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Geometry Wars Evolved 2
Wed, 1st Oct 2008
FYI, this story is more than a year old

tinyurl.com/69s3nh  Genre: ActionFrom: Bizarre CreationsClassification: GPlatform:

When I was asked to review Geometry Wars 2, I couldn't believe this sequel would be worth the money. What could they add to a game that is basically a top-down, wire-frame, colourful 2D space ship, flying round a small square while shooting and avoiding other 2D wire-frame enemies? To my surprise, the answer is: quite a lot!

To those new to Geometry Wars, the left analogue stick directs the ship while the right directs the automatic gun turret. When things get crazy you've got three bombs that can clear the screen. Shoot everything on screen and start clocking up the points - that pretty much sums up the original game.

For this sequel they've included new enemies that add a lot more variety with their different movements. Three of the new single player modes really stand out for me. King Mode lets you shoot only in protected zones that slowly deteriorate, then escape to the next generated zone without being caught. Pacifism Mode has no guns at all - you need to lead your enemies on to trip mines that explode as you pass them. Sequence Mode is 20 mad 30-second challenges where failing too many times in a row results in Game Over. You get all of this plus a cool multiplayer mode for two, three or four players that extends the value for money exponentially. Another great feature is that the leaderboards include your friends list. Nothing is more satisfying than knowing all your mates have your name at the top of their high score list. For 800 MS points (about $14), this is the deal of the century.