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Bizarre wanted Geometry Wars to be free
In an interview with IGN about their upcoming game Boom Boom Rocket, Bizarre Creations' own Ben Ward revealed the true ambitions behind that uber hit Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved. When asked about their experience with the XBLA and comparing the risks involved between Boom Boom and Geo Wars, Ward said that, "Geometry Wars was really intended as a gift to hardcore gamers and we initially wanted to give the game away for free. When it became evident that we couldn't do this, we said to Microsoft "what's the absolute bare minimum we can charge". They said 400 points, so we went with that." We have yet to find someone who has complained about paying 400 Microsoft Points for Geometry Wars, because the game is good enough to charge 1200. But how cool would it have been to get it for free? We always knew that the guys at Bizarre were good folks which makes us want Boom Boom Rocket all the more. Speaking of Boom Boom, make the jump for the complete interview where Ward discusses everything Boom Boom related. And feel free to express your disgust with Microsoft for not allowing Geometry Wars to be a free download ... long live the free content!
First screen of the Club
German site Xbox Front got their hands on the first screenshot of Bizarre's upcoming action-shooter, The Club. The cool thing about this is it will retain a "Kudos"-ish system wherein you get points and multipliers for kills done in quick succession. For those of you nay-sayers that Bizarre is incapable of pulling off a shooting game, look no further than their Dreamcast release of Fur Fighters. While that cutesy third person shooter had a couple bugs here and there, it was a fluffing good time. Do you think Bizarre can pull it off? The full resolution screenshot is also available to what the engine can do. [Via Xboxic]
Geometry Wars Vista available on MSN Games
Microsoft be a cold pimp, turning out its Xbox Live Arcade darling onto the uncharted streets of Windows Vista. There's no crawling into bed with a trusted XP customer for this version of Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved. Vista-only. For its sake, Geometry Wars won't be working the MSN corner alone, as it's joined by fellow newcomers Bliss Island and Crystal Quest. The cost might have gone up (from $5 on XBLA to $7.95), but the experience will be over just as fast for the average john (patience, it takes practice) -- do remember to bring your Xbox 360 controller for an authentic experience. Play safe, folks.
BBR Logo & Price announced
The lads over at Bizarre Creation showed off their logo for the upcoming Xbox Live Arcade title, Boom Boom Rocket. They also told us that EA announced the pricing for the game, which is 800 MS Points. They go on to confirm that there are 10 songs, 3 difficulties, 4 game modes and multiplayer. They say that they're happy with the price point, given all that we're getting for the price. What do you think? Should we be paying the same as we did for Geometry Wars, or is there enough added to this experience to warrant double that price?
Boom Boom Rocket preview
Speaking with Bizarre Creations' Ben Ward, 1UP has stirred up new Boom Boom Rocket details. The developer hopes to follow-up Geometry Wars with another broadly appealing Xbox Live Arcade title (the team has a 3-year-old tester) that's built on deceptively simple gameplay. BBR isn't gonna reinvent the rhythm genre, but it might win over some new fans. Purdy particles, Ian Livingstone's 'classical' soundtrack, and a trippy bonus mode add up to XBLA gold. Let's just hope the price doesn't reflect the quality... (but with EA publishing, don't expect another $5 gem).%Gallery-1637%
Bizarre and EA team up for XBLA title
Electronic Arts announced today that it is partnering with Bizarre Creations -- creators of Project Gotham Racing and Geometry Wars -- to create a brand new game for Xbox Live Arcade. Entitled Boom Boom Rocket, it will be the first Xbox Live Arcade game from Electronic Arts. Boom Boom Rocket is described as a rhythm music game in which players launch rockets to a musical beat. Better timed explosions create bigger fireworks displays. The game is set to include both single player and head-to-head play. Head-to-head, strangely, will be limited to local matches only (both players on the same Xbox), though there will be online leaderboards. The music tracks will be composed by Ian Livingstone, who has considerable experience creating music for film, television, and videogames. We're a little puzzled by the lack of online play -- especially this far into Live Arcade's lifespan -- but we're always open to new games. The title is expected to hit in the spring of this year. Follow the "read" link for a PDF of the official announcement.[Thanks, Darksaviour69. Via Major Nelson]
Today's most geometric game video: Geometry Wars PC 'Vista'
Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved has had its own little evolution, going from minigame, to full-fledged console game, and now it'll be dropping onto PCs everywhere and we've got the video to prove it. Yes, it's retro gaming action that takes you back to the land of arcade quarter-eaters like Tempest and Qix ... and it's incredibly addictive fun. Check out the Vista version in action after the jump. It looks pretty spiffy on that monitor, or else the brightness levels are just kicked up to 11. Either way, PC users can finally toss Minesweeper and Solitaire away, because this will be the new king of the timesuck in cubicle-land.
