A few years ago Bizarre Creations released Project Gotham Racing 2 for the original Xbox. In a move of shear and utter brilliance they included a free little gem of a mini game by the name of Geometry Wars. It went on to become the best selling piece of content on Xbox Live Arcade for quite some time following its released as a stand alone product.

The game works on a set of very basic mechanics. The left thumbstick is used to navigate your ship around the rectangular playing area. The right thumbstick is used to aim your fire at the different Geometric objects that are very territorial when it comes to sharing their rectangle. Each geometric piece has its own attack pattern which makes for interesting gameplay as your strategy depends on which pieces are on the screen. Apart from your alternating rate of fire you also have a weapon of last resort to unleash then things get a bit too hectic in the form of a smart bomb. 

I still remember the first few times I played this game and it was near impossible to stay alive for more than a minute. Even watching a master at work is an intense experiences for an onlooker to behold. Like most things with time comes experience, and in this case it is needed to tackle the game and have fun. 

When it was announced that the latest iteration of the game would only be made available only on the DS and the Wii I was intrigued. The DS touchscreen controls and the Wii's pointer would make it a tantalising prospect for those baring hate for geometric shapes around the world.

My format of choice for the new version, named Geometry Wars Galaxies, was my DS Lite. I arrived home with my copy and brought my DS to life. I opened up the white clam like chassis, flicked the power switch and removed the otaku's own weapon of mass destruction (the stylus). I then waited the few seconds required of me before I could begin to learn yet another control scheme and get that buzz that only a new game can deliver.

The team at Kuju Entertainment and Bizzare Creations did a great job in varying and keeping the gameplay fresh. They increasing the number of enemies, varied the arena's shape, size and threw in a little help for your cause in the form of a drone with different abilities. All of which has the outcome of retaining its original charm yet feeling new at the same time.

It is a well known fact that the DS and Wii have altered the way we use our hands when playing games and I often find myself getting cramp in places I never even knew humanly possible when learning a new control set on these formats. The first few hours of Galaxies was one such example.

Moving the ship around using the D-pad with my left thumb while simultaneously trying to steady and support the DS with the same hand was not the most ergonomic set up for my man thumb. However my right hand was free to guide and glide across the touchscreen with the stylus. At least that part felt comfortable and in fact was as effortless as holding a uniball pen and copying a friend's homework during break back in the day, or so I am told.

I must admit it was rather tricky to begin with, trying to negotiate the D-pad with my fully grown non child thumb. But soon I broke through my thumb's pain barrier and the 5 million point marker. The controls were eventually embraced and the new gameplay tweaks started shining though. 

So far the game is thoroughly enjoyable and I strongly recommended it to all fans of the prequels and those of you that believe having any sort of feeling in your left opposable digit is over rated. The only thing I will say against it is that once you have leveled up some of the helper drones they become a bit too powerful and end up making the game easy on certain stages.

 Digg