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| "Bright" and "colourful" are two words that come to mind when checking out the graphics in Geometry Wars 3 |
- Review by: Mark Goninon
- Developer: Lucid Games
- Publisher: Sierra
- Release Date: 26 November 2014
- Time played: 1.3 hours
What is it?
Geometry Wars started out as a mini-game to test the Xbox controller while Bizarre Creations developed Project Gotham Racing and was included as a mini-game in Project Gotham Racing 2 back in 2003. Not realising they had stumbled across an instant classic, Bizarre Creations developed a version of the game called Geometry Wars : Retro Evolved specifically for the Xbox 360's Live Arcade in 2005. The game was hugely popular and it spawned many sequels; this one is the first to be developed by a studio besides Bizarre Creations (which was closed by Activision in 2010) and published by the resurrected Sierra brand (a subsidiary publishing arm of Activision).Geometry Wars 3 is a twin stick shooter where you get to control your little ship around a surface filled with a variety of enemies. Destroying the enemies not only grants you points but they also drop green tokens which once collected increase your points multiplier; dying however will reset the points multiplier and you only have a limited number of lives too. So, to be effective at this game you need to stay alive for as long as possible, destroy as many enemies as possible and collect as many green tokens as possible to help boost your score.
How I got it
I managed to get this game as part of the Humble Sierra Bundle last year and while I was mainly getting the bundle for all the classic Sierra adventures (which I already have on GOG mind you) there were a bunch of games in there published by the new Sierra too such as Geometry Wars 3. Geometry Wars 3 stayed in my library for quite some time until I purchased a Steam Link and wanted to try as many games in my library that seemed to (1) have full controller support, (2) be family friendly and (3) have co-op play; I was basically looking for games I could play with my 4-year-old daughter. Geometry Wars 3 appeared to be a game that on first impressions ticked all of those boxes and that's why I'm now reviewing the game today.What I like:
Graphics
The game has appealing, bright and colourful polygons for its graphics. Simple, yet effective.Soundtrack
Geometry Wars 3 has a catchy, adrenaline-pumping electronic soundtrack that complements the game perfectly thanks to the efforts of Chris Mann.Couch co-op
Geometry Wars 3 gets a big tick for couch co-op and it's actually quite a bit of fun (if all players on your team are actually any good at shmups).Easy to pick-up
The game is ideal for parties or whenever you have friends over even if they've never played the game before as it's easy to figure out what you've got to do.Family Friendly
Since the graphics are pretty abstract (we're talking about brightly coloured polygons shooting other polygons) I guess you can say the game is family friendly, unless you're a supporter of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Polygons....Steam Achievements and Leaderboards
The game has 30 Steam Achievements that you can earn and is also integrated with Steam Leaderboards so you can check how you stack up against your friends.What I dislike:
Too difficult for the uninitiated
If you're a veteran of the series or shmups/twin stick shooters in general, then you'll have no problem with this game – however if you're, like me, totally useless at this kind of game, it can be a bit daunting – in fact, I think I only ever managed to get past the very first level and that's after multiple retries.Limited replay value
The previous point presents another problem since if you're not really familiar with these sorts of games you're not going to have much motivation to keep butting your head against a brick wall. It also means that if you play multiplayer you'll have to find friends that are either competent at this sort of game or stubborn enough to keep retrying.Patchy performance on the Steam Link
When I tried playing this game on my previous modem/router on the 2.4GHz band, it was terrible – however most games struggle on that band anyway. So, once I upgraded the modem/router to one that supported 5GHz most games seemed to be tolerable – all except for Geometry Wars 3 which still manages to cut-out regularly (somehow).Score – 6/10 (Okay)
I'm going to buck the trend here, go with my gut and give the game a 6/10. It's not a bad game and probably one of the better games out there for those who like twin stick shooters or shmups in general; it also has appealing graphics, a catchy soundtrack and supports couch co-op on the Steam Link. But, if like me you're not really into these sorts of games, Geometry Wars 3 isn't going to change your mind thanks to a steep difficulty curve and lack of modes suitable for shmup-n00bs.Is the game worth $14.99 USD?: No. It seems a bit steep for what you get – but if you can manage to get it at a discounted price or you're really into twin stick shooters, it might be worth a go.
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[ LINK: Official Geometry Wars 3 Website ]
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