and each one has its own target score you need to earn a medal, dubbed "bullets." Four-player split screen and deathmatch will be available in the final game. The point of this game was quick, fun experiences. We're looking forward to this game when it releases early 2008 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

Gallery: The Club (360, PS3)

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Joystiq hands-on: PGR4 (Xbox 360)

Zack Stern — 2007-07-09T10:10:00+00:00

Filed under: Microsoft Xbox 360, Driving, Online, Galleries

Project Gotham Racing 4 follows the track of previous PGR titles by recreating cities on a building-by-building basis and then letting the fast cars loose. The September Xbox 360 game will include 10 total locations: New York City, Tokyo, London, Las Vegas, Quebec City, Shanghai, Macau, St. Petersburg, Nuerburgring, and the Michelin Test Track.

I got some hands-on time with a recent version of the in-progress game, with the touted weather and rain specifically being shown off. PGR4 looks and feels like it'll be a fun racer, and this time, motorcycles get to play alongside the cars.

Gallery: PGR4 (Xbox 360)

I rode a motorcycle through a rainy Shanghai night to get a sense of the game. Rain streamed down the face of my chase-camera as I practiced racing and turning. Motorcycles -- new to PGR -- follow slightly different "kudos" rules as the cars; I earned PGR's point currency not only by drifting on turns but also by tricks including wheelies and standing on the bike while racing.

The roughly 30 licensed motorcycles will be able to race directly against the roughly 100 licensed cars, although the game isn't being promoted as a cars-versus-bikes showdown. Instead, the single-player missions will straddle both vehicles, although online drivers can more easily specialize in one type.

In addition to the rain and puddles -- I got a close look skidding on the pavement after failed tricks -- PGR4 will include snow and ice. Volumetric fog -- rendered in a three-dimensional shape instead of a 2D layer -- was also touted. As we drove up the city hills, dense fog at lower altitudes cleared at peaks, showing city vistas. While the demo omitted snow and ice, fog and rain looked good at least.

Developer, Bizarre Creations, says AI will be improved in this version, giving opponents more of a vindictive memory of how you drive and more interest in earning their own kudos. But online play, including team-based racing, seems the most interesting way to race.

Specifics are still being defined, but friends will be able to play together, earning team points and individual points at the end of the race. (A teammate win will earn you points regardless of your own individual placement.)

And if your friends aren't around to help win a race, in-game replays and video sharing will recap that glory. Bizarre hopes it'll create a YouTube-like community within the PGR4 interface, and players will first be directed to Gamertag friends' videos before looking though random clips and top-rated movies.

Motorcycles, new weather, and team tactics make PGR4 worth considering for any racing fan. And the gorgeous real-life city settings still stand out against other titles.

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Geometry Wars XP debuts on Steam

Ludwig Kietzmann — 2007-06-18T22:55:00+00:00

Filed under: PC, Action

Those hoping to engage in wanton shape genocide without a console's involvement can now look towards Valve's online game distribution service, Steam, now hosting a Windows XP version of Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved. Developed by Bizarre Creations and considered by many to be the Xbox 360's first must-have game, Geometry Wars is being offered at an introductory price of $2.50, half that of its 2005 "supposed to be free" launch price. The game will be shifted to $3.95 starting June 22.

If Steam isn't your thing either, perhaps this holiday season's Geometry Wars: Galaxies on the Wii and DS will be enough to enlist you in the fight against circles and diamonds. Failing that, we'll have to conclude that you're one of them -- a total square.

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