Review: Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions

It’s easy to have fun with Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions.

Crazy neon lights. Techno music. You know the drill by now, eh? Except, it’s not quite the Geometry Wars you remember. Said Dimensions mean you’ll be playing the familiar twin-stick shooter on 3D surfaces, twisting and bending while trying to score as many points as you can.

It’s as fun as ever, and just as difficult. If you thought it was hard enough to run away from a pack of aggressive enemies while trying to blast a hole through more docile ones, try doing it across a pill-shaped 3D surface. The result it hectic, frenzied, bite-sized gameplay that’s perfect for a quick round.

Or two. Or three.

The game’s Adventure mode tasks you with specific missions – usually, getting a specific high score – across a number of games. In some, you’ll have a time limit, while in others, a life limit. The unforgiving nature of Geometry Wars means you’ll struggle to get a full three stars per level… but you’ll usually need at least two stars per level to be able to unlock different boss battles.

If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again… and that’s made easier with an (admittedly, quick to pop-up and quick to disappear) restart button.

Adventure mode, whilst nail-bitingly hard, is great fun and breathes some new life into the franchise, just like the new 3D maps do. But, if that’s not doing it for you, you can head on over to Classic mode to play series’ mainstays like Pacifism, Deadline, King, Evolved and Waves.

Drones can be unlocked to aid in your quest; you start off with a mine-dropping AI friend alongside a little attack co-pilot. You can upgrade each drone and even purchase new ones for different enhancements and effects. You’re of course aided by your super bomb if things get a little too hairy.

There’s a bit of diversity in Dimensions, but you’re going to be grind levels. A lot. If not to beat a friend’s high score on a leaderboard, then to try to unlock enough stars to get to the next boss, or even to pick up geoms to buy or upgrade drones. That’s not necessarily a bad thing – I mean, what else did you expect with Geometry Wars – but it’s not everyone’s cup of tea.

All up, Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions adds a new depth to a franchise that’s damn fun to play, either in short bursts or long (frustrating) stretches. A nice, cheap downloadable title, it’s hard to really go wrong with it.

Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions was reviewed using a promotional copy of the game on Xbox One, as provided by the publisher.