Review by K4rn4ge

If there was ever a game that would make you forget your 360 had a disc tray, Geometry Wars would be that game. This addictive Xbox Live Arcade game defines a next generation game in a different, yet fully acceptable way.

Gameplay
Think of this game as a crazy, juiced up version of Asteroids that will get your adrenaline pumping. You control a ship and your mission is to destroy hordes of evil neon shapes. By using the left analog stick to move your craft and the right analog stick to shoot in any direction (with one of three main blasters that you will randomly shuffle through), you have full control over your ship. The right trigger allows you to use bombs which will clear the screen of all enemies but the downfall of this is that you don’t receive any points for using one.

At first, you may find the game boring but the difficulty gradually ramps up. If you survive long enough, you will encounter hundreds and even thousands of enemies on screen at a time- yet blasting them all away into smithereens and making your points skyrocket is very satisfying. Points, you ask? This is indeed a classic style shooter where your main goal is simply to achieve the highest score possible. In a game like this, the only end of the game comes when you lose all your lives and see the dreaded game over screen.

Game play could have been improved more by possibly adding some more modes (since there is only one) and more varied enemies. There is also an annoying glitch (where snakes that spawn on the edge of the screen instantly kill you) that should have been fixed. There could have also been a save feature because if you want to get high scores, you will need to play for hours on end. Overall, this is an addictive little gem that shouldn’t be overlooked.

Graphics
First of all, you have to take into account that this is a 2D game. That said, the game still manages to pull off hi-res HD graphics. The best part about the graphics would have to be the snazzy neon colors and insane special effects. Sometimes it feels like you’re watching a Fourth of July fireworks show, and that’s a good thing. This is a major element that positively contributes to the overall fun factor. The only gripe regarding this is that sometimes with all of this on-screen at one time, you may lose your ship in all of the action. Fortunately, it seems that the more you play, the less confused or lost you will be.

Another thing that will blow you away is the grid style background. It is made up of thousands of points which allow for the grid to become distorted in any way. It is amazing to see how the grid reacts realistically to gravity. For a classic style shooter, these crazy colorful graphics and special effects are icing on the cake.

Sound
The only thing that can rival the addictive nature of this game would be the addictive tune that you hear during game play. However, this catchy techno theme will leave you wanting more- so it’s a shame that this is the only song. Luckily, you have your custom soundtracks to fill that void. The sound effects surprisingly add a lot to the game play. You will hear different kinds of shapes (enemies) spawn and each has a distinct sound and really gives you the feeling of being swarmed by a plethora of enemies. When you use your blasters to destroy the enemies, there are also some subtle yet effective sound effects, although they sometimes seem too plain.

Achievements
There are a total of 12 achievements worth a total of 200 gamerpoints. Most of them you will achieve by simply getting high scores. Others will be awarded for surviving a certain amount of points without dying once. The last few achievements consist of having nine lives and nine bombs in your inventory (two separate achievements), acquiring a x10 multiplier (which you will get by killing 2000 enemies without dying), and finally the only achievement you wouldn’t get by playing the game normally. The pacifism achievement requires you to stay alive for one minute without firing or using bombs. Unfortunately, this is the only achievement that is “just for fun”. It would have been nice to see some more creative achievement ideas. Overall, some of the achievements seem impossible at first, but with enough practice and dedication, you will be able to overcome these challenges.

Lasting Appeal
This is the most addictive game in a long time. Once you get a high score, you will be determined to try again and again to advance up the leaderboards. It provides a great amount of challenge and will last you a long time. However, the lack of any cooperative play or multiplayer modes leaves everyone in the dust. There could have been so much more. Nevertheless, you will rarely get bored of the fun, addictive game play.

Final Score

• It only will cost you a mere five bucks!
• The word “addictive” is best defined by this game
• Amazing special effects

• No multiplayer modes
• Fairly steep learning curve
• Needs more variation

Note: A rating scale of 0 - 10 is used, with 10 being the highest a game can score while 0 is the absolute worst. Each category has a point value associated with it and a final score is displayed at the end of the review. The opinions expressed in this review are not necessarily the opinions held by the owners of www.achieve360points.com.