After
a spate of overproduced, Heaven's Gate-level bombs (example: June's abysmal Alone In The
Dark), the small,
humble Geometry Wars series feels like the gaming world equivalent of a spoonful of lime
sorbet after an especially greasy meal. With its clean, spare design and
practically self-evident gameplay—put the controller in any non-gamer's
hands, and he or she will instantly know what to do—Geometry Wars somehow manages to be both
comfortingly familiar—at heart, it's really nothing more than a high-def
version of Asteroids—and still offers enough bona fide surprises to make the
experience feel fresh.
Retro
Evolved 2 features
six gameplay modes, yet all six represent only slight variations on the
original game. Score as many points as possible in three quick minutes in
"Deadline" mode. "King" challenges players to shoot at
drifting geometric shapes only from the interiors of quickly disintegrating
safe zones. "Pacifism" takes away your ship's guns altogether,
forcing players to destroy enemies by carefully navigating through explosive
gateways.
Despite
some overly ornate graphical flourishes—trying to find your ship amidst
the unnecessarily busy explosions is frustrating—and the hyperbolic,
dance-club soundtrack, Retro Evolved 2, as compelling as it is, turns out to be less of an
evolution, and more of a maintaining of the status quo.
Beyond
the game: Leaderboard
scores are wisely on constant display, meaning that the high scores in each of
the game's six modes of your Xbox Live friends will make you feel inferior,
providing the necessary motivation to play just one more game.
Worth
playing for: The
classic Geometry Wars moment of figure-eighting through an armada of enemies, and somehow,
someway, arriving unscathed on the other side just doesn't get old.
Frustration
sets in when: Enemies
seem to be more aggressive than they have been in previous iterations of the
game, meaning moments that feel less like a challenge, and more like a bunch of
shapes senselessly ganging up on you.
Final
judgment: Retro
Evolved 2 manages
to induce both nostalgia and awe, maintaining the series' status as one of
gaming's purest pleasures.