Disc0
December 19th, 2007, 06:35 PM
Geometry Wars started out as a mere afterthought; a minigame tacked onto Project Gotham Racing 2 for the Xbox. Since then, it has developed something of a cult following, and has grown into a casual gaming franchise spanning numerous systems. In Galaxies, Geometry Wars makes its debut on the Nintendo DS with a new singleplayer campaign and a port of Retro Evolved.
The trouble with porting the action of Geometry Wars to the small screens of the DS will be understood by anyone who has played the games before. At first, the game seems like a fairly simple shooter with somewhat impressive visuals. Shoot a few geometric shapes, watch the sparks fly, and that's that. Ten minutes later, the screen is filled with particles flying everywhere, bullets spray out in all directions, and dozens of enemies swarm at the player from all directions.
It's an exciting experience to say the least, but fitting the whole package on the DS seems unlikely. The dual analog controls of consoles are gone, and screen space and hardware are limited. So Bizarre Creations deserves quite a bit of respect for managing to bring the experience to the handheld market almost perfectly intact.
Although screen space is limited, and you'll have a bit less time to see enemies coming at you, the 2D graphics have been scaled down nicely, and look very similar to the experience on the 360. The background grid is not dynamic, so you don't see all the cool effects from explosions and black (red) holes, but considering the hardware, the game looks remarkable.
Controls, too, are surprisingly tight. In the default control scheme, the directional pad is used to control your ship's movements, and the touch screen is used to fire in any direction around your ship. Although this isn't a perfect scheme, and it is possible to accidentally cross over your ship with the stylus and change firing directions, it still provides precise, responsive control.
It seems that the difficulty of Retro Evolved has been scaled down for the handheld market--little tweaks made to enemy behavior and granting of extra lives and bombs make a big difference. At first, this might bother some veterans of the series, as it's fairly easy to rack up a half dozen lives and bombs in short order. But the game ramps up difficulty gradually, and eventually, you will struggle, you will be overwhelmed, and you will lose (in Retro Evolved).
In the singleplayer campaign, you play in various "Galaxies", which are really just differently shaped playing fields. Your objective is to collect Geoms, which are a kind of currency dropped by destroyed enemies. You have a helper which floats around and is largely useless, but can be upgraded to have greater attack powers or defend you better. The campaign is a novel idea, and might add value for some people, but the main attraction is the classic Retro Evolved gameplay on your DS.
Although the smaller screen and slightly downgraded graphics can't perfectly recreate the full Geometry Wars experience, and the game might not keep your attention for hours on end, it's an absolutely impeccable example of fast-paced, arcade gaming for DS--something that both casual and hardcore gamers can appreciate. A faithful recreation of Retro Evolved will bring you back for one more go at it time and time again, thanks to the hard work put into recreating the game as faithfully as possible for the DS. The MSRP of $29.99 USD might seem like a bit much for what seems like a simple minigame, but there is more fun to be had, and more replayability in Geometry Wars: Galaxies than in most other DS games available. In short, it's a worthy addition to any arcade fan's library.
Gameplay: Although the singleplayer campaign is nothing special, the action is all there, and it's true to the original.
Graphics: Dazzling particle effects and very little slowdown are more than impressive on the DS.
Sound: Fairly simple, and lacks some of the oomph of the console versions, but still does the job fine.
Replay Value: It never gets old. You're good until a sequel arrives.
Final Word: Though the DS seems ill-suited to this type of fast-paced action, this game goes above and beyond expectations. It's certainly worth the price of admission.
8.5/10
The trouble with porting the action of Geometry Wars to the small screens of the DS will be understood by anyone who has played the games before. At first, the game seems like a fairly simple shooter with somewhat impressive visuals. Shoot a few geometric shapes, watch the sparks fly, and that's that. Ten minutes later, the screen is filled with particles flying everywhere, bullets spray out in all directions, and dozens of enemies swarm at the player from all directions.
It's an exciting experience to say the least, but fitting the whole package on the DS seems unlikely. The dual analog controls of consoles are gone, and screen space and hardware are limited. So Bizarre Creations deserves quite a bit of respect for managing to bring the experience to the handheld market almost perfectly intact.
Although screen space is limited, and you'll have a bit less time to see enemies coming at you, the 2D graphics have been scaled down nicely, and look very similar to the experience on the 360. The background grid is not dynamic, so you don't see all the cool effects from explosions and black (red) holes, but considering the hardware, the game looks remarkable.
Controls, too, are surprisingly tight. In the default control scheme, the directional pad is used to control your ship's movements, and the touch screen is used to fire in any direction around your ship. Although this isn't a perfect scheme, and it is possible to accidentally cross over your ship with the stylus and change firing directions, it still provides precise, responsive control.
It seems that the difficulty of Retro Evolved has been scaled down for the handheld market--little tweaks made to enemy behavior and granting of extra lives and bombs make a big difference. At first, this might bother some veterans of the series, as it's fairly easy to rack up a half dozen lives and bombs in short order. But the game ramps up difficulty gradually, and eventually, you will struggle, you will be overwhelmed, and you will lose (in Retro Evolved).
In the singleplayer campaign, you play in various "Galaxies", which are really just differently shaped playing fields. Your objective is to collect Geoms, which are a kind of currency dropped by destroyed enemies. You have a helper which floats around and is largely useless, but can be upgraded to have greater attack powers or defend you better. The campaign is a novel idea, and might add value for some people, but the main attraction is the classic Retro Evolved gameplay on your DS.
Although the smaller screen and slightly downgraded graphics can't perfectly recreate the full Geometry Wars experience, and the game might not keep your attention for hours on end, it's an absolutely impeccable example of fast-paced, arcade gaming for DS--something that both casual and hardcore gamers can appreciate. A faithful recreation of Retro Evolved will bring you back for one more go at it time and time again, thanks to the hard work put into recreating the game as faithfully as possible for the DS. The MSRP of $29.99 USD might seem like a bit much for what seems like a simple minigame, but there is more fun to be had, and more replayability in Geometry Wars: Galaxies than in most other DS games available. In short, it's a worthy addition to any arcade fan's library.
Gameplay: Although the singleplayer campaign is nothing special, the action is all there, and it's true to the original.
Graphics: Dazzling particle effects and very little slowdown are more than impressive on the DS.
Sound: Fairly simple, and lacks some of the oomph of the console versions, but still does the job fine.
Replay Value: It never gets old. You're good until a sequel arrives.
Final Word: Though the DS seems ill-suited to this type of fast-paced action, this game goes above and beyond expectations. It's certainly worth the price of admission.
8.5/10