Geometry Wars 3

[Angry Jedi]

What platform are people playing on? (Hint: the correct answer is "PC")

Come and have a go if you think you're hard enough. Or, rather, once I've actually downloaded and played it a bit when I get home tonight...

[Alex Connolly]

I hear Pacificism isn't quite what it used to be. Need the Jedi opinion.

[Angry Jedi]

You will get it in a couple of hours!

[Elanzer]

I'll be picking it up on PC, just waiting to hear if it lives up to expectations.

[A.I Impaired]

were doing this then are we? I wonder by how much I can prevent Pete from embarrasing my score? Wheres the Red Bull?

[RedSwirl]

Yeah I'll be waiting for the Jedi opinion on this.

[Beige]

I have no problem dropping PC on this. Let the big rankings battel begin.

[Angry Jedi]

Been a little distracted from this by Smash Bros, but early impressions are pretty positive.

Not sure I'm crazy about the new aesthetic -- I think I preferred the neon-on-black look of the original, but the new look does kind of go with the 3D levels. The music makes use of recognisable themes, but is inferior in every way to Geometry Wars 2's soundtrack. Still an appropriate accompaniment to some twin-stick blasting, but not quite as satisfying.

The "Classic" game modes all seem intact -- including Pacifism, which seems to be just fine -- and a few different twists are put on them in the single-player Adventure mode, which is actually just a string of levels with occasional bosses and objectives that you won't find in the Classic modes. Each level has its own leaderboard and three "star" scores to try and attain, with progress being gated at various points by how many stars you have. Essentially, it's structured a bit like your typical mobile game, albeit without paywalls -- the walls here can only be broken through with your own skill.

The 3D levels make for some interesting challenges, though I'm glad that the Classic modes still take place on a flat plane. There's also some interesting online multiplayer modes, though when I tried one of them my opponent sat completely still for the entire match, allowing me to win easily.

If you go for the PC version, be sure to run in Borderless Windowed mode rather than full-screen, otherwise the game will inexplicably switch to a 24fps refresh rate and look a bit crap.

Short version: It's not quite as good as Geometry Wars 2, I don't think -- partly because I think it's trying to do a bit too much -- but it's still pretty good, and worth a purchase for some arcade blastin' action.

[A.I Impaired]

Visited my parents this weekend where wifi does not exist. I thought I was so clever beating your deadline score offline.
Over 2 million, I was pleased as punch. Dammit @angryjedi dammit all to hell.

I love this game.

The best part about Geometry Wars 3 is that I have an excuse to play it like I did when 1 and 2 were new, and I have the illusion of invincibility before all my hopes are crushed.

The new stuff is fun. Its a good game. It is above all else Geometry Wars.
I wouldn't say its a huge step forward or backward, its kind of sideways... it is more of what you like.