With delectable visuals and simple but challenging gameplay, Geometry Wars Galaxies is an absolute delight.
(-) no online multiplayer; most of the galaxies blend together
Geometry Wars made its first appearance on Xbox Live as a bonus game on Project Gotham, but Sierra has taken an unexpected turn and ported the arcade classic over to the Wii. It's difficult to understand how a game so simple would stack up to this day and age, essentially playing a flash Asteroids game on your home computer or something, and Geometry Wars is little different than that well-known retro game. So did this game succeed when it was ported over to the Wii?
The answer is an overwhelming yes. Geometry Wars Galaxies is better than the sum of its parts. Your basic game-play is you take the roll of a bot that looks like a blue horse-shoe, and you get put into a limited arena in the brink of space. From there, other enemy objects appear throughout the screen, all fixated to destroy your bot with a single touch. You're supposed to fight them down, but the battle never ends. You're supposed to achieve a high score after the neon enemies finally get the best of you, getting bronze, silver, or gold medals. It's challenging, but rarely taxing, and, I'm warning you, extremely addictive.
That may sound simple in the surface, but there's more. After you destroy the fearless enemies, they drop energy known as Geoms. You need to collect these in order to achieve the points. These points go toward your ending high score, and they can also be used as currency for unlocking other galaxies.
Around your bot will be a smaller bot that revolves around called a Drone. This drone will help you in the heat of battle. You can set up the Drone with various commands to help you, from default it is set to attack, which it shoots enemies. You can also unlock other Drone behaviors such as, but not limited to, turret, where it stays in one spot and shoots other enemies. I've had incidents where the stupid Drone got stuck behind a wall and shot at it because the enemy was on the other side, but it worked well most of the time. You can also have your Drome collect fallen Geoms, and Sweep makes your Drome rapidly circle your bot for protection in the most chaotic moments of battle. Your Drome also receives experience points after each battle, which will allow it to perform its duties more effectively.
After becoming addicted to this simple but challenging action, you'll find that there are a wide variety of enemies with different moods and behaviors that make the game an unpredictable clash. There are little blue dots called wanderers, which simply move around the area at a slow pace. There are also snakes, which just slither back and fourth. They're my personal favorite enemy. There are Mine Layers which are an indestructible box that lays mines throughout the level. If you stay on them for too long, you'll die. But if you quickly move passed them, you can use the explosions to your advantage and kill off some enemies. There are also Black Holes which suck other enemies as well as Geoms and your bot if you're not careful, and they take a long time to shoot down. Facing a black hole in battle? Kinda disturbing, to say the least.
It's a shame though that the levels aren't as varied as the enemies. Like I mentioned earlier, you're in space and you're contained through an arena. It can be various shapes and sizes, like a perfect square, or something as crazy as a coyote head. But most of them blend together after a while, and they really don't have that much individual appeal. It can also be difficult to recognize a specific stage by the name or the galaxy it is in because of this. Not much of a problem, but it's a little slide.
The perfect controls make this an easily approachable game by any skill level. You just use the nun-chuck to move your bot in any direction, point with the Wii remote to aim, and press A or B to shoot. You can also press Z to do a bomb attack, which destroys every enemy on-screen without Geoms, which although you are limited in how much you gain it's definitely handy to use when the walls close in on a short period of time. It will take you almost no-time to grow accustomed to the controls, because you're already using the IR pointer for other games. This game will also increase your concentration levels and reflexes after playing it for extended periods.
The slick-neon visuals are a very tasty icing on this already delicious cake that is Geometry Wars Galaxies. Your bot, the enemies, and the levels are all simple by design, but the sharp and colorful neon graphics are a marvel to look at. They blend almost faithfully with the dark space background. The shooting of your bot attacks enemies, and the explosions add even more irresistible color effects on the screen. This not only makes it easier to focus on the action, but it can be quite relaxing as well, sitting back and looking at these pretty colors.
Geometry Wars Galaxies is Nintendo Wi-fi Connection aware, and offers those who purchase the ability to post their high scores on the leader-boards. This is a mild disappointment, because the Wii can obviously handle online game-play, and it would just be fun to play versus or cooperatively with another person online. And given how addicting this game is, there would likely have been a lot of people on the servers. The game already has local multiplayer support for up to two. This does little more than hold Galaxies back, but uninitiated buyers who see the wi-fi sticker will no doubt be disappointed when they assume there's online multiplayer.
You can unlock at least ten different galaxies with loads of challenges to explore, and even an additional level if you happen to own a Nintendo DS and a copy of that version of this game. You are also treated to a bonus game mode called Geometry Wars Retro Evolved, which is one level of the same game without Geoms and a Drome, which would be great for the more casual gamer. Slick neon visuals and spot-on controls, and hours of hours of mindless addicting fun, for only ten dollars. This game is a great value, and much better than any other Wii title currently on that price. I heartily recommend this game to anyone who wants something refreshingly different, with hardcore chaotic action that is easy on the wrist and on the eyes. Buy a copy now.