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[Wario64]

http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/668/668593p1.html

5.0 Presentation
It's old school. Just hit start and go.
7.5 Graphics
An awesome display of hypnotic fireworks.
8.0 Sound
Great sound effects and techno track.
8.5 Gameplay
Fantastic controls and, dare I say, more fun than Pac-Man.
6.0 Lasting Appeal
Again, it's old school. Get the high score, then get it again.
8.0
Impressive OVERALL
(out of 10 / not an average)

All Xbox Live Arcade games should be this fun. If you're looking for a throwback to the Space Invader days with the futuristic colors and sound of the powerful 360, this is your game. It's not the equivelant to buying a full $50 game. No, it's a small arcade game with no big features, FMV, or wild multiplayer levels. But for what it is -- Geometry Wars is kick-ass Fourth of July fun.

 

[FiRez]

5.0 Presentation
6.0 Lasting Appeal

What they were expecting?
a full blown commercial game?...jeez
they need to check those standards for this kind of games

 

[VALIS]

What the? How can they review these small scale Arcade games with similar criteria as they review blockbuster multi-million dollar games? But on the other hand, I don't mind so much as it gives the games and the service visibility, and I hope for the sake of gaming that XBLA is a huge success.

 

[GhaleonEB]

What the? How can they review these small scale Arcade games with similar criteria as they review blockbuster multi-million dollar games? But on the other hand, I don't mind so much as it gives the games and the service visibility, and I hope for the sake of gaming that XBLA is a huge success.

They same way they review 360 games and GBA games on the same scale. If this were a $50 game and not an Arcade release, it would not score well. It's all relative.

 

[MightyHedgehog]

What they were expecting?
a full blown commercial game?...jeez
they need to check those standards for this kind of games

This is an example of why categorized reviewing systems are stupid. It's just unnecessary fluff. The review text (and a thumbs up or down for the game's final 'score') should be enough.

You don't see the majority of reviews out there break this shit into scored categories for film and music. Why are games so special that they need what is essentially superfluous information to be given about them? The reviewer should only have to cover the basics...and knowing what score the presentation got isn't what I would call a needed or important bit of info. Stupid system. Doing away with this shit would make the process of explaining the score and its relative worth, based on whether it is a low- or high-budget title, unneeded. The reviewer could then focus on text that matters...that communicates what people really want to know..what the reviewer feels that the reader ought to know. And not to fuel fanboyish bullshit.

I mean, who the fuck really cares what the graphics or sound score is? And if you do, why? You like what you see or hear or you don't. If the reviewer feels the need to expound on that shit because they feel very strongly one way or the other, then that's how it should be. It's a more natural way to talk about something.

 

[LakeEarth]

The demo's fun. It only gives you 4 minutes to play a game, but chances are it'll take you a LOT of tries to survive those 4 minutes. Actually I'm not sure but I think they might ramp up the difficulty in the demo, cause once there's one minute left the game goes apeshit.

 

[Gaia Theory]

For the sake of gaming, MICROTRANSACTIONS BITCH!

 

[VALIS]

For the sake of gaming, MICROTRANSACTIONS BITCH!

Except these aren't microtransactions.

 

[Tiktaalik]

This review is sooooo off the mark for me. The presentation is absolutely fantastic, the graphics are stellar for the art style the game strives for, and it's addictive as hell. The 8 is a pretty decent score, but some of the scores for the individual sections don't really add up.

 

[Gaia Theory]

Except these aren't microtransactions.

I'm sorry, I honestly thought you had to pay for most XBL Arcade games. My bad.

 

[Wario64]

Except these aren't microtransactions.

I thought this game was $5?

 

[VALIS]

I wouldn't consider XBLA games as microtransactions. I don't know if the word has an "official" definition or anything, but in the case of the 360, I think microtransactions refer to buying little add-ons and upgrades for a game you already own, like buying new clothes for your tennis player in Top Spin or something. XBLA games are stand alone products, which happen to cost a small amount of money.

