Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved

"Old school arcade action at its core. There's a lot of depth for those with the patience to delve into it, just not much variety for those who don't."

Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved is all about short intense gaming sessions that will constantly keep you coming back to beat your previous high score. The game offers two modes: Retro and Evolved. Both modes play the same way, except that Evolved is clearly the sequel to Retro with updated graphics, more enemy types and a bigger and scrolling battlefield. Both have their own leaderboards too, which is nice.

Gameplay 8/10
The left analog stick moves your ship, the right analog shoots, and the triggers or bumpers activate the bombs. New bombs and lives are awarded as you rack up points, and multipliers are also given provided that you don't die. That's all you need to know, making this game very easy to pick up and play. Don't let its simplicity fool you though, as there is still a ton of depth in this game to separate the men from the boys. You'll need lightning quick reflexes, and learn very specific flight and aiming patterns if you wish to survive any longer than 5-6 minutes.

Once these initial minutes are over, the real game kicks in, and you'll never have a moments rest. Enemies will swarm you in the blink of an eye and always be on your tail. Gamers with the patience to hone their skills will love the challenge, others will probably just give up. This is perhaps the game's biggest downfall, as there is nothing else in the game left once you get tired or give up on the main mode. Probably my biggest complaint is that there is no cooperative play. Nevertheless, the game only costs 400 points and many players will spend countless hours to master the game and achieve over the coveted million points.

Graphics 8/10
The simplistic graphics look surprisingly spectacular on an HD set. The sheer volume of sparkles and flashy lights really do look fantastic once the game fills the entire screen with them. There is also a very unique style to the game that just oozes with old school arcade-ness.

Sound 7/10
Very basic sounds all around. There are essentially just 2 tracks in the entire game, one for the main menu, and another for the Evolved mode. Veteran players will learn to rely on each enemy unit's specific spawn sound effect to help warn them of their presence, but they certainly don't sound particularly special. The tried and true sounds of firing laser beams and cosmic explosions rule the day.

Final Verdict 8/10
In the end, your enjoyment of the game will be directly tied to the amount of patience you're willing to invest into mastering the game's immense difficulty. The game certainly starts easy enough, but once the initial couple of minutes the difficulty becomes significantly harder. Some will adore the challenge giving the game a long life span, while others will just shake their heads feeling that they just hit a brick wall. Luckily, the 400 points admissions fee is a small price to pay regardless of what your outcome might be.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 11/21/06