I love the new geometry wars...
At first I was disappointed with the fact that there's still no online multiplayer... (Note to Bizarre Creations: FIX IT!), and at very first glance, I thought that these guys have not made anything new, specially if you have played the Wii version and the Waves mode included on PGR4.
But then, after all that initial noise, I started noticing the small details.... And they rock!...
First off, the music & sound...
I always play the original Geometry Wars using a custom playlist I created specifically for that game, consisting mostly of songs by The Crystal Method... (If you ask me, that's the ONLY way to play that game)... So i was very surprised and pleased when I noticed the same musical theme going on in the sequel. I don't know, there's just something about hi-octane electronic music and fast moving vector graphics that just plain works... (If any of you out there have different musical associations with Geometry Wars, please recommend some!)... On top of that you have tons of small audio cues that inform your brain of what's going on... Even if I wasn't totally aware that I was paying that much attention to the sound effects, I found myself INSTANTLY reacting to certain sounds, because even if I still could not see them, I knew that those damned snakes had arrived. This kind of almost "subliminal" information is basic in this kind of fast paced game.
I have always been a big fan of small creative games, so I make it a point of at least trying every new title that comes around. My favorites from the last year have been Pac Man Championship Edition, Mutant Storm Reloaded & Empire, The new Space Invaders, Every Extend Extra Extreme, Everyday Shooter, Super Stardust HD & Pixeljunk Monsters, among others.
Right before the last crippled E3, I was thinking: What in the world could be taking so long with Geometry Wars 2 on XBLA?... Now that I'm playing it, I realize that the people at Bizarre Creations not only played all my favorite small titles from the last year and a half, but they also were taking notes down furiously.
Right off the bat, there's the new "Geoms" mechanic, where every single thing you hit leaves behind it a wake of small green gems, that you can convert to points if you collect them, and they sort of "gravitate" towards your ship as soon as you come in range... ( Hello Everyday Shooter ). This is a great mechanic to have, because no longer are you just worried about keeping your ship alive, you now have to come up with split-second strategies to fetch all this "money" that's floating around, before it disappears.
Then, there the first mode "Deadline" in which you get infinite lives, but only 3 minutes to score as much as you can. ( Hello Pac Man CE! ). This is the PERFECT mode to play if you just want a quick fix of Geometry Wars... (In my case, I always find myself going for "just one more try" to get that multiplier I missed on the last pass).
On top of all this, the graphics have been reinterpreted, giving the vector graphics a three-dimensional feel to them, and when something explodes, you feel like you are in the middle of a very 3D environment, both in graphics and sound. (Hello Stardust HD!)...
Anyway, I just wanted to note that i might just spend more time (eventually) with this new title than with those huge triple A masterpieces. I just can't see myself trying to beat Liquid Snake for the 100th time, and I KNOW that I will never, ever get all the pigeons in GTAIV, but ten years from now, I might fire up my two-stick sensor on my Brain-Phone, and try to get those fucking geoms again.
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