Top XBLA title Geometry Wars headed to PC [update 1]
During the Microsoft keynote at CES on Sunday, Microsoft gave us evidence that surprise hit Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved (an Xbox 360 launch title) is headed to the PC (the confirmation occurs at timestamp 44:28 on the official keynote video). No surprise there, because genuine hits like GW are so rare that hay must be made while the sun shines. We've already blogged about a mobile version of the game; a PC version was inevitable. No word on timing or price, but it wouldn't be unreasonable to expect it to land this year for between $5 (the price on XBLA) and $20 (the price for most "casual" PC games). [Update 1: noted that confirmation occurs at timestamp 44:28 on the official keynote video.]
Today's weirdest game video: Gears of War secret man on toilet
Gamers will find anything, and we mean anything inside a game. Take this video for instance. Apparently in the Rooftops multiplayer level of Gears of War, there's a dead man sitting on a toilet inside one of the nearby buildings and you can see him through the window. You can follow the links to instructions on how to find it, but you'd do just as well to watch the video and see it in super slow motion.How do people find stuff like this? If they're anything like us, then they get tired of being pwned and start exploring the scenery. Our money's on that. Check the video out after the jump if you can stand the annoying music.
It's a masterpiece! Geometry Wars inspired art
Joystiq's own Vladimir Cole jumped on the chance to purchase the above art from a charity auction held at the University of Pennsylvania. Yes, it is Geometry Wars inspired artwork and yes it is quite the beautiful piece. It seems so perfect that a game such as Geometry Wars would move an artist in such a way to create art from what essentially is video game art. We're thinking it was the trippy colors and pretty "grid effects". Good job Vlad, not only on that uber cool purchase, but for donating your hard earned blogging cash to a charitable cause. So, who's up for buying some Cloning Clyde inspired toothpick art that we created? The bidding starts at a reasonable $3,000 and all proceeds will go into our empty pockets.
Geometry Wars as art
It's no secret that some of us at Joystiq love Xbox Live Arcade title Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved a whole bunch -- so much so in fact that we declared Geometry Wars the Xbox 360's best launch title. A year later, we're still finding the time to fire up the 360 for a quick run at Bizarre's masterpiece. It still holds it down. And so I didn't hesitate to snap up Anastasia M. Wong's work titled "Geometry War," (shown above, click for a larger image), when I spotted it at a charity art auction held at the University of Pennsylvania earlier this month. After I sent her a note thanking her for making the art, Anastasia responded, "I got some really great screen shots of the game. they are really beautiful and the more i look at them the more i see them in prints or drawings."
K4rn4ge to attempt 1 billion-point Geometry Wars high score
As if his leaderboard-topping score of 360,360,600 isn't enough, Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved celeb K4rn4ge has revealed plans to attempt to reach the one billion-point mark during his upcoming winter break. The "Geometry Warlord" estimates that his current high score (he stopped at the 360 million-mark on purpose) took him at least 30 hours, spread across four days of playing. At that pace, his new goal could exceed 90 hours of thumb twirling. Whad'ya think, Guinness Record worthy?
Geometry Wars dumbed down for celly release
Gamasutra sat down with Bizarre Creations' Community and Web Lead Ben Ward to figure out just how the heck Geometry Wars is going to fly on the mobile platform. Turns out, it won't -- at least, not in the traditional sense of the game. The controls have been overhauled dumbed down to accommodate for the lack of dual-analogue sticks. In the mobile version, the ship is always firing forward (the direction of fire cannot be changed or stopped), and the arrow keys (on the keypad) direct the ship's course -- double-tapping the center button initiates a strafe move. These limitations have forced developers to re-program enemy AI, as well as slow down the pace and scale of the beloved Xbox 360 Live Arcade original. Geometry Wars Mobile will be padded with some new content, namely a Challenge Mode. The new mode expands on the achievements awarded in the Xbox 360 version, featuring challenges like Survivor (how long can you play without dying). Players can then post their best times and scores onto a network leaderboard.
Geometry Wars Mobile published by Sony
It's Sony's turn to reap the benefits of Bizarre's creation. Despite Geometry Wars becoming the poster child for Microsoft's Xbox Live Arcade, the mobile port is being published by Sony BMG. Little ironies aside, how the heck are we supposed to control this game? They invented a dual-stick phone yet? Prove us wrong, but this is shaping up to be a classic example of exploiting a known brand. Geometry Wars Mobile just ain't gonna fly. [Thanks, Justin]
Grid Wars author comments on clone's creation
Grid Wars creator Mark Incitti said he doubts his freeware PC game is affecting sales of the Xbox 360's Geometry Wars, as Bizarre creations recently alleged. In an interview with Eurogamer, Incitti said the game started out more as a Robotron/Smash TV-style game, but started to morph in response to news that Bizarre was not working on a PC version of the popular Xbox Live Arcade shooter. Incitti also said that he was in talks with Bizarre for months before he pulled the game from his site, and that offers to change the game's aesthetics and name were ignored. All in all, Incitti doesn't seem too bitter about being asked to remove the game, but he said he hopes other Geometry Wars clones get the same treatment from Bizarre.
Bizarre defends going after Geometry Wars clones
A few days ago, we reported on Bizarre Creations efforts to remove Geometry Wars clone Grid Wars from the internet. Bizarre recently posted an extensive justification of their actions to the community at large on their official forums. Among Bizarre's more salient points: Only hardcore gamers can tell the differences between these clones and Geometry Wars. Clones weaken the brand and discourage us from releasing Geometry Wars on new platforms. Geometry Wars is a rare example of and indie-owned, wholly original intellectual property, and that deserves protection. Simplicity of design does not warrant theft. Not wanting to buy an Xbox 360 does not warrant theft. All good points, but arguments alone aren't likely to stem the tide of freely available Geometry Wars clones on the internet. At the very least, though, they might make you feel guilty for helping discourage originality in video game design. Shame on you. Shame! [Via Gamasutra]
Bizarre tries to stop Geometry Wars clone
Imitation might be the sincerest form of flattery, but Bizarre Creations isn't feeling very flattered about Grid Wars. The company thinks the PC game is impacting the sales of Xbox Live Arcade's Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved, and has asked the game's creator, Mark Incitti, to "stop infringing our IP and pull the game Grid Wars from the internet for download." Incitti has voluntarily agreed to this request. The line between inspiration and rip-off is extremely fine here. On the one hand, everything about Grid Wars -- from the graphical style to the enemies to the basic gameplay -- is extremely reminiscent of Geometry Wars. On the other hand, Grid Wars does offer some refinements to the Geometry Wars system, like collectible power ups and a slower-paced build up of the action. Regardless of the legal threats, it seems doubtful that Bizarre will be able to put the genie back in the bottle. The game is still available through a World of Stuart review and doubtless countless other sties. Even if Grid Wars is eradicated from the internet, other clones like HGEWars, Grid Assault, and Trigonometry Wars are available. Whether Bizzare likes it or not, it looks like Geometry Wars clones are destined to be as common as those of Tetris and Pac-man. [Via GameSetWatch]
PGR3 photo mode is Live
Like driving spiffy cars? Fancy yourself to be a talented photographer? Then put those talents to use in Project Gotham 3's new photo upload feature! All you need is Xbox Live, PGR3 and a Passport account. The overall process is simple, just take a picture in the game, upload it, head over to the PGR3 website, sign in, and share your photos. Hit the read link for more detailed instructions. Now somebody post some kuh-razy photos in the comments section.
Geometry War without end
As we prepare to do a little -- ok, alot of street fighting this Wednesday, let's not forget the game that put Xbox Live Arcade on the map. Here's an interview with elite Geometry Warrior Trey Landry, aka BigDaddy21, currently #1 on the leaderboard with a score of 125, 261, 170. Not bad, but like Bruce Lee said, geometrical shapes don't hit back. [Thanks Mark]
Geometry Wars superstar shoots for millions
As I'm walking through the packed lobby of the Los Angeles Convention Center heading toward the West Hall, I see a huge Xbox 360 setup with a screen the size of a theater canvas boasting Geometry Wars. Some attendee is blasting his way past a score of 3.5 million. This is not an uncommon sight. A big crowd is always hanging around it, soaking up the radiation and shouting out encouraging cheers to whoever is playing. The featured score above is a far cry from what we've seen lately, but it's interesting to watch the efforts of various industry people (or booth babes perhaps?). We'll keep you posted if a record-breaking high score shows up!