Besides, the word has a heinous connotation to it. Buying a t-shirt for your skateboarder = lame-ass microtransaction. Buying an XBL Arcade game for $5 = HOTNESS.

 

[The Faceless Master]

The demo's fun. It only gives you 4 minutes to play a game, but chances are it'll take you a LOT of tries to survive those 4 minutes. Actually I'm not sure but I think they might ramp up the difficulty in the demo, cause once there's one minute left the game goes apeshit.

i survived second try...

first try my controls were the opposite of what i would have liked...

 

[LakeEarth]

Well you got lucky then, or maybe it gets harder depending on how many points you get. Whenever I play I get hit by a tiny purple thing I couldn't see during the huge explosions.

 

[Kon Tiki]

Except these aren't microtransactions.

Yes, they are. Trials are very limited so far.

Considering you pay for them with MD, they are very much microtransations.

 

[Rummy Bunnz]

Besides, the word has a heinous connotation to it. Buying a t-shirt for your skateboarder = lame-ass microtransaction. Buying an XBL Arcade game for $5 = HOTNESS.

Except you can't just buy an Arcade game! You have to buy points in blocks of 500. The cheapest games are 400. I want to buy Geometry Wars, but if I did I'd be stuck with 100 leftover points with nothing to spend them on but lame-ass microtransactions. That shit's darksided. I'm not interested in letting them go to waste, or stockpiling them. So I'm not going to buy anything off XBL Arcade until they change this system.

I think some MS rep on said this setup was required due to credit card fees, which reeks of bullshit. How're Apple coping with selling all those songs on iTunes for a buck apiece if fees are so terrible?

 

[Ecrofirt]

IGN sucks.

Geometry Wars is fantastic. It's probably my favorite X360 experience so far. I'm having much more fun with this than Kameo.

 

[VALIS]

Yes, they are. Trials are very limited so far.

Considering you pay for them with MD, they are very much microtransations.

Nah, still don't agree. There's definitely a distinction between buying nothing but a trinket for a game you already own compared to buying a full, stand alone game. One word shouldn't refer to the both of them.

You have to buy points in blocks of 500. The cheapest games are 400. I want to buy Geometry Wars, but if I did I'd be stuck with 100 leftover points with nothing to spend them on but lame-ass microtransactions.

Yeah, I don't like it, either. Since people from XBLA read this board, we're letting you know - we don't like the points. People of all ages can go buy a $5 or $10 or $20 phone card, right? Why should this be any different?

 

[mrklaw]

Except you can't just buy an Arcade game! You have to buy points in blocks of 500. The cheapest games are 400. I want to buy Geometry Wars, but if I did I'd be stuck with 100 leftover points with nothing to spend them on but lame-ass microtransactions. That shit's darksided. I'm not interested in letting them go to waste, or stockpiling them. So I'm not going to buy anything off XBL Arcade until they change this system.

Nobody is forcing you to spend that extra 100 points. Its only $1.25 or something. Just wait until you want another few arcade games. Treat it like a 'buy 4, get the 5th free'.

 

[Rummy Bunnz]

Nobody is forcing you to spend that extra 100 points. Its only $1.25 or something. Just wait until you want another few arcade games. Treat it like a 'buy 4, get the 5th free'.

Yeahhh. Or I could just not buy anything until they decide to implement a system that isn't a ripoff.

 

[Jerkface]

Yeahhh. Or I could just not buy anything until they decide to implement a system that isn't a ripoff.

How is it a ripoff? You're buying a product and leaving a tiny amount of credit in the system, it isn't going anywhere.

 

[Tellaerin]

How is it a ripoff? You're buying a product and leaving a tiny amount of credit in the system, it isn't going anywhere.

