Geometry Wars: Galaxies

Nintendo exclusive

Geometry Wars: Galaxies is set in a space-like environment where the player must shoot geometrical shapes in order to score points, gain lives, acquire bombs and survive as long as possible. The game is played to an upbeat electro soundtrack.

Released: 20 November 2007
Platforms: Wii Nintendo DS
Genres: Arcade Multidirectional shooter Shooter
Developers: Bizarre Creations Kuju Ltd.
Publishers: —
Modes: Single-player
Perspective: Bird view / Isometric
Themes: Action Science fiction
Country: United Kingdom
Age ratings: ESRB E
Languages: English

About

Geometry Wars: Galaxies is a multidirectional shooter video game developed by Bizarre Creations and Kuju Entertainment, and published by Vivendi Games for the Wii and Nintendo DS in 2007. As the first Geometry Wars game to be released on non-Microsoft platforms, Galaxies is a spin-off of Geometry Wars, which was originally included as a bonus game within Project Gotham Racing 2 on Microsoft's Xbox console. This updated version includes a single-player campaign mode, several multiplayer modes, Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved (previously released on the Xbox Live Arcade online service), and support for online leaderboards. The Wii version supports widescreen and 480p progressive scan display.

The soundtrack was composed by Chris Chudley from Audioantics who created the music for all of the Geometry Wars series.

Keywords

spaceship
abstract
high score
vector graphics
explosion
geometry
upgradeable weapons
deliberately retro
touch controls
unlockables
single-screen level
a.i. companion

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

The object of Geometry Wars: Galaxies is to survive as long as possible and score as many points as possible by destroying a constant, generally increasing swarm of enemies. The game takes place in a closed, two-dimensional playfield, and the game ends when the player loses his/her last life. The player controls a claw-shaped "ship" that can move and fire simultaneously in any direction, with movement and firing being controlled independently via the Wii and DS' unique motion controls. A limited supply of screen-clearing bombs are available at the press of a button to instantly eliminate all enemies and missiles in an emergency.

The Wii version utilizes the Wii Remote pointer and buttons to aim and fire, while assigning movement and bombs to the Nunchuk's analog stick and buttons respectively. An alternate control scheme based on the Classic Controller is available, mimicking the original twin-stick control of the original Geometry Wars, in which bombs are deployed with shoulder buttons. The DS version allows players to use the directional pad, face buttons and/or the touchscreen to move and aim, while using shoulder buttons to deploy bombs.

Development

Geometry Wars: Galaxies was announced in the July 2007 edition of Nintendo Power. Developed by Kuju Entertainment, the game was released in North America in November 2007. Both Wii and DS versions were released in Europe on January 18, 2008, and in Australia on February 7, 2008.

Reception

Geometry Wars: Galaxies received "generally favorable reviews" on both platforms according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.

GameSpot's Alex Navarro noted that both versions of the game had the same content in terms of gameplay, levels, and multiplayer while praising those elements at the same time. However, he cited the DS version as having worse graphics and performance than the Wii version, necessitating the lower score. Mark Bozon of IGN praised both versions of the game for the gameplay, the amount of content, and the visual effects, but pointed out how the DS version had no analog controls compared to the Wii version and framerate issues during intense moments as reasons for the slightly lower score. He ultimately concluded that the Wii version's Classic Controller setup is the best way to play Galaxies.