With the release of the Xbox 360, Microsoft brought something new to the market with Xbox Live Arcade. Using Microsoft Marketplace Points (purchased online with a credit card for about £0.85 for every 100) you can download a myriad of titles directly to your hard drive via the Xbox Live connection. While these games usually range from 400 to 800 points (about £3.50 to £7) and can be demoed before purchase, if you have the spare funds these games are excellent ways to extend the time with your new system.

Among the available titles, one in particular has generated quite a stir in the Live community: Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved. Geometry Wars first made its appearance as a mini-game in Project Gotham Racing 2. In the game you pilot a small U-shaped vehicle with the left analogue stick around a 2-dimensional plane and fire a stream of bullets at other enemy shapes in any direction with the right. The enemy shapes range from slowly homing diamonds and faster purple homing squares that split into three smaller versions when shot to red circular gravity wells that explode into many tiny circles if they digest too many enemy vehicles. Geometry Wars has taken this formula, improved the graphics and set the whole experience to an infectious techno beat, creating its own hypnotic and exciting experience.

The action is fairly slow when first starting a game, as only a few shapes come at you at a time. The pace slowly increases and really doesn't hit you until about 50,000 points, when swarms of enemies appear in an attempt to take you down. Eventually the game becomes so filled with the visuals of shapes exploding, as well as sparks created by activated gravity wells, that it can be distracting. That really is the point however, as taking your eyes off the screen for a split second usually results in your demise.

In normal circumstances, after playing Geometry Wars for a few sittings the game would get tiring. This is where Live's new achievement system comes into play, as your Gamer Card is awarded points after completing tasks assigned by the developers. For example, such things as obtaining nine lives, hitting 1,000,000 points and even doing so without losing a life all net you achievements. Pairing this with the game's leaderboard, there's always a reason to come back and destroy some shapes.

It goes without saying that Geometry Wars is the best five dollar investment that I've ever made. Much like Tetris, Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved's gameplay is easy to pick up but can take a lifetime to master. And although the matches are short, I've found more enjoyment playing this simple download than most of the 360's launch titles. So dig around the couch cushions for some extra pocket change, because Geometry Wars is one title that you don't want to miss out on.

Reviewed by Zach Lark for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).