Activision evolving Geometry Wars 2?

  • By TomM_GScom, GameSpot
  • Posted Apr 3, 2008 4:34 pm PT

Source: A listing in the online database for the Australian Classification Board. What we heard: Arguably one of the most enjoyable Xbox Live Arcade launch games in late 2005 was Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved. The $5 downloadable revamp of a hidden minigame in Bizarre Creations' 2003 street...

Source: A listing in the online database for the Australian Classification Board.

What we heard: Arguably one of the most enjoyable Xbox Live Arcade launch games in late 2005 was Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved. The $5 downloadable revamp of a hidden minigame in Bizarre Creations' 2003 street racer Project Gotham Racing 2 proved popular enough to warrant a PC port and an expanded remake, Geometry Wars: Galaxies, for Nintendo's Wii and DS.

While the PC, Wii, and DS editions failed to live up to the Xbox Live original, Bizarre Creations may be returning to the well for a Retro Evolved sequel, if a listing in the online database for the Australian Classification Board is to be believed. According to the listing, Activision will be developing and publishing Geometry Wars Retro Evolved 2 on multiple platforms, and the game has been given a G for General rating--the Aussie equivalent of the Entertainment Software Rating Board's E for Everyone.

The listing looks plausible for a couple of reasons. First, Activision as publisher and developer makes sense, considering the megapublisher warmed up its corporate comingling machine with the buyout of Bizarre in September 2007. Further, it is unlikely that a rating for Retro Evolved 2 would be for any of Bizarre's previously released installments in the franchise, as both the original Geometry Wars and Geometry Wars: Galaxies have received ratings of their own in the Aussie database. The classification date of April 3 also seems to be a clear indication that the rating is for an upcoming product, and classification boards typically abstain from rating nonexistent games.

What casts a glimmer of doubt on this listing is the economic viability of the title. As both the Xbox Live and PC port of the original game were downloadable titles, sales data isn't readily available. However, the Vivendi-published redux Wii and DS versions fared less than spectacularly at retail, combined selling just over 61,000 units in the US, according to the latest available figures from the NPD Group. That could be due to the games' pricing schemes, though, which at $30 and $40 for the respective DS and Wii versions and $8 for the inferior PC port were a far cry from the original game's $5 price tag.

The official story: Activision had not responded to requests for comment as of press time.

Bogus or not bogus?: Looking not bogus.

56 Comments

  • Hungry_bunny

    Posted Jul 21, 2008 9:42 am PT

    Very probable

  • aduana69

    Posted Jul 18, 2008 1:19 pm PT

    no more geometry please

  • lettuceman44

    Posted Jul 17, 2008 11:50 am PT

    Not Bogus.

    Whoa I'm right

  • gamah_killah

    Posted Jul 15, 2008 7:39 am PT

    It's definitely not looking bogus

  • EvilDarkGon

    Posted Jul 1, 2008 3:36 pm PT

    Yes please.

  • Rojan_Bo

    Posted May 7, 2008 5:34 pm PT

    BEST GAME EVER!!!

  • McHenry2

    Posted May 5, 2008 7:56 pm PT

    multiplayer geometry wars!!!

  • McHenry2

    Posted May 5, 2008 7:55 pm PT

    ITS SO ADDICTING!!!

  • legomann

    Posted Apr 8, 2008 10:38 pm PT

    3D maybe? i guess it is a matter of perspective for us it seems one of the best game ever, but for producers thing can only get better

  • elektrixxx

    Posted Apr 5, 2008 8:16 pm PT

    I'll get this straight away.

  • djZM

    Posted Apr 5, 2008 12:42 pm PT

    Was the PC version $8 when it came out? It's $3.95 on Steam now.

  • LausDomini

    Posted Apr 4, 2008 9:56 am PT

    I will buy this if it is on Live Arcade. Requested enhancements:

    1) co-op mode both offline and on.
    2) a mode in which you have only a single life - will make the leaderboards competitive
    3) a leaderboard for longest survival time without shooting
    4) boss spawns - make them hard to take down

  • Delongman

    Posted Apr 4, 2008 9:08 am PT

    I'm doing some really hard vectorial geometry right now so destroying some scalar products and parallelopipeds would be cool!

