It is hard to believe that Geometry Wars started life as a hidden minigame in Bizarre Creation's Project Gotham Racing 2 then received an extra lease of life as a $5 download on Xbox live Arcade for Microsoft's 360. The latest iteration of the game has now reached the DS and Wii in the shape of Geometry Wars: Galaxies.

If like me, you immediately wondered how a $5 game would translate into good value for money as a full price game then you will be pleased to hear it is not just a cheap ass port.

The Galaxies experience is now constructed into a series of levels which step up the difficulty level as you progress further into the game. It doesn't end here and there are multiplayer modes as well as unlockables. If all this wasn't enough then you will be pleased to hear that the inclusion of the Xbox live version of Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved further sweetens the deal.

If you haven't a clue what Geometry Wars is all about, then imagine an arcade style shooter in which you control a small ship moving around a grid shooting a large array of geