E3 2008: Geometry Wars reignites August 6

One of the first, and arguably best, proof-of-concept Xbox Live Arcade games was Bizarre Creations' Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved. The hectic top-down shooter that gave struggling high school math students a cathartic release debuted as a launch title for Microsoft's Xbox 360 and saw subsequent spin-offs on the PC, Wii, and Nintendo DS.

A true successor to the hit XBLA game first surfaced in April after being given a classification by the Australian rating board. While Activision maintained a coy stance on the game, Microsoft officially deployed Bizarre Creations' Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2 during the hardware maker's E3 Media & Business Summit press conference earlier today.

Following that brief demonstration, the Activision-owned Bizarre Creations has now issued its first details on Geometry Wars 2, saying that the game will be available for download through Xbox Live on August 6. As indicated in the gameplay footage shown during Microsoft's event, the dual-stick shooter will multiply the chaotic action with the introduction of local four-player co-op and versus modes.

The game will include six modes, including Evolved and Waves, which were seen in Bizarre's flagship Project Gotham Racing franchise. The game will feature high-definition visuals as well as an entirely new soundtrack. Activision did not reveal pricing information for the downloadable title, but the original Geometry Wars ran for 400 Microsoft points ($5).

For a brief look at what Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved brings to the grid, check out Activision's official Web site for the game.