Waves

 
Developer: Squid In A Box Ltd
Steam Release: Nov 2011
Hours Played: 5.9
Similar To: Bullet Candy / Geometry Wars / Polychromatic / Tachyon Project
Rating: 5/5 Parsnips



GAMEPLAY
Make no mistake, Geometry Wars:Evolved was a trailblazer in the arena-style twin-stick shooter and paved the way precisely for games such as Beat Hazard, Everyday Shooter, Scoregasm, Polychromatic and indeed Waves to have their day in the sun. It takes place in a top-down circular arena where about 75% of the full area fits the screen meaning you need to roam around a bit. The standard principle applies: fire away at the small geometric shapes around you as they increase in number and get progressively more difficult to avoid. You have a bomb (after hitting a X10 combo) which destroys everything Scoregasm-style in a small radius around you along with a slow-motion button that can be used for up to about 5 seconds as your buffer fills. Both power-ups are satisfying to use and very useful for getting out of tough spots.
 


BALANCE & PACE
The bomb, in particular, can sometimes insta-charge itself after being used and can be applied multiple times making you uber-powerful if only for a short time. The game informs you that killing many and often will help your multiplier. Additionally, enemies killed within the ring around your ship gains you a “close-up” bonus awarding you double points. Grabbing the blue Level Up icons is also helpful in building up that multiplier. Waves offers the typically frenetic and intense experience that players expect from this genre but what it adds to the evolutionary process are seven decent modes. These are not inferior throwaways are afterthoughts cobbled together after the main game type was created but genuinely interesting twists on the usual shoot-everything-as-quick-as-you-can formula.

 

PRESENTATION & DESIGN
Waves has an intuitive menu system that is well-suited to those who like their high-scores neatly set out and easy to refer to. With wavy distortion, it goes for a flickering 1990s monitor effect which I've personally never been a fan of. Why is something considered an annoying fault turned into an art-style feature? Nevertheless, the title screen features common pathways presented in a user-friendly fashion. The casual language shows it doesn't take itself too seriously yet it's a little too wordy for my liking. Textures within the game are thinner than the chunkier textures of Geometry Wars which can initially make the distinction between enemy fire and pick-ups a little confusing. However, key information like combo-count and the buffer meter being right next to your ship is extremely convenient.
 


PROGRESS SYSTEM
After clicking Start Game you are taken to a list of the seven game types on the left hand side. Hover over each of these and a playful explanation of what the game type involves is displayed in a panel on the right along with your Top 4 scores for that game type. This simple, straightforward way of displaying high-scores with no fluff or over-elaboration is exactly what is needed in this type of game. Entering the Leaderboard screen from the main menu takes you to the area where your high-scores are given added meaning. From here, for each game type, you can see your previous eight scores; your top eight scores; where you stand in the global rankings and the top world scores. This solid, reliable and stable system gives a context to subsequent playthroughs and just gives your efforts added substance. 
 

CONCLUSION
The music may be bland, the blue collectables get confused with enemies at first and the enemies could have been a little more varied but once familiarity sets in, gameplay becomes a good solid experience overall. However, it’s the inclusion of the seven inspired game types that really manage to keep the game dynamic and fresh. Let's have a role-call of these to round things off: (1) Crunch Time: score as much as possible in three minutes with unlimited lives; (2) Survive: survive as long as you can with three lives; (3) Rush; keep levelling up to extend the time limit; (4) Bombing Run: no firing but move from the green to the red pad to detonate the bomb; (5) Challenge: clear 20 mini-levels; (6) Chase: keep moving to the red pads before the five second timer runs out; (7) Hold: stay inside the lit area to fire missiles. It's all good.