Geometry Wars: Galaxies (Wii)

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About four years ago, developer Bizarre Creations decided to add a little something extra to its Xbox racing title Project Gotham Racing 2. That treat was a little arcade shooter mini-game with the unusual moniker Geometry Wars. The game proved addictive enough that a lot of gamers were playing it more than they were actually racing. Later, Bizarre updated the graphics and released Geometry Wars: Evolved onto Xbox Live Arcade to huge success. Now Kuju Entertainment has brought Geometry Wars to Wii owners in the form of Geometry Wars: Galaxies. So, just how well does this new experience stack up to the original?

Geometry Wars: Galaxies is not just a remake of the previous Geometry Wars games. While the game keeps the core mechanics of the original, there are a few new twists thrown in to keep things fresh. The first big change in the game is the addition of a new Campaign Mode. Players travel to more than 60 different planetoid stages spread out over a number of solar systems. Each new location alters the size, shape and other properties of the playable area. Some stages are claustrophobically small boxes, while others are shaped like huge funnels. Some stages throw an endless stream of opponents at the player, while others pit players against oversized versions of the enemy ships.

Another addition to the Geometry Wars formula is the addition of a small drone to the player's ship. This drone follows the player's ship around and helps out with one of eight different abilities and behaviors. The drones can provide extra firepower by shooting at oncoming enemies or extra defense by circling the player and ramming anything in its path, or it can just follow behind the player, jutting out to collect Geoms left behind by defeated ships. Players choose how they want the drone to function at the start of each stage. The drone earns experience in battle, rising in level and efficiency. Luckily, you can replay levels as often as you want, swapping drones and earning experience points for whichever drone suits your play style.

The last major addition in Geometry Wars: Galaxies is something fans have been itching for since day one: multiplayer support. Two players can now join up in co-op action on the Wii, something that really comes in handy when the screen starts to fill up with baddies. Each of the ships has a unique look to help keep track of who's who, but when things start heating up, all the action and firepower on the screen at once is bound to cause confusion. Still, it's a lot of fun to jump into the fray with a little backup. It's just too bad there's no online co-op play. The Wi-Fi connection is used for online leaderboards only.

So, you've got addictive gameplay, fast-paced action, a strong (though not online) two-player experience -- what could possibly mess this up? One word: controls. Be forewarned, if you don't have a classic controller lying around, you're going to have a rough time playing through Galaxies. The default control scheme involves using the thumbstick on the Nunchuk to move the ship around, while trying to aim and shoot with the Wii remote. For classic first- or third-person shooters, this works great, but not for Geometry Wars.

Since the direction of fire is based on where the Wii remote is pointing in relation to the ship itself, and since the ship is generally in a constant state of motion, aiming is a royal pain. In an attempt to alleviate the problem, the developers tossed in a small crosshair, as well as a laser-like aiming aid to help show where your shots will be heading. The problem is, this just adds two more objects of which you need to keep track in the already hectic onscreen action. Instead of adding depth to the Geometry Wars gameplay, the default controls are little more than an exercise in frustration. If you do have a classic controller, however, the game plays like a well-oiled machine. One thumbstick to move, one thumbstick to fire -- it's the way this game was truly meant to be played.