Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions
The Geometry Wars series had an inauspicious start as a minigame buried within Project Gotham Racing 2 for the Xbox. An homage to classic twin-stick shooters like Robotron 2084, and perfectly adapted for a dual analog controller, you controlled a little weaponized claw as you blew up lots of other geometric shapes, created in the vector style of games like Tempest. It was fleshed out considerably and released separately at the launch of the Xbox 360, where, even as a cheapie download title, it was the best game on the platform for months, inspiring legions of new twin-stick shooter clones.
There are about a half dozen enemy types, each with unique attacks and movement patterns – pink shapes break into smaller ones when destroyed, green ones dance tauntingly around your shots, and vortexes will suck up the playing field and explode unless you kill them quickly. They're simple to predict, but the game is always tossing them at you in different combinations, getting more and more overwhelming, and only stopping for a breather when you get killed. The playing field is larger than Robotron, though, making it less claustrophobic. It also has a slightly gentler difficulty curve, ensuring at least a few minutes of play for the average gamer before it becomes too manic. The visuals are minimalist, but the neon colored, high resolution characters, paired with the danceable techno music, grace it with a slick, modern appeal.
The main bit of brilliance is the way Geometry Wars forces you to be aggressive. Destroyed enemies drop little green things that add to your score multiplier, which keeps increasing until you run out of lives. You can't just run away and shoot, but need to grab these before they disappear, often moving back into the direct path of danger, creating a persistent risk/reward mechanic. The original release was fantastic, but the series came into its own with the sequel, which offers several different modes of play. Beyond the classic "blow stuff up until you run out of lives", there are variations like Deadline, which gives you unlimited lives and three minutes to score as highly as possible. We've picked the third iteration as the highlight, as it contains slightly nicer graphics, along with an enhanced single-player mode that borrows elements from the spin-off, Geometry Wars Galaxies, as well as other similar best videogames, such as Super Stardust HD, including circular playing fields and boss battles. These provide variety and longevity, but the best experiences remain in the standard score attacks modes, which are just as playable in the second game.
The most lauded progenitor of twin-stick shooters (thought Taito's Space Dungeon is generally considered the first), Robotron 2084 is practically the genre's Robert Johnson. Its DNA can still be found floating around in modern games like Geometry Wars and Hotline Miami, and with good reason. “Moving with one stick/shoot-andaiming with the other” is one of the purest, most intuitive gameplay control schemes ever developed, and has essentially stayed the same for 30+ years. Here, you save humans and destroy robots before a 2001-esque screen-filling transition sequence throws you rapidly into the next zone. Add to that some of the most classic sound effects that arcades had to offer, and gamers were treated to a glimpse of twitch-based gaming's future.
No comments:
Post a Comment