It’s been a while since we really, properly reviewed a game here at TTB. Of course, the reason for that is more than likely because there haven’t been any really interesting games out on our chosen platforms in a while, but the one recent release that we did find ourselves having to drop everything and glue ourselves back to our TVs for was Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2.

For those who’ve never played Geometry Wars, the game essentially features a 2D playing field, where the player manoeuvres their spaceship using one analog thumbstick while controlling the direction of fire with the other. The enemies consist of geometric shapes (hence the odd name) which move in various ways to try to attack the player. That’s pretty much all there is to know.

For those who have played the original, Geo Wars 2 is so much more than ‘more of the same’. The new game modes range from a timed version of the original to an epic staged challenge mode known as Sequence, passing through King, Pacifism, and Waves along the way. The game also adds collectibles known as ‘geoms’, which increase the player’s score multiplier, which are earned by killing enemies, and friend leaderboards on the single player menu screens, making the game extremely competitive.

Perhaps the two most interesting new modes are Pacifism and King (pictured above). In Pacifism, the player has no weapons and must destroy the enemies by flying through explosive gates. The enemies are the fairly dumb light blue diamonds from the first game, however this mode is not to be underestimated, as the enemies (and gates, with deadly explosive ends) soon start to pile up, making the play area a very dangerous place to be. The key to this mode is to keep moving, and take down enemies and quickly as possible without letting the gates build up too much.

King involves special “zones” which appear on the playfield, and the player must be inside them to be able to fire. The zones disappear after a short amount of time, meaning that clearing a path to the next zone should be high on anyone’s priority list. As a nice bonus, the geoms take a lot longer to vanish in this mode, making it easier to dive out on a quick ‘harvesting run’ every so often to scoop them up. This is by far my favourite mode, and a favourite of TTB in multiplayer, too, which I’ll go into later.

Also the game brings us the classic Evolved mode, a timed Deadline mode which limits that game to 3 minutes, Waves, which will be familiar to anyone who has played PGR4, and Sequence, which involves surviving a sequence of predetermined challenges. This has become affectionately known as The Sequence of Death among ourselves, probably because we totally suck at it.

The modes are also unlocked for mutliplayer as they are completed in single player (don’t worry – even the most novice of players can unlock all of the modes in an hour or so), and support local play for up to 4 players. This is either co-operative or competitive, and allows players to team up as they please. It’s extremely simple but also flexible, and the short games and zero load times make the gameplay frantic and relentless.

The lack of online multiplayer is a little disappointing, although it is easy to imagine just how difficult this game would be with even the slightest amount of lag, so the decision not to include it is understandable. I think that the in-your-face friend leaderboards in the single player menus do make up for this omission, however.

The obligatory XBLA demo only allows you to try your hand at Deadline, which is disappointing as the other modes are a lot more compelling, but it does give you a feel for the game. If all else fails, just give the original GW:RE a go.

That said, big fans of the original game may find this a little too ‘easy’, as the achievements are very easy to unlock and scores in the millions are easy to obttain. Obviously everyone is on the same footing, however, and the scores are all relative, so it really is just nitpicking to criticise the game for this reason.

So, to sum up, Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2 is definitely a must buy – especially at the bargain price of 800 points. It has tons of replay value, the multiplayer is great fun, and you will keep coming back for more to try to keep your friends from the top of the leaderboards. In fact, for all its simplicity, this is probably one of the best games on Xbox Live Arcade so far. If you haven’t tried the demo yet, what are you waiting for?

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• Lunchbreak Gamer: Geometry Wars 2 (Very) Mini-Review
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