On iOS, the term 'console like' is overused and frequently inaccurate. Too often, iPads and iPhones make do with second-best - games that lack the spark and quality of what you find on a PlayStation, Xbox or handheld. With Geometry Wars 3, though, you feel such a description is entirely justified. This is a gorgeous twin-stick shooter that matches its console-based cousins, with dazzling visuals, tight controls, and a wide variety of play styles.
If you've not encountered Geometry Wars before, it's an arena shooter, which finds you in an enclosed space, fending off waves of neon foes. You use your left thumb to move and your right digit to direct fire. As the immediate vicinity fills with ships, you must weave through the carnage and eradicate everything, trying to pick up power-ups and 'geoms' along the way. Diamond-shaped geoms can ramp up your multiplier to dizzying levels, potentially massively increasing your score.
In Geometry Wars 3, everything is wrapped around 3D shapes, bringing an added dimension to proceedings. The meat of the game is a quest with dozens of levels that keep you on your toes by mixing up game modes, such as limiting where you can fire from, or only giving you a single life. You must at a minimum one-star a level to access the next, but the barrier is set reasonably low (except on the trickier boss levels), making Geometry Wars accessible; you’ll need to be something of a master to crack the three-star quotas, though, and the insanely tough Ultimate mode.
£3.99/$4.99 | For iPad & iPhone (Universal) | Download Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions Evolved