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Geometry Wars outside of the (X)box (360) on regular Windows XP!
This retro-style fast paced 'must buy an Xbox 360'-game has become available for the PC platform as Geometry Wars has finally left the realm of the Xbox 360 - read more below.
Originally the game was supposed to be only available to Vista-users as part of the new Microsoft-Windows-Gaming Offensive but as the publisher also owns part of the publishing-rights it was decided to make the game available for regular Windows XP machines as well - through the on line PC gaming service Steam.
Geometry Wars - Windows XP
For only a couple of Bucks/Euros the game can be yours. When you have a dual analog controller like the x360PC controller, a logitech Cordless Rumblepad 2 or a PS2 controller hooked up through one of these HID USB things you'll be able to have quite a similar experience on a regular PC with the folowing minimum system requirements: Windows XP, 1 GHz 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) CPU, 512MB RAM, DirectX 9.0c, DirectX Video Card (128MB memory - Shader Model 2.0 support required), DirectSound-compatible sound card, 150MB free HD space, WEI Rating: 4.0 (3.0 required)
Well I must say that on my 3.4Ghz Solo Core P4, Nvidia 6600GT 128Mb AGP, 2Gb memory containing PC it works like a charm. Especially on my 22" X222W 1680x1050 resolution wide screen monitor. The game is pixel perfect when you compare it to the x360 version but it doesn't feature the Live Highscore system like it does on the console.
Grid Wars 2 - animation
As I am also a Macintosh user I searched the web to see if the game would become available for OSX and boy did I find something even better! This is your lucky day as there is a freeware solution to your absolute need for a daily Geometry War fix on both Windows and OSX! It comes in the form of a freeware Geometry Wars clone called Grid Wars 2 created by Mark Incitti.
Whilst Grid Wars 2 is very similar to Geometry Wars it has nice new features that definitely make this game worth playing even if you own the original! The game features some nifty upgrades and other weapons. Whilst playing this game you'll find out that your Geometry Wars-skills will help you yet at the same time you'll need to develop quite a few different skills as well. Mark got an email from Bizarre Creations stating that they don't like the fact that his free ware clone exists and they claim that it is ruining their income on Geometry Wars. Mark decided to remove the download link on website which is a shame, but understandable. But the game can still be found on the the web by entering 'Grid wars 2' into Google. So if you want to download it, better do it quickly! Especially Mac Users should be thrilled by this!
Mark Ubcuttu, as a fellow-Mark I only salute you for having created such a wonderful Geometry Wars - spin off! Now I am off playing Grid Wars 2 the April 2007 version! (v 4.5) followed by a touch of Geometry Wars on PC and perhaps top it off with a little Geometry Wars on Xbox 360 to see if the practice will get me higher up the Leaderboards....
By the way - be sure to check out some of the games Mark has been writing, his Blitz-basic version of MsPacman is quite a good game!
- Mark Vergeer's blog
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Comments
Truly EPIC Crpgs
Yes, no doubt. I think we've reached a point (at least with PC gaming) where storage space is no longer an issue. What surprises me is that there hasn't been a truly epic CRPG or GAG that takes advantage of it. That's really a contrast with the older generation, which often set out to really go above and beyond in terms of length and space.
Take Sierra's Time Zone and Ultima II, for instance. These were HUGE games for the time, covering many disks and really giving the player an unthinkably large world(s) to explore. About the only place I see this now is with games like Oblivion and WoW, and there the "open ended" type gameplay suggests that it's not important to see it all (though I heard this same problem existed with Ultima II).
I guess what would be fun for me would be a CRPG that started you off at a very low level, with hardly and weapons or skills, with an epic quest cycle that took months (if not years) to complete. Ideally, the game would take you through the major part of the heroes' lives, rather than just one big adventure. I know that sort of thing has been attempted many times, but I'm love to meet a developer who was more interested in crafting huge stories and levels rather than just worrying about the audiovisuals.
Imagine if somebody like J.R.R. Tolkien was writing CRPGs instead of novels. Garriott had that goal, but I still haven't played a game that felt like someone had really sweated through that level of detail. As far as I'm concerned, there should be no "generic" items whatsoever. A suit of chainmail was made by a particular smith, has particular properties, etc. Likewise, the "coin of the realm" ought to reflect the rulers or gods; if you find an old chest in a dungeon, the coins in there shouldn't be just like the ones you just got from the king. I could go on, but you get the point.
Wasted potential?
It's not quite the same, but that still gives a good idea of what all the fuss is about. Regardless, there's something special about dual analog stick games, which are only slightly evolved versions of the classic dual joystick games. Xbox Live Arcade has a lot of those and I for one like them. It was always tough to achieve that at home prior to the prevalence of dual analog controls. Certainly the closest was the coupler offered for the Atari 5200 and that worked with Space Dungeon and Robotron.
I agree. If it's a 2D game, keep it 2D. The recent Prince of Persia Classic and Pac Man Championship Edition on Xbox Live Arcade epitomize that concept. The former updates the audio-visuals with polygons and textures, but otherwise is the same basic game, while the latter takes the same maze concept and adds hi-def gloss and new play elements while still staying true to the original graphics and arcade timing (which is more important than you might think).
I keep thinking about some juggernaut of a text adventure game that would take up a DVD worth of space but use that space purely for parsing and natural language processing. Imagine how sophisticated something like that could be!
It's funny that you mention that, as that was always the hope with the CD format and 2D side scrollers. It was hoped that the extra space would be used to create an uber Super Mario Bros or Sonic or some such thing, with lengthy level after lengthy level. Unfortunately, the space was NEVER used for this, instead being filled with extra sound, music and cut scenes (Sonic CD for the Sega CD was fairly epic in fairness, but it still didn't go nearly far enough). Even today's DVD-based games (besides rare exceptions like the later GTA and Oblivion games) tend to rely more on cut-scenes over programmatical or substantive gameplay content. This trend will no doubt continue with the hi density Blu Ray optical disc format.
I suspect the above has a lot to do with the pass of least resistance. It's always easier adding more flash than adding more innovative code. At the same time, it's probably also easier to process media assets than it is to process complex algorithms...
Nevertheless, with today's processors, memory and storage capacities, videogame or computer, it really would be nice to see game implementations that weren't already accomplished 20+ years ago! It's blindingly obvious that graphics and sound have risen to unprecedented levels, but we're still playing the same stuff that could have been programmed in the early 80's...
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Bill Loguidice, Managing Director
Armchair Arcade, Inc.
(A PC Magazine Top 100 Website)
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Retro Style Games
I've heard a lot about Geometry Wars but sadly have yet to play it. Thanks so much for posting this, because now I can track down Grid Wars 2 and see what all the fuss is about!
In general, I'm very excited about the "next wave" of "retro" games. The trouble with so many of these is that they either worry too much about sticking to the original, or "update" it in the wrong way--for instance, making a 3D game out of a 2D classic. I think the trick is to take the basic concepts, but innovate and expand on them in ways that weren't possible before because of memory or graphical limitations.
I keep thinking about some juggernaut of a text adventure game that would take up a DVD worth of space but use that space purely for parsing and natural language processing. Imagine how sophisticated something like that could be!