Imagine if a burger place sold hamburgers for $3.50 apiece, but would only accept $5 bills, and wouldn't give you any change - instead, they'd put the change you had coming on a tab and let you put it towards anohter burger once you had accumulated enough. Now keep in mind that they know that some people aren't going to buy enough burgers to use the leftover credit, and in fact are counting on that happening, since it means they get to pocket the difference.

How is it not a ripoff?

 

[Jerkface]

Imagine if a burger place sold hamburgers for $3.50 apiece, but would only accept $5 bills, and wouldn't give you any change - instead, they'd put the change you had coming on a tab and let you put it towards anohter burger once you had accumulated enough. Now keep in mind that they know that some people aren't going to buy enough burgers to use the leftover credit, and in fact are counting on that happening, since it means they get to pocket the difference.

How is it not a ripoff?

Is the burger place sitting in your living room and being used for other things every day? Do your Marketplace points vanish if you don't use them within a set amount of time?

 

[Rummy Bunnz]

How is it not a ripoff? Why should I have to leave leftover credit in their system? They're doing this hoping you'll either spend the remaining credits on worthless shit like "gamer pics" or never spend them at all. It's sleazy.

 

[Tellaerin]

Is the burger place sitting in your living room and being used for other things every day? Do your Marketplace points vanish if you don't use them within a set amount of time?

If you don't like the burger place analogy, you can think of it as a department store instead. Sure, you can buy other things there, but what if there isn't anything you want right now? They're still effectively holding onto your change and telling you that you can't spend it on anything else. You must keep buying more things there until you've built up enough credit to use it, or you just give up and write it off as lost money.

The lengths some of you are willing to go to defend your favorite companies even when they're screwing you is ridiculous.

 

[Jerkface]

If you don't like the burger place analogy, you can think of it as a department store instead. Sure, you can buy other things there, but what if there isn't anything you want right now? They're still effectively holding onto your change and telling you that you can't spend it on anything else. You must keep buying more things there until you've built up enough credit to use it, or you just give up and write it off as lost money.

The lengths some of you are willing to go to defend your favorite companies even when they're screwing you is ridiculous.

Maybe some of us don't feel like we are being screwed?

 

[Tellaerin]

Maybe some of us don't feel like we are being screwed?

Or are too blindly loyal to the company of your choice to admit to yourselves that you're being taken advantage of, even when it's obvious to anyone with an ounce of common sense. The saddest part is that whenever companies can find enough suckers to make things like this profitable, the rest of us are stuck living with the consequences. That's why we may be looking at a future where companies routinely hold out content from their games so they can sell it as a separate download on day one. And there'll be people praising them for doing it because they're 'giving us choices'.

 

[Ghost]

We are being screwed..but not to a point where its worth moaning about.


Dont like it? Dont buy anything. Simple as that, really no need for a big argument.

 

[Tellaerin]

We are being screwed..but not to a point where its worth moaning about.


Dont like it? Dont buy anything. Simple as that, really no need for a big argument.

If you know a company is screwing you and you don't bitch, you're giving them the green light to keep on doing it. And most companies will try to see how far they can push before consumers finally dig in their heels and start putting up a fuss. If an arrangement sucks, the only people who benefit from us keeping quiet about it are the ones making a profit.

 

[Ghost]

Big companies dont care how much you bitch, they only care how much you spend.


So if it bothers you, dont use it.

 

[VALIS]

Or are too blindly loyal to the company of your choice to admit to yourselves that you're being taken advantage of, even when it's obvious to anyone with an ounce of common sense. The saddest part is that whenever companies can find enough suckers to make things like this profitable, the rest of us are stuck living with the consequences. That's why we may be looking at a future where companies routinely hold out content from their games so they can sell it as a separate download on day one. And there'll be people praising them for doing it because they're 'giving us choices'.

This is a thread about Geometry Wars the Live Arcade GAME. Not extra decals for your Need For Speed car. They are not even remotely the same. Going on your little microtransactions rant (a lot of which I agree with) in THIS thread is disingenuous. These XBLA games are the same damn thing as regular games, they're just smaller/simpler, so they're cheaper. They are not microtransaction trinkets. Don't confuse the two.

