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Best of the Rest: Mike's picks of 2014
ATTENTION: The year 2014 has concluded its temporal self-destruct sequence. If you are among the escapees, please join us in salvaging and preserving the best games from the irradiated chrono-debris. Desert Golfing Imagine you're stranded in the middle of a vast desert with nothing but a golf club and ball, rolling hills of sand stretching as far as the eye can see. You're not going anywhere soon. May as well play a few thousand rounds and work on your swing, right? Whoa, did you see that cactus on hole #316? Maybe it was a mirage, but I swear I found a rock on hole #537. This delightfully minimal, endless version of golf doesn't drown players in features. Instead, Desert Golfing perfectly mimics life on a desert golf course: Serene. Sometimes maddening.
Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions to blow shapes to bits on Vita
Vita owners, you can get in on Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions' vivid chaos when the game arrives on Sony's handheld in spring 2015. The port was announced during the PlayStation Experience keynote, though whether it will be cross-buy compatible with the existing PS4 and PS3 versions remains to be seen.
Joystiq Weekly: Free stuff for AC: Unity, Telltale's Borderlands review, a Zelda story and more
Welcome to Joystiq Weekly, a "too long; didn't read" of each week's biggest stories, reviews and original content. Each category's top story is introduced with a reactionary gif, because moving pictures aren't just for The Daily Prophet. Oh wow, look at that scenic view from every retail store in the United States! Hopefully everyone survived Black Friday, an annual, nationwide recreation of that Lion King stampede scene where customers are unwavering bringers of death and retail employees are terrified reincarnations of Simba. We understand the thought process though – cheap video games and consoles are awesome! While you're mending your wounds, whether they were sustained physically or through your wallet, you can catch up on the past week's worth of prominent news with the Joystiq Weekly. News of free vouchers for Vita owners, free games for Assassin's Creed: Unity season pass owners, reviews of Assassin's Creed Rogue and Tales from the Borderlands, a spoken tale of a staff member's first journey to obtain The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and more is all waiting for you after the break!
Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions review: Game cubed
PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PC, Mac In 2008, Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2 was the ruler (pun intended) of Xbox Live. It riffed on Asteroids aptly, mixing simple, refined shoot-em-up with a hypnotic techno frenzy. Like a three-legged pub crawl with tequila shots, it delivered in short, impelling bursts that kept you drunkenly chasing high scores through the night, or at least until your thumbs passed out. In short, it was a black hole of time in the best possible way. After such a siesta, it's hard to see Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions outside of what came before. Oddly enough, it's a sometimes overlooked Geometry Wars entry, Galaxies, that brings the most enjoyable component to developer Lucid Games' revival: a dense, challenge-based campaign. In contrast, GW3's freshest defining quality, the third dimension, doesn't make the same impact. If you view GW3 in the inebriated, blurry lens of GW2 it comes up a little short. Take a more sober look at it, and it's a welcome, faithful enough return that you can still sink plenty into.
Pre-order Geometry Wars 3, get two extra levels
You don't have to worry about quantities of Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions depleting during this week's launch, but pre-ordering the $14.99 twin-stick shooter wouldn't hurt if you're looking for a couple extra levels. As explained on Sierra's website, pre-orders placed on Xbox One consoles will earn the torus-shaped Blood Count and the cupe-shaped Titan Box, the latter of which is exclusive to Xbox. In place of pre-orders on the Xbox 360, the extra stages will be given to anyone that purchases the game before 11:59 PST on December 2. For PlayStation fans, the exclusive Symbolic stage will spawn enemies in shapes matching the four shapes used for the DualShock's buttons, as well as the triangular Secret Eye that's seen in the above image. However, pre-orders on PlayStation Network will only be available in the Americas. PC, Mac and Linux users that pre-order through Steam will receive Secret Eye and Blood Count, and there appears to be no region-based restrictions on that offer. You shouldn't run out of targets if you decide to wait things out however, as GW3: Dimensions will still launch with more than 50 levels for single player. [Image: Activision]
Joystiq Streams: Relapse with Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions [Replay]
Update: It's over, so catch the full replay after the break! Don't worry, the hard days are all in the past. The habit's been kicked. No more obsessing over leader boards. No more retries at dawn, trying to best your friend's achievements. No more shakes when you put down the controller. Geometry Wars 2 was 2008! We've all moved past it. Wait. There's a Geometry Wars 3? It warps and distorts the old twin-stick shooting? Fine. Just one play. It's easy to stop after just one round. Let's do this. Lucid Games joins Joystiq Streams today to give us an early taste of Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions. Starting at 5:15PM EST on Joystiq.com/Twitch, Ludwig Kietzmann (@LudwigK) will pick up his controller and relapse hard. Joystiq.com/Twitch broadcasts live every Tuesday and Thursday at 4:00PM EST, but if you want to catch streams of weird games and upcoming releases like this one, follow us on Twitch to know whenever we go live. [Images: Sierra]
Axis all areas - Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions out next month
Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions plots a course for PS4, PS3 and PC via Steam on November 25, with Xbox One and Xbox 360 launches scheduled for the following day. Activision announced the dates this week, pinning a $15 asking price across all platforms. The surprise return of one the last generation's defining twin-stick shooter series is helmed by Lucid Games, a company comprised of former staff from the defunct original Geometry Wars studio, Bizarre Creations. As the name implies, a major new element in the GW3: Dimensions are the 3D visuals and environments, though in his PAX Prime preview Joystiq's Mike Suszek said fans can expect more of the frantic, chaotic action they're used to. While Mike only got hands-on time with the single-player, Dimensions also features co-operative and competitive multiplayer modes, including face-offs between two teams of four players. [Image: Activision-Blizzard]
Joystiq Weekly: Free upgrades for Destiny, Hatoful Boyfriend review, PAX Prime and more
Welcome to Joystiq Weekly, a "too long; didn't read" of each week's biggest stories, reviews and original content. Each category's top story is introduced with a reactionary gif, because moving pictures aren't just for The Daily Prophet. PAX Prime 2014 ended on Monday, but we're still recovering. Not from the marathon of appointments or swimming through an ocean of people – we've got those parts down pat. If you've ever heard of the PAX Pox though, just know that it's ... definitely a thing. It seemed every morning of this week brought news of another staff member falling to Prime's crowdsourced super virus. Laptops still work on death beds, of course, so we kept churning out content from Prime while we tried to remember what clear airways and normal body temperatures feel like. You can dig through our featured content after the break worry-free though – we slathered it in hand sanitizer, so you shouldn't catch anything from going near it. There's always the rest of this week's content that wasn't staged in a biological hazard, of course. We've got good news for Destiny fans planning on upgrading hardware at a later date, release dates for The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth and Mortal Kombat X, a review of pigeon-on-human dating simulator Hatoful Boyfriend and much more after the break!
