Back when Geometry Wars: Touch launched in April, it was $10 and iPad only. Now in June, it’s half the price and now works for both iPad and iPhone/iPod Touch. I really like the series, but was reluctant to give it a go until this recent update and price drop. Now that I’ve spent some time with it on both platforms, I’ll give you the scoop on what makes each version different and which is better to play.
If you haven’t played Geometry Wars before, you should know that it was a smash-hit downloadable game series on XBOX Live and has since seen versions on the Wii and DS. In these games, you are an abstract of a space ship and you shoot abstracts of enemy space ships. Imagine this as a high-tech version of Robotron. Geometry Wars: Touch is essentially a port of Geometry Wars 2 with the addition of a new Titan mode.
With the setup out of the way, let’s get to the heart of the matter. iPad or iPhone/iPod Touch?
iPad
The iPad version of Geometry Wars looks gorgeous. It seems like something you would take for granted, considering the fact that the game is all vectors. However, as an owner of the Wii version, which doesn’t run in high-definition, those lines can look a lot uglier when not running with the right hardware on the right screen. On the iPad, it looks great and your field of view is just fine.
Controls are handled by “floating” on-screen joysticks that centre themselves on the last place you touched the screen. This helps a lot, especially when your thumbs slide out of place or your thumb feels comfortable in different places at different times.
Overall, it’s pretty fun and fairly faithful rendition of the game. However, it’s not better than playing the game with two joysticks. The precision you need for when things get really hairy just isn’t there when you don’t have a physical joystick. If you’re really into Geometry Wars and are comfortable with it on joysticks, this may irk you greatly.
iPhone/iPod Touch
Having a version of Geometry Wars that fits in your pocket sounds like a great idea in theory. However, I don’ think this is the go-to portable version you’re looking for. Graphically, it doesn’t hold up on the iPhone screen. The lines look dull. Also, the geoms are so small that they’re almost impossible to see.
The biggest problem the game faces is control. Unlike the iPad version, the on-screen joysticks do not move with your fingers. This gets really problematic when there’s hardly any real-estate to motion downward and no buffer to compensate for your thumbs moving out of place. The other problem is the amount of screen space your thumbs take up. I have small thumbs, but they took up enough of the screen to be a big distraction to my experience.
Now at half the price, I think die-hard Geometry Wars fans and anyone looking for a fun game to play will enjoy this…on their iPad. As an iPhone/iPod Touch only purchase, I’m not sure people can overcome the lack of precision control, small screen size and their thumbs being in the way.
In Third Person 