 

[Xellotah]

Big companies dont care how much you bitch, they only care how much you spend.


So if it bothers you, dont use it.

Not strictly true of course...

If enough people complain then things might happen.

 

[dammitmattt]

Was it just me that was under the impression that the full version of Geometry Wars 2 was included with PGR3? I can only play this extremely fun game (much better than Hexic HD, by the way) for 4 minutes???

WTF?!?!?

 

[mrklaw]

There is screwed, and there is 'being slightly inconvenienced'. I'd put this in the latter camp.


You know, it isn't a benefit to MS to have all these unused credits lying around. Its a pain in the ass, both legally and financially. Its really just so people can buy simple denominations in store.

I am surprised you can't buy directly via credit card though - maybe that will come in time, at least for larger purchases like arcade games.

 

[GhaleonEB]

Would be nice to have the OPTION of using points or dollars, but it's not a big deal.

Love the phone card analogy. How often is the card EXACTLY as long as the phone calls you need? :lol

 

[Xellotah]

There are pyschological reasons why they are using points and not dollars (i.e using up points is easier than using up $ amounts for each item of a microtransaction. ). Plus its easier to give points away in a promotion that money and they can adjust the price of the points without having to reprice each micro transaction.

 

[Blimblim]

You know, it isn't a benefit to MS to have all these unused credits lying around. Its a pain in the ass, both legally and financially. Its really just so people can buy simple denominations in store.

I disagree, it's a big benefit for MS.
- Credit Card transactions have a cost, that's why you can't usually pay via VISA/Mastercard for less than a certain amount of dollars. At my work (electronic software reseller), a credit card transaction cost us about .30 euros IIRC.
- Getting people to buy points in bulk will lead them to spend more. If you buy a 2000 points card, you won't hesitate that much to buy a 800 and then a 1200 points game. But you might if you paid first $8, and then $12. This is a big psychological thing I'd say.
- And of course, they get people to pay BEFORE they actually buy anything. This can lead to a very big amount of money for MS.

 

[Jerkface]

Colour ink cartridges would have been the best analogy. If you use up all the Cyan but still have half the Magenta and Yellow left you still have to replace them!

WE'RE BEING SCREWED!

 

[VALIS]

Love the phone card analogy. How often is the card EXACTLY as long as the phone calls you need? :lol

That's not why I made the analogy. I was talking about the unnecessary complication of converting everything to "points." Do you buy phone cards worth 500 points? You buy them in denominations you're familiar with. They should just use dollars (or whatever the local currency is). How many people do you think are gonna be browsing the Live Arcade and see something like "Geometry Wars - 400 Points" and think, "What the fuck are points? Is that a lot? Sounds like a lot." Just be straightforward about it.

 

[Tellaerin]

This is a thread about Geometry Wars the Live Arcade GAME. Not extra decals for your Need For Speed car. They are not even remotely the same. Going on your little microtransactions rant (a lot of which I agree with) in THIS thread is disingenuous. These XBLA games are the same damn thing as regular games, they're just smaller/simpler, so they're cheaper. They are not microtransaction trinkets. Don't confuse the two.

I never implied that XBL Arcade titles like Geometry Wars should be considered the same as downloadable knickknacks like decals or wallpapers. I brought up DLC/microtransactions to underscore the point I was trying to make, namely that if enough people are willing to accept being screwed over by their favorite companies to make it profitable, the rest of us are stuck with the consequences. Rummy Bunnz was right - the way MS is handling the points is pretty shady. Yet when he complained about it, people leapt to MS' defense, motivated (to my mind, at least) more out of company loyalty than any rational belief that the system is really fair. (I think I did a decent job of pointing out why it's not.) If enough people are willing to accept this points system as it is, or to accept paying extra for cars/horse armor/extra weapons/whatever that a publisher decided to hold back from their latest game because they figure they can sell it as a separate download for more cash, and keep shelling out the extra cash and making excuses because they like the company doing the screwing, the rest of us have to live with the results. I'd rather they wake up. That's what that was about.

