Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2

August 4,2008 - The original Geometry Wars Retro Evolved game was truly an instant classic the moment it hit Xbox Live Arcade. Spawning numerous sequels and becoming one of the most popular downloadable games on all of Xbox Live Arcade, Bizarre Creations didn’t let the excitement and popularity of the game end there. Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2 encompasses everything that made the first game so great, but adds its own blend of originality and innovations. It is not only as good as the first, it is a whole lot better.

For those games who have never played Geometry Wars, or any of its subsequent spin-offs (shame on you!), the game is easy enough to pick up and play. There are only two basic functions necessary to complete when playing, shooting and moving. Using the left analog stick players move around your little flying ship while the right analog stick fires in the direction you are facing. Pressing the right trigger button will unleash bombs that destroy everything in your path. Simplicity aside, the game’s popularity stems from the fact that no two games are ever identical, the game runs on a random sequence, meaning enemies will never respawn in the same area twice, and the game plays out accordingly to how well you perform. The better you are, the harder the difficulty will ramp up.

But instead of just offering more of the same, which is no reason to complain, Bizarre Creations has included five brand new modes, along with the original Retro Evolved mode, as well as co-op to offer the most complete package yet. The single player mode encompasses six different modes that each offers up unique and entirely addicting modes of play. All of them can be unlocked through one sit-down of playing, and after which can be chosen by your own free will. The six modes cater the difficulties to certain players, and some modes will leave you screaming at your television for hours (damn you Pacifism!), but needless to say it is all very good fun. A unique new twist in the gameplay has enemies dropping geoms when they are destroyed. These little green balls act as points that can be traded in to upgrade your ship in co-op modes. These geoms make gameplay more invigorating as you have to decide whether to gather up all the loot or stay alive.

The first mode available from the start is called Deadline, in which you have unlimited lives but are on a three minute timer. King mode offers a brisk of creativity in the way you destroy enemies due to the fact that you have to be in a certain area at a certain time. Different colored rings appear throughout the level, which offer up different abilities once inside. You can only shoot from inside blue rings while enemies cannot harm you, green rings make it possible for only some enemies to get you, while red rings make it fair game for everyone. Waves mode pits you against constant waves of diabolical orange kamikazes that only move in standard horizontal of vertical patterns. They overlap as time goes on, which makes both navigating and shooting a hefty chore. Pacifism mode is probably the most intense and exciting new mode to try, since you cannot shoot your weapons at all, but still have the luxury of destroying enemies by passing through baton-like enemies that emit a pulse wave when struck. The last mode, entitled Sequence, has you clearing out rooms of enemies in an effort to reach the end. Each room however has a time limit of 30 seconds, and you cannot regain lives or bombs once you run out.

Each of these new modes, coupled with the original Retro Evolved mode, offers up plenty of countless hours of fun and exciting game time. But even these exciting new modes cannot compete to the fascinating new co-op mode, which takes the already great formula and adds a whole new layer to it. Co-op mode allows you to join with three friends to take on the enemy threat; competitive mode pits you against another player to collect the most geoms; utilizing power-ups along the way, while copilot mode puts one player in control of steering and the other in control of shooting. All of these modes offer of plenty of diverse options for anyone looking to have a fun time and lighten things up even more. It’s a shame that these modes are only available offline as the frustration of knowing these modes exist could make it disheartening for anyone who cannot find a friend to pay with.

Visually, Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2 looks as psychedelic and pleasing as the first, if not better. Particle effects look much nicer and more fluid, enemies shoot out different colored fireworks that cover up the entire screen, and the backgrounds now fluctuate in a more solid motion when interrupted by certain power-ups. The new enemies are noticeable by their bright colors, and even some of the enemy classes have gotten upgrades to make them more noticeable of their abilities. The sound even relates surprisingly well to the visuals, with the techno beats ramping up when enemies pound you from every side and slow down when you are left alone on screen. Even the different modes offer up exciting new chants, with Deadline that ends with a chilling alarm-sounding crash, while Sequence sounds like you are in the middle of a trivia game.

Who would have thought that the basic premise of shooting geometric shapes could be so much fun and gather up such a huge following? Bizarre Creations has not only managed to give fans more of what they wanted, but provided more modes and co-op options to make Evolved 2 last a lot longer. The lack of online multiplayer is a sure bummer, but the plethora of other modes more than makes up for it. Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2 is worth every penny it costs, and at such a cheap price (800 points), you will not find a better game on Xbox Live Arcade.

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