Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2

This is Geometry Wars 2. The thing we've all been waiting for. For those of you unfamiliar with Geo Wars, let's summarize. In PGR2, there was an unlockable minigame called "Geometry Wars". This game put you in control of a little spaceship, which shot colored shapes. One stick controlled movement, the other controlled your gun. When the Xbox 360 was launched, one of the first LIVE Arcade titles was Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved. This was an updated Geometry Wars, with very pretty graphics, more enemies, and it was awesome. Since then, two titles were released. Geometry Wars Waves, in PGR4, and Geometry Wars Galaxies for the DS and Wii. So where does this leave us with Geometry Wars 2? Here, obviously.

Gameplay - 10

Geometry Wars 2 is really, really fun. It takes GWRE, and reinvisions it, with even prettier graphics. There are a few more enemy types, but as far as I know, the red claw (the bane of my existence) has been axed. New enemies include the orange triangles from Waves, and the pink double squares, also from Waves. The game is now separated into six gametypes, five of which you have to unlock (this is easy).

• Deadline (timed Geometry Wars)
• King (you can only shoot in certain zones, which decay over time)
• Evolved (traditional Geometry Wars)
• Pacifism (from the Retro Evolved achievement of the same name, you cannot fire weapons, you must go through gates that destroy enemies around you
• Waves (you are assaulted on all sides by waves of triangles)
• Sequence, an interesting new mode. It is divided into 20 set levels, with nonrandom enemy spawns.

In King, you must clear a path for your ship to move to the next zone before the one you are in collapses.

The multiplier is the same from Waves and Galaxies, namely, every time an enemy dies, it drops a little green dot, called a Geom. This Geom increases your multiplier. The only points that are knocked off are from gate design. The most frustrating thing is the gate design. The tips of the gates hurt, making close encounters potentially painful. Also, enemies can go through gates, making your timing quite critical. Though those are intentional design choices, I don't like them. Also, for a game that champions what XBLA stands for, there is only Local multiplayer. That really sucks. Geometry Wars 2 also heavily features your Friends Leaderboard so one always knows how far away you are from beating your friends' scores.
I think Sequence deserves a separate mention, for being such a departure from the other modes. It could be called, if anything, the game's "campaign". Each round starts with you with 30 seconds on the clock, surrounded by a couple of enemies. These guys give you hints as to the coming wave. Once they are destroyed, then the round gets harder, usually by plastering the walls with as many enemies as possible. Once they are destroyed, the game moves on to the next round, 20 times. Also, it is worth mentioning that the "Smile" achievement is Sequence-related, and without saying anything, ingenious.

Visuals - 9

Geometry Wars glows. Everything is shiny, shinier than Retro Evolved. It adds shine, and an element of rainbow (the black holes, explosions, etc.) to the equation. The enemies have all had a slight facelift, and the motion capture animations add a level of realism to the game. This time, it loses a whole point to the fact that Geoms blend in to the large and loud explosions, as do some enemies. Also, the game can get so frenetic that you can lose track of the action.

This is actually a small amount of enemies.

Sound - 10

The sound in this game is awesome. Each mode has a different, pumping, awesome techno song. Each enemy, when spawned, has a different sound so you know what to prepare for, and the explosions all sound large. Just about everything has a unique sound effect - including a subtle sound each time you pick up a geom. This audio experience can give even low-level players an almost telepathic knowledge of what is going on throughout the game, even if you can't directly see every single thing happening.

Longevity - 10 (A+)

The randomness of the enemy spawns make for infinite replayability. Some rounds of enemies spawn nearby, adding urgency, but the lucky can get enemies that give you a little breathing room. Geometry Wars, like any "arcade retro" like Pong or Pac-Man is easy to learn, but difficult to master. Gamers are still playing the first Geometry Wars to this date, and the sequel, with its multiple game modes, should prove for more fun. This game is all about the high score, and the hardcore will always find new and challenging ways to increase the score. Also, with friend leaderboards more apparent, one is always trying to get that few more points to surpass their friend.

Learning Curve - 9 (A-)

This game is pretty much pick up and play. Simple controls, simple ideas, but immensely deep strategy. The difficulty really ramps up in each round, though. Usually, you start with three or four enemies that spawn, and that slowly ramps up to glowing shapes assaulting you at all sides. Since the game is round-based, it is frustrating to start at the beginning, unable to immediately jump into the thrilling midgame, but it builds up anticipation to the moments of pure glee while deftly dodging and destroying the shapes.