 

[VALIS]

I never implied that XBL Arcade titles like Geometry Wars should be considered the same as downloadable knickknacks like decals or wallpapers. I brought up DLC/microtransactions to underscore the point I was trying to make, namely that if enough people are willing to accept being screwed over by their favorite companies to make it profitable, the rest of us are stuck with the consequences. Rummy Bunnz was right - the way MS is handling the points is pretty shady. Yet when he complained about it, people leapt to MS' defense, motivated (to my mind, at least) more out of company loyalty than any rational belief that the system is really fair. (I think I did a decent job of pointing out why it's not.) If enough people are willing to accept this points system as it is, or to accept paying extra for cars/horse armor/extra weapons/whatever that a publisher decided to hold back from their latest game because they figure they can sell it as a separate download for more cash, and keep shelling out the extra cash and making excuses because they like the company doing the screwing, the rest of us have to live with the results. I'd rather they wake up. That's what that was about.

Again, I don't disagree with you, but people will end up speaking with their wallets, and unfortunately I think this microtransaction trinket system will be a success. Just look at how much crap people buy for their cell phones. If a purchase is under $5, a lot of people won't give it a second thought.

However, I don't think the microtransaction stuff is necessarily heinous, although it could turn foul very quickly. If people have the option to buy wallpapers, skins and icons - junk like that - then whatever. I don't want it, but if people do, no harm done in my opinion. It's if and when developers start making somewhat significant items in a game as microtransaction content. And, to the best of my knowledge, they haven't yet. If they do, I really hope no one buys it.

 

[Blimblim]

I never implied that XBL Arcade titles like Geometry Wars should be considered the same as downloadable knickknacks like decals or wallpapers. I brought up DLC/microtransactions to underscore the point I was trying to make, namely that if enough people are willing to accept being screwed over by their favorite companies to make it profitable, the rest of us are stuck with the consequences. Rummy Bunnz was right - the way MS is handling the points is pretty shady. Yet when he complained about it, people leapt to MS' defense, motivated (to my mind, at least) more out of company loyalty than any rational belief that the system is really fair. (I think I did a decent job of pointing out why it's not.) If enough people are willing to accept this points system as it is, or to accept paying extra for cars/horse armor/extra weapons/whatever that a publisher decided to hold back from their latest game because they figure they can sell it as a separate download for more cash, and keep shelling out the extra cash and making excuses because they like the company doing the screwing, the rest of us have to live with the results. I'd rather they wake up. That's what that was about.

One thing I do not get, not really a reply to your post in fact. Why are you (or we) complaining about MS and other publishers putting themes and other stupid stuff for a small amount on the marketplace? I personally couldn't care less about a stupid theme or gamer picture, but if someone else is actually willing to pay for this and this in turn makes more money for the developer, why would it be a bad thing? It works for cell phones, it could very well work for 360 as well.
I can get the complaint about pay downloadable content for a game alright, but if people are actually stupid enough to pay for a stupid picture, more power to them !

 

[bobbyconover]

It may be a simple 2D game, but this little mixture of Asteroids and Galaga is incredibly good looking (for what it is) and super fun to play for one minute or 60. And yes, it's a little reminiscent of Fantasvision, only it's like $5 instead of $49.

These have got to be the worst comparisons possible. Asteroids? Galaga? FANTAVISION?? How is it even possible to review this game without mentioning Robotron 2084? Or if you're too young to remember that, at the very least Smash TV?

I'll write a better review in one sentence: "Geometry Wars Retro Evolved is to Robotron 2084 what Tempest 2000 was to Tempest."

