If everything had gone according to plan with Geometry Wars Retro Evolved, it would have ended up a shadow of its final glory. For all the myriad spawn patterns the game draws upon, each enemy type can be relied upon to provide a fleeting moment of transparency on arrival, during which time the player can make contact and survive the encounter. Every enemy type except the snakes, that is. They appear fully formed and deadly, and the most delicate of dances is required to escape from within their collective clutches.
It's a bug for all intents and purposes, but crucially one that prevents players from simply hugging the walls as they travel in an endless circuit, dealing only with the dangers directly ahead, and remaining largely oblivious to the greater density of accumulated enemies trailing behind in a homogenous blob. Instead, the protective walls that enclose the arena become a source of danger themselves, forcing high level players to explore the centre to a much greater degree, and give themselves space to escape from the writhing, circling snakes whenever they appear.
Pretty much everything that matters in Death Ray Manta happens right there in the middle of the screen too, but the danger is everywhere, from the host of digital creatures that crawl around the vicinity of your vessel, to the missiles and bullets that float from sources unseen at the sides of the screen. Unlike most twin-stick shooter, where there's a slick dependability to the controls, DRM is only ever as grudgingly responsive as it needs to be and is at first agonisingly treacle-ish to play. At first you'll glide helplessly into a wall of bullets you saw too late to correct for, but once you've acclimatised yourself to the stickier pace, you'll come to love the nightmarish quality that it lends the game.
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