Review: Geometry Wars: Galaxies (NDS)

Fortunately, Kuju has taken a different approach with Galaxies. While Retro Evolved is still available, the new mode offers a series of planets which effectively serve as challenges. Each planet offers bronze, silver and gold medals should the player be able to attain the score set for each. Some may seem beyond reach, others insultingly easy, but it’s here where the differences between the new title and the previous iteration may themselves apparent. Galaxies’ multiplier and scoring system has been altered. Instead of increasing the multiplier by destroying X amount of enemies, it grows with the collection of geoms, an in game currency left by obliterated foes. Instead of  peaking at 10x, the maximum is 150x, allowing for huge scores to be racked up. You’re also aided by a drone whose attack type can be altered (you start with attack, and can purchase others such as defend, turret and bait). This provides backup and can often save your skin so you can keep that all important multiplier going. The more a particular style of drone is used, the more it will level up, increasing its firepower and movement. It may seem like a set of stabilisers have been bolted onto the game to entice the casual DS audience, but it allows for some different play styles when you’ve adapted to the drone varieties on offer.

Another major difference to the DS version is the control system. The lack of analogue sticks means the touch screen is the control of choice here, the face buttons unable to accurately respond to Geometry Wars’ demands.  Moving with the d pad and using the touch screen to control direction of fire becomes natural after a few minute’s play, perhaps a little too natural. Gamestyle’s first play of Retro Evolved yielded a score of over a million points, a score that has been just out of reach on the 360 for months now. The controls seem to make things a lot easier, but it’s the DS’s lack of processing power that really diminishes the challenge. When the screen becomes filled with enemies, the slowdown is very noticeable. Suddenly it becomes a game of patience as you circle around the playfield, dodging enemies with ease and watching your score rack up. Gamestyle played one of Galaxies’ planets for an hour or so before it became bored and uploaded a score in the hundred millions to the leader boards.

And that raises another minor gripe with the game. Leader boards show your placing in the world, and the top ten. You can’t view friends’ scores, so the chance to gloat about how great you are and how they’re not is lost. There may be the odd occasion where you find your friend within ten places of you, but these don’t occur that often.

While we’re on the subject of connectivity, Galaxies allows you (in fact, actively encourages you) to connect the Wii and DS versions in order to unlock another galaxy. This galaxy offers some challenging levels, but it’s unlikely you would want to spend around forty quid to own both versions of the game. If you could synchronise scores between the two titles and carry on playing on the move, it might have been worthwhile.

All this negativity suggests Gamestyle was less than happy with Galaxies’ performance, and to some extent that would be true. It starts well, and the prospect of Geometry Wars on the move is certainly an enticing one, yet it feels as though the game has been forced onto the DS. The slowdown is the only real problem here, but it’s a pretty big one and effects the gameplay heavily on the more enemy packed levels. At £20 however, you could do a lot worse for you money. If you don’t own a 360 or Wii, this is still worth picking up. There isn’t anything else like it on the DS, and with various multiplayer modes and plenty of gold medals to earn, it will keep you busy for quite a while.

Rating: 7 / 10

Words by Dan Gill