But to stay on-topic (the new topic, anyway), yeah, the 400 point thing is a bunch of crap. It reminds me of the Gameworks card situation, where you dump money onto a card but can't withdraw the remaining balance at the end of the night. I hate being nickel-n-dimed like that.

 

[JMPovoa]

One thing I do not get, not really a reply to your post in fact. Why are you (or we) complaining about MS and other publishers putting themes and other stupid stuff for a small amount on the marketplace? I personally couldn't care less about a stupid theme or gamer picture, but if someone else is actually willing to pay for this and this in turn makes more money for the developer, why would it be a bad thing? It works for cell phones, it could very well work for 360 as well.
I can get the complaint about pay downloadable content for a game alright, but if people are actually stupid enough to pay for a stupid picture, more power to them !

Exactly! You should never complain for having more at your disposal, but for having less!

 

[Shaheed79]

I had no idea that they were using the oh so elusive yet ingenious "Points" system for purchasing micro-transactions and Arcade games. Pretty sneaky and smart if u ask me. This reminds me of when the phone company raised pay-phone costs to 35cents knowing that a good majority of people who made a call wouldn't have a dime on them making them have to give up 15cents when paying with 2 quarters. I heard they made hundreds of millions off that little 15cents extra that we never got back. The only difference is that no matter what MS HAS to keep track of those points you don't spend.

 

[hooo]

With all these points and what not, MS is doing themselves a nice favor. Not only do they force consumers to over purchase leaving extra money in their account for interest to accrue on, but they've also created a global currency. 400 points will buy the same thing for someone in the US as well as in Europe even if what the consumer paid for those points was different. MS doesn't ever need to worry about charging more or less for something when they can just change the msrp of the point cards at retail or the exchange rate online. It makes their system simplier and actual cost comparisons difficult even in the same region.

The whole points system is just as BS as a $100 wireless adapter and a $50 controller. It's not out of line with everything else MS is doing with the 360.

More on topic, how are games published on XBLA? Are games only made by small professional development teams published? or is there a system to get homebrew games published too? I assume dev kits are just high end machines, with the end product being run on a 360 emulating a pc to some extent, or is there something more complicated involved to make the final product?

 

[Jim]

Smash TV, when it was downloadable last week, was only 200 GPs.
So only like $2.50 for the entire game, whch isn't bad at all.

Though it disappeared since then, and not sure if it is back as of this morning.

 

[DopeyFish]

Smash TV, when it was downloadable last week, was only 200 GPs.
So only like $2.50 for the entire game, whch isn't bad at all.

Though it disappeared since then, and not sure if it is back as of this morning.

no and i am quite sad. where's my smash tv?!?! :<:<:<

 

[gollumsluvslave]

You have to buy points in blocks of 500. The cheapest games are 400. I want to buy Geometry Wars, but if I did I'd be stuck with 100 leftover points with nothing to spend them on but lame-ass microtransactions.

Majority of XBL games seem to be in multiples of 200 points...

MS could easily have just done 400 points = $5; most people expected games to be $5/10/15 a pop.

Basically by selling 500 points for $5 you are really getting 100 points free.

It strikes me that if they had just went $5 = 400 points there would be no bitchin'

Damned if they do, damned if they don't.

 

[jedimike]

You can also buy cards at retailers that will evenly match the denominations.... a $10 card will get you 800 points, $5 for 400 points, etc. Its only when you buy points online that you have to buy in bundles off 500. MS is NOT screwing you over. In fact, the games are about half the price of retail. So really if you spend $6.25 for a game and have points left over, you should be thankful that you didn't have to spend $10 on it like everyone else w/out a 360 would have to do.

For XBL Arcade development, MS has it set-up so small developers can access resources directly without having to go through a publisher. A "homebrew" developer would simply code the game to work on a PC and show it to MS. If MS approves the game, they will help you get it on XBL Arcade.

Back on topic... I hope game sites review all XBL Arcade games.