Brutal Gamer

Geometry Wars 2: Retro Evolved (Xbox 360) Review

By Addison - August 11, 2008 - 18:07 UTC

The first Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved was easily one of the biggest titles of Xbox Live Arcade, not just in terms of sales but in the sheer quality of the game. It had some of the most addictive game play possible so when I heard a sequel was due to be released I was excited. But in a way apprehensive of would it be that much of a step forward, what new game modes would there be? Would it be worth the 800 Microsoft points price tag?

Read on to find my review of Geometry Wars 2.

There has never really been a story for a Geometry Wars game, it just has addictive game modes and surprisingly this new edition is no different. It has in no way a story, so if you are expecting to work through levels like in a campaign you will be sadly disappointed. What it does have though is six amazingly different modes, all the modes are extremely different and require you to play each one in a completely different style. Some modes are quite short like ‘deadline’ which gives you 3 minutes to score as much as humanly possible but others like ‘evolved’ (which is identical to the game mode featured in Geometry Wars) go on for as long as you can survive. With all the different game modes you are certain to find game modes you love and others that you hate, either way you will be playing the game for hours without even realising.

One of the areas which this Arcade game always stood out to me was the visuals, it truly is outstanding. The colors are bright and vivid which leads to more engaging gameplay, this game is also one of only a few titles which has full 1080p support. It is not only the colors which make this game stand out, all explosions have like a ripple effect and release even more color into the surrounding area. The screen can become so full of color and light that it is hard to see where you are going, so adding a new element of gameplay, that the further a away you destroy objects the easier it becomes.

The gameplay is pretty much the same as previous versions; it will blow your mind. The difficulty is so insane that it will keep your coming back for months on end, trying to reach that high score. If anything the difficulty has been increased from the previous versions, the new types of enemies make the game massively hard. The green enemies from the first Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved have been completely changed in my book, they are now one of the hardest in the game. I mentioned it earlier but with all the new game modes it means you can play in many different styles where as in previous versions it was pretty much the same throughout. For example in ‘King’ you can only fire from within 3 circles on the screen, so you have to make sure your path to the next circle is clear and that you don’t stay still long enough in one so that you become surrounded. The gameplay is simply amazing; it offers experiences for every type of gamer.

The soundtrack to Geometry Wars 2 is surprisingly large for an arcade game; almost every game mode has its own music which fits which fits nicely. The sound is brilliant quality like all previous versions of Geometry Wars. The one of the things that does annoy me after a while is the sound when you die, I here it so much. What I will say though it does add replay value I think in a way. To survive for longer, get the highest score and be the best.

One of the new editions to Geometry Wars 2 is multiplayer which has not been in the series before. When I first saw that this game would have multiplayer I assumed that it would be online multiplayer, but I was sadly mistaken. The multiplayer is only on one console for up four people which I think is a big let down in many ways. Bizarre have said though that the game is so fast paced that online would be impossible because the internet just isn’t fast enough yet, there is just too much happening on the screen at one time. The multiplayer is a large amount of fun, it offers all of the game modes available in the single player but this way you can play with your friends. The replay value of Geometry Wars 2 is huge, it will keep you coming back over and over to try and reach that high score. I cannot stress how addictive this game is and at times annoying, because you just cannot survive.

Overall this is probably the best Xbox Live Arcade game available, and it should be on everybody’s Xbox. It is great for parties and events or just playing on you’re own when your too tired to put in a disc. With the new modes and multiplayer this is the complete Xbox Arcade experience. It is well worth the price.

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