  • peeweeshift

    Posted Apr 4, 2008 8:33 am PT

    the pc port was decent and played well with controller but it ran perfectly smooth on 360 and wii. However the wii one was overpriced and changed to much while the dc one was slugish and had a small screen size

  • lew_0911

    Posted Apr 4, 2008 8:29 am PT

    Ironically, with me seeing the point when people asking about what are they going to put on the new GW that's new.... and yet, I fear that if the developers did listen to them, they may end up just messing the game.

  • 1colin1

    Posted Apr 4, 2008 8:07 am PT

    Long as GW comes out on Xbox Live with multilayer I'll be happy even if it's the exactly the same as the original Xbox Live game. I love GW to bits and so do a lot of my friends and we all agreed that the only thing is lacked was co-op.

  • jcloverboy

    Posted Apr 4, 2008 7:40 am PT

    Don't see how much different a new version can be. But I love the first one even though I can't get more than 330,000 points

  • reckeweg

    Posted Apr 4, 2008 7:18 am PT

    I'm down for a sequel, they could do something similar to what Pom Pom did with Mutant Storm. That was a dual stick shooter and they managed to pull off a good sequel.

  • yucky_straw

    Posted Apr 4, 2008 7:08 am PT

    YES!

  • jmartin1016

    Posted Apr 4, 2008 6:12 am PT

    Yeah I love Geometry Wars for 360. I still play it a good bit. There is not a chance in high heaven that I would pay $30 or $40 for it. Even though it was fleashed out a good bit for the WiiDS, a major part of it's charm was that it was so simple/cheap, but managed to be so fun. I would buy it for $20 maybe. They have one on DS already. This new one should be released as DLC only for all consoles for $5-15 each. They would make a bundle.

  • JamesSoprano

    Posted Apr 4, 2008 5:22 am PT

    Geometry Wars looked weird when i saw it being played and it was weird in a nice way but i mean most of the achievements were hard i only got 2 of them and i dunno the game got tiring after the 3rd gameover screen. so just making another one is gonna make me yawn .. what else can they change to make people buy it ? accept for the achievement Hogs like i use too be gotta have achievements from all the games i have. but at the end it's the same game and it will be boring and repetitive as the first one

  • 0011992288

    Posted Apr 4, 2008 4:48 am PT

    Yes! This game actually remained my favorite 360 game from launch until Oblivion. I just love the simple fun. Bring me more of the Geo War!

  • da_chub

    Posted Apr 4, 2008 3:18 am PT

    Sadly, this is probably the most addictive game ive ever played. i wish i didnt buy it, because all i play is this. it is hard to put down, just love getting points.

  • WizzyKid

    Posted Apr 4, 2008 3:00 am PT

    I hope Retro Evolved 2 doesen't literally mean what it says, as I don't want to be going in circles in the same square yet again. I want more of what Galaxies offered which was many different levels with a variety of enemies.

  • ShawnP984

    Posted Apr 4, 2008 1:28 am PT

    Wow... can I expect enemies in the form of AXE body spray emblems and my ship sponsored by Burger King? Seriously... Activision will find a way to plug in game advertising some how.

  • H2Painguin

    Posted Apr 3, 2008 11:37 pm PT

    Geometry Wars was, and likely still is, the best deal on xbox live arcade. I really hope they come out with a sequel.

  • billysea

    Posted Apr 3, 2008 11:12 pm PT

    I would buy it on Wiiware. I didn't buy GW: Galaxies because of the price, but if they make it $5-8 on the Wii I would buy it.

  • PatchMaster

    Posted Apr 3, 2008 10:31 pm PT

    Urge to murder polygons rising...

  • Generic_Dude

    Posted Apr 3, 2008 10:11 pm PT

    And now Activision can run THIS IP into the ground.

  • x_SuperMario_x

    Posted Apr 3, 2008 10:02 pm PT

    it might make for a good WiiWare game.
    for $8-$15.
    but i don't plan on spending $30-$40 for an updated Geometry Wars.

