Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2

Remember when Grand Theft Auto IV came out and laid waste to every single imitator that copied one element or another from the series, yet still figured out a way to be innovative in the genre? Remember when Half Life 2 did the same thing?

Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2 achieves just that when it comes to the dual stick shooter genre. The original was a break out hit, first going from Project Gotham and then quickly becoming the most popular Xbox Live Arcade title. With the game's frantic top down gameplay mixed with stunningly simple, yet chaotic graphics - who knew basic shapes could look so good and play so well? Steering a ship in the shape of a deformed pentagon, you used the left stick to maneuver and the right stick to fire your weapon in the direction that you choose. Sounds simple, until waves upon waves of various shapes were on the screen with fireworks exploding all over the place. You went for a high score and nothing else, just like the old school quarter eating arcade machines. When you finally died, you could compare your score to the rest of your friends list on Xbox Live. This simple set up more than paid itself off, seeing as the game was a mere $5.

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3nXML0SJRE << This is a pretty solid example of just how overwhelming the game can get. Don't worry, that's later in the game! You eventually can train your eyes to be able to find out where everything is in all of that mess. This is the FIRST Geometry Wars, by the way.)

So if it's not broke, don't fix it, right? Correct, except Bizarre Creations decided that, well, let's just tweak it. Let's take out upgradable guns and just give them one single gun. Let them keep the multipliers when they die. Let's throw some more enemies in there and make the game harder. Better yet, let's add more modes and multiplayer. After spending a few days with it, I am more than pleased to say that the tweaking really added something special to this game.

Let's break down the modes from the beginning:

-Deadline. This is much like Evolved, except you are given a 3 minute deadline. You do not lose in this mode, but you do die. Dying makes you lose precious time that could be spent killing enemies and boosting your multiplier.
-King. One of my favorite modes, King gives you three circles at a time to fly in. When you're inside these circles, you can shoot at enemies as they sit outside the circle. The circle fades in about 3 seconds after you've entered it, forcing you to move to another. What's really cool is that in this mode, once you're out of the circle, the music gets extremely muffled, barely being able to hear the bass and snare, until you re-enter another circle. Here it is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8GB99Dmsj4
-Evolved. Just like the original Evolved, except now that you cannot lose your multipliers after death, you're guaranteed to break your older scores from the original.
-Pacifism. My favorite mode. Based off the Achievement for not shooting from the original game, this game disables your gun. From here, you are required to avoid enemies and fly into gates, setting off a small bomb to destroy trailing shapes. Only one type of enemy appears, but they can get extremely overwhelming if you are not on your toes. For the record, I have 44 million in this mode... the top score on my friends list is 596 million. Some people are just plain good. This is a video of the mode in motion: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfM8o71N6vY
-Waves. Orange arrowed enemies spawn in a row and move in a back and forth motion every three seconds. Eventually, you have sweeping walls of enemies, mixed in with random shapes floating around. One of the more difficult modes, but a blast to play in multiplayer.
-Sequence. You are given 25 stages to complete. Each one starts with 4 enemies, and after they're destroyed, an onslaught of enemies appear. Usually, it is the type of enemies you faced before that. Deadly mixes are created, like black holes with squares. Each stage must be completed in 30 seconds. If you die or run out of time, you move on to the next stage. I'm not sure if running out of time makes you lose a life, as 30 seconds tends to be enough.

King, Pacifism, and Sequence all give you one life and nothing more. This adds an overlooming tension when you are playing and feeds you the trademark "one more quarter" feel that arcade games used to give you when you got SO close to beating that one stage, but definitely would next quarter. Something really interesting about these modes is that once you master one, you transition the skills over into another mode. As I got better at Pacifism, breaking 1 million, breaking 8 million, 10, 22, and now 44, I've noticed that I have gotten a lot better at dodging enemies in other modes. Same with Waves. You learn to be able to fit through small holes that you have shot through and how to adjust to ridiculously overwhelming situations.

The interface of the game is really well done compared to Retro Evolved. When you enter the game, you are given the choices of Single Player, Multiplayer, etc. When you enter Single Player, all of the modes are there, given that you have unlocked them (which takes about an hour tops to get them all.) By the name of the game mode is where you sit with your friends scores. Once you pick a mode, the person who has the next highest score compared to you on your list is displayed in the upper right during the game, along with their score. Despite the fact that I don't know 90% of my friends list, I am compelled to let them know that I am better than them at this game. You keep striving to better the next person. A real sense of competition is laced into this, and the developers definitely deserve a pat on the back for the perfect integration.

Multiplayer, like the rest of the game, is sold. All six modes are available, with Co-Op (one universal score) or Competitive (separate scores) available. What's great about multiplayer is that your strategies change as you start realizing who is in the lead during competition. Playing Pacifism and barely behind? Make the shapes that are following you intersect with your rivals ship. Thick competition in King? Beat them to a circle that they are headed for and move to a different one to keep them outside the rings longer. Competition tends to give more enjoyable experiences than Co-op, but either one is guaranteed to give you a lot of satisfaction.

The one flaw about this game? No Xbox Live multiplayer. All multiplayer must be done locally. Which, honestly, is understandable. With the reflexes needed for this game, lag absolutely cannot be an issue whatsoever. The developers stated that it simply was not possible because of lag. Kudos, Bizarre Creations, for at least letting us know why it was not in the game unlike other games lacking support.

Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2 is arguably the best dual stick shooter game in the genre. After the original laid waste and everyone imitated, the sequel came to remind everyone who was the boss. With gorgeous graphics, amazing gameplay, great soundtrack, a handful of modes with high replay value for $10, you absolutely cannot pass this game up.