Globe-trotting with Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions
It wouldn't be fair to Lucid Games to say that Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions is "just more Geometry Wars," and then leave one's impressions at that. Announced just a few weeks ago, the game literally takes the series where it has never been, primarily thanks to new three-dimensional visuals (with a pun-tastic title to match). In all honesty though, calling it "more Geometry Wars" serves as a reassurance to the twin-stick series' devotees that its fast-paced action hasn't gone anywhere. My time with Geometry Wars 3 at PAX Prime in Seattle demonstrated that the game fits perfectly with its 2D brethren. Piloting the iconic, angular cruiser through galactic grids felt as tight as ever, while slipping past threats and rapidly firing laser-like bullets at geometric baddies is as chaotic as ever. It took a few attempts to get acquainted with the game's latest twist, though the enemy and bullet behavior is just that, a "twisted" version of the previous games. The flat grid-like playing field fans are used to is now a sphere, tube, pill, peanut or one of numerous other shapes, depending on which of the single-player mode's 50 levels you jump into. Every element in play is stuck to the surface like Nintendo's iconic plumber in Super Mario Galaxy, but ultimately Geometry Wars 3 draws some appropriate comparisons to Super Stardust HD. Missiles rocketed past my ship and around the bend of some levels, but aiming for the more distant neon creatures never felt like a real shot in the dark, if I'm allowed to make my own puns here.
Behind-the-scenes video basks in Geometry Wars 3's glow
We don't envy Lucid Games – the studio has a passionate fanbase to appease when it launches Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions this fall on Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS3, PS4 and PC. Fortunately, Lucid houses senior developers from now-defunct series creator Bizarre Creations, and it's clear that the team has some ideas on how to progress from 2008's GW2: Retro Evolved. In a behind-the-scenes feature posted after the break, Lucid Co-Founder Nick Davies and Creative Director Craig Howard describe what they have in mind for Dimensions, including boss battles, 3D battlegrounds and head-to-head multiplayer. Check the video to get a glimpse of those elements in action and to get reacquainted with your neon-hued geometric rivals! [Image: Sierra]
Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions twin-sticks with you
Late last week, Activision teased the return of longtime developer and publisher Sierra Entertainment, which birthed series like King's Quest, Space Quest, Police Quest and Gabriel Knight. The resurrection of the Sierra brand was not only confirmed earlier this week, but brought with it the announcement of two new games: new entries in the King's Quest adventure series and Geometry Wars twin-stick shooter series. The latter is Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions, and will be the first game to launch under the "new Sierra indie label," the game's description reads. It follows the fast-paced trend set by series creator Bizarre Creations, picking up the spacey, shape-shooting action where it left off in 2008's Geometry Wars 2: Retro Evolved. It will include "full 3D action" with competitive online multiplayer, a revamped cooperative multiplayer mode and "dynamic and persistent progression." The game's single-player campaign features 50 challenges and over 10 battle modes, five of which are new to the series. The publisher also introduced screens of Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions, which does not have a determined release date or platforms just yet. [Image: Sierra]
Report: Resurrected Sierra working on King's Quest and ... Geometry Wars 3? [Update: It's official!]
As expected, the newly reborn Sierra label will be returning to its roots, publishing a new entry in the revered King's Quest adventure game series, reports VentureBeat. Less expected is that Sierra will also be working on a new Geometry Wars. In fact, the Sierra name is slated to become something of an independent game label for Activision. Rather than producing games itself, Sierra will partner with independent developers to both retread cherished adventure classics and create new experiences outside of the company's legacy. The new "reimagined" King's Quest will be handled by The Odd Gentlemen, known for The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom and, more recently, the disappointing Wayward Manor. Meanwhile, Lucid Games, which has many members from former Geometry Wars developer, Bizarre Creations, will develop Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions. The new King's Quest is expected in 2015, while Geometry Wars 3 will arrive this holiday. Platforms haven't been specified, though Sierra is expected to publish games across Steam, PlayStation Network and Xbox Live. Update: Activision has confirmed Sierra's new direction, as well as the new entries in King's Quest and Geometry Wars. Find the official PR after the break.
