RedRagToAnOrc
01-30-2006, 3:06 PM
I thought about putting this in the Arcade Rotunda, as it is a gaming post, but the nostalgia value might put it in here. Feel free to move it as necessary.
For those lucky few of us who may have an Xbox 360, you have probably heard of the non-retro version of Geometry Wars. It's an arcade classic (or so I gather - anyone remember it?) which has been 'redone' for the new console. Basically, the 'Evolved' version (the new one) is just the retro version on an acid trip. It's a simple but ingeniusly done game. You move your craft around the screen, shooting everything in sight and not getting hit by anything. Average score is a couple of hundred thousand, but I recently found a video of a former 'world champion' - they take the game that seriously - getting 2.1 million, and to be honest with you, it's inspiring - the score works in a sort of 'x squared' curve, while the learning curve is more exponential - easy to pick up, difficult to master. The current world record is 12 million, and anything above 1 million is considered extremely good.
It's more of a blow to the eyes than an incredible gaming video or something funny, but it's just so incredible that I had to post it. There are times here when then guy gets out of spots you didn't know it was possible to get into, and finds gaps you didn't know were there. Anyway, enjoy. And if anyone does remember the original (I'm looking at our middle-aged clique here) then are you depressed that one of your beloved (or not) games of old has become this hallucinogenic vision of mind-blowing colour. Is it an improvement?
http://www.joystiq.com/videos/ (http://www.joystiq.com/videos/striker-2m.wmv)striker-2m.wmv
Enjoy.
And by the way, on a decent Broadband connection, you can stream it while you watch. It's a 16 minute marathon.
For those lucky few of us who may have an Xbox 360, you have probably heard of the non-retro version of Geometry Wars. It's an arcade classic (or so I gather - anyone remember it?) which has been 'redone' for the new console. Basically, the 'Evolved' version (the new one) is just the retro version on an acid trip. It's a simple but ingeniusly done game. You move your craft around the screen, shooting everything in sight and not getting hit by anything. Average score is a couple of hundred thousand, but I recently found a video of a former 'world champion' - they take the game that seriously - getting 2.1 million, and to be honest with you, it's inspiring - the score works in a sort of 'x squared' curve, while the learning curve is more exponential - easy to pick up, difficult to master. The current world record is 12 million, and anything above 1 million is considered extremely good.
It's more of a blow to the eyes than an incredible gaming video or something funny, but it's just so incredible that I had to post it. There are times here when then guy gets out of spots you didn't know it was possible to get into, and finds gaps you didn't know were there. Anyway, enjoy. And if anyone does remember the original (I'm looking at our middle-aged clique here) then are you depressed that one of your beloved (or not) games of old has become this hallucinogenic vision of mind-blowing colour. Is it an improvement?
http://www.joystiq.com/videos/ (http://www.joystiq.com/videos/striker-2m.wmv)striker-2m.wmv
Enjoy.
And by the way, on a decent Broadband connection, you can stream it while you watch. It's a 16 minute marathon.