My favorite XBox 360 game cost me $5

Geometry Wars is a cross between Robotron and Asteroids with a ton of special effects thrown in.

Interview with Geometry Wars creator, Stephen Cakebread. Excerpt:

Q: One of the most striking new graphical features in the game is the “gravity grid” play area. How did you make this look so cool; does every object in the game really have its own gravity?

The grid itself is made up of 60,000 points, each one exerting a small amount of force on its neighbour. The simulation itself sits on the edge of stability which is what causes it to swing about so much when one of the game objects gives it a small push!

Only a few types of object affect the grid. As the grid system is rather expensive to calculate, it actually runs on the second core along with the audio system, (the first core being dedicated to gameplay and particles, the third is used to render the audio).

BizarreOnline.net’s official Geometry Wars intro page. Excerpt:

Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved is the sequel to the original Geometry Wars mini-game… You use the left analog stick on your Xbox 360 controller to fly your ship around the area, and the right analog stick to fire a bullet in any 360 degree angle. Avoid the spawning enemies, and shoot them down for points. You can also pull the right trigger to fire a smart bomb, which decimates all bad guys on the screen. Save these up for when the going gets really tough!

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