Well you have to start on a high note, haven't you?
Anyone unfamiliar with Geometry Wars in any incarnation (or its Dad, Robotron) should understand from the outset, as should you all, that I'm not going to do your Wikipedia searches for you. So for the rest of us, how does the latest increment in the development of a modern classic, born almost perfect, justify itself and the pricetag? Particularly to someone whose Geometry jollies are usually had from the boxed Wii Galaxies, released about thirty seconds ago?
Firstly, the fine-tuned neon vomit approach to rendering the gameplay onscreen is as lairy as ever. The Wii's grizzled 480p effort is quaint by comparison and the juxtaposition of the two forms a good corner from which to punch your way into an argument for hi-def graphics in games. There's something fairer about how the 360 describes the action to you, though this doesn't make the game feel easier by any means at all. Quite the opposite - the first thing I noticed when the going got tough was how much I've been coddled by my little Galaxies drone, powered up to full attack capability and cleansing acres of level with a glorious arc of murderous shot. I suppose on balance I should concede that the 360 pad is the natural controller for this series and the wiimote/classic options are simply too experimental to be definitive.
Rightful pad in hand, then, the excited gamer fires up the new title and is presented with a rack of six game types, which are unlockable in sequence. I'm not blessed with outstanding skill at these (any) games, and I found myself playing each mode about three times before the next started giving me the come-on, which is reasonable. I'm still bitter about Smash Bros. Brawl making me graft for Snake and Sonic; unlockables should never, ever be a chore. Each game mode supports you in a different way, depending on how you suck. Opening Deadline mode covers general ineptitude (much to my relief) in this timed game you can die a thousandfold and still get to the end, though it won't help your high score. Following that you find yourself clockless and hopping from circle to decaying circle, only able to shoot within them, only collecting Geoms without. Tense and occupying the same space in your mind as a cover-happy FPS, King mode is a fantastic change in direction, which precedes the return of Evolved (bigger, better). Thence to Pacifism... no longer just an achievement, vast swarms of blue diamonds play paparazzi to your Lindsay Lohan as you dive through gates, triggering explosions that keep just enough of them explodey to stay your execution for a few seconds more. Waves returns as punishing as ever and the coup de grace is Sequence, wherein you take limited lives across multiple scripted, time-limited levels. So it doesn't matter whether you can't shoot, steer, memorise patterns, abide dying or games that just get more difficult until you die - there's a relief in there for you somewhere.
Frustratingly the same cannot be said of the gun, which lacks the powerable spread of previous GW iterations. In and of itself, this is a fair dinkum proposal, but when it comes to green thingies and snakes, by crikey, I've had enough already. These are very difficult to take down now, greens individually (a swarm will always thin out nicely if you are canny) and snakes when there's so many of the sods you can't make head nor tail of them (which is the key to pwning them). An individual green is now just too nimble, you line of fire just too narrow to make you feel like you have the same control as in previous games. They dance at the periphery of your rage like a child whose lobbed some rocks at your car, safe in the knowledge that you can't touch them or you'll end up as a schedule 1 offender.
Anyone unfamiliar with Geometry Wars in any incarnation (or its Dad, Robotron) should understand from the outset, as should you all, that I'm not going to do your Wikipedia searches for you. So for the rest of us, how does the latest increment in the development of a modern classic, born almost perfect, justify itself and the pricetag? Particularly to someone whose Geometry jollies are usually had from the boxed Wii Galaxies, released about thirty seconds ago?
Firstly, the fine-tuned neon vomit approach to rendering the gameplay onscreen is as lairy as ever. The Wii's grizzled 480p effort is quaint by comparison and the juxtaposition of the two forms a good corner from which to punch your way into an argument for hi-def graphics in games. There's something fairer about how the 360 describes the action to you, though this doesn't make the game feel easier by any means at all. Quite the opposite - the first thing I noticed when the going got tough was how much I've been coddled by my little Galaxies drone, powered up to full attack capability and cleansing acres of level with a glorious arc of murderous shot. I suppose on balance I should concede that the 360 pad is the natural controller for this series and the wiimote/classic options are simply too experimental to be definitive.
Rightful pad in hand, then, the excited gamer fires up the new title and is presented with a rack of six game types, which are unlockable in sequence. I'm not blessed with outstanding skill at these (any) games, and I found myself playing each mode about three times before the next started giving me the come-on, which is reasonable. I'm still bitter about Smash Bros. Brawl making me graft for Snake and Sonic; unlockables should never, ever be a chore. Each game mode supports you in a different way, depending on how you suck. Opening Deadline mode covers general ineptitude (much to my relief) in this timed game you can die a thousandfold and still get to the end, though it won't help your high score. Following that you find yourself clockless and hopping from circle to decaying circle, only able to shoot within them, only collecting Geoms without. Tense and occupying the same space in your mind as a cover-happy FPS, King mode is a fantastic change in direction, which precedes the return of Evolved (bigger, better). Thence to Pacifism... no longer just an achievement, vast swarms of blue diamonds play paparazzi to your Lindsay Lohan as you dive through gates, triggering explosions that keep just enough of them explodey to stay your execution for a few seconds more. Waves returns as punishing as ever and the coup de grace is Sequence, wherein you take limited lives across multiple scripted, time-limited levels. So it doesn't matter whether you can't shoot, steer, memorise patterns, abide dying or games that just get more difficult until you die - there's a relief in there for you somewhere.
Frustratingly the same cannot be said of the gun, which lacks the powerable spread of previous GW iterations. In and of itself, this is a fair dinkum proposal, but when it comes to green thingies and snakes, by crikey, I've had enough already. These are very difficult to take down now, greens individually (a swarm will always thin out nicely if you are canny) and snakes when there's so many of the sods you can't make head nor tail of them (which is the key to pwning them). An individual green is now just too nimble, you line of fire just too narrow to make you feel like you have the same control as in previous games. They dance at the periphery of your rage like a child whose lobbed some rocks at your car, safe in the knowledge that you can't touch them or you'll end up as a schedule 1 offender.
Your business end might not be able to do what it did as a fresh-faced youngster anymore, but this is more heart breaker than deal-breaker. With a classy, inventive and attainable set of achievements, there's so many angles to approach this 800 points-worth of game from that you'd really be a bit of a cock to download, say, 1942 instead of this. And therein lies the titular geometry. You play the angles, and very rarely question that the angles might just be playing you.
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