  • km1498

    Posted Apr 3, 2008 9:08 pm PT

    although I loved the first geometry wars, I would only get a sequel if they added something cool to the game.

  • drewciferpike

    Posted Apr 3, 2008 9:00 pm PT

    Hm... I bought the Wii version just because I wanted a game like that, and there was nothing else on the market. I'll be honest: I'm cheap. I felt like it was $10-$20 too much -for what it was- but I really enjoyed the game, and still do. But a price like that can turn off a lot of people if all they see on a box is some pretty colored lines. I'd like to see if they can change it for the better and either make it worth $40, or lessen the price...

  • xaos

    Posted Apr 3, 2008 8:17 pm PT

    I also eagerly await Model Theory Wars and Ordinary Partial Differential Equations Wars.

  • Turtlefark

    Posted Apr 3, 2008 7:35 pm PT

    What is there to change/improve though? I mean I'd love another GW but, what could you possibly add?

  • dukerav

    Posted Apr 3, 2008 7:19 pm PT

    Imo games of this type are better suited as downloads and not as full on retail boxed copies, that said, I loved Geometry Wars on Live and thought the DS version of Galaxies was decent.

  • RaiKageRyu

    Posted Apr 3, 2008 6:58 pm PT

    Time to kill more Geometry!

  • Geodude

    Posted Apr 3, 2008 6:57 pm PT

    DrKill09
    Activision? When did they get the publishing rights?
    -----------------
    You might want to try actually reading the article. Then again, that makes too much sense.

  • xaos

    Posted Apr 3, 2008 6:45 pm PT

    Geometry Wars 2: Electric Boogaloo. You laugh, but just watch as some sort of rhythm-based gameplay element is introduced.

  • druggyjoe3000

    Posted Apr 3, 2008 6:39 pm PT

    Yeah ill buy it if its on xbox live arcade

  • LusikkaMage

    Posted Apr 3, 2008 6:18 pm PT

    Trigonometry Wars!

  • DrKill09

    Posted Apr 3, 2008 6:11 pm PT

    Activision? When did they get the publishing rights?

  • qou

    Posted Apr 3, 2008 6:02 pm PT

    What could they possibly add to the game? More shapes?

  • snake289

    Posted Apr 3, 2008 6:02 pm PT

    They need to add Online Co-op in the next game!

  • vaejas

    Posted Apr 3, 2008 6:01 pm PT

    GWGalaxies is Worth Playing. Retro evolved is nice and pure, but I like the variety of maps, enemies, and upgrades. And the Wiimote controls don't entirely suck, which proves it can get better in the future.

  • tbolt_88

    Posted Apr 3, 2008 5:42 pm PT

    Woo hoo! Geometry Wars was still in my opinion the best Live Arcade title to date. For being so simple it was very addicting. Im just hoping the sequel could live up to the originals greatness.

  • ctg867

    Posted Apr 3, 2008 5:40 pm PT

    If it's $10, and it's not worth $10, I won't buy it. Simple as that. Wonder if this will just be an XBLA game. These days, we're seeing more and more games being cross platform on XBLA and PSN.

  • Hungry_Homer111

    Posted Apr 3, 2008 5:26 pm PT

    to kriptonzz: I think it's referring to this:

    "However, the Vivendi-published redux Wii and DS versions fared less than spectacularly at retail, combined selling just over 61,000 units in the US, according to the latest available figures from the NPD Group."

    Anyway, I haven't played the game (thinking about getting it sometime this year for the Wii). I'm not sure if I'd want to get a sequel, but that might change once I do get Galaxies.

  • Trogeton

    Posted Apr 3, 2008 5:22 pm PT

    yeah really a needing less sequel

  • ledime

    Posted Apr 3, 2008 5:21 pm PT

    That would be wicked! I love Geometry Wars Galaxies!

  • Merl57

    Posted Apr 3, 2008 5:18 pm PT

    game would have been better with with shields and upgrades 1 hit kill is BS (echoes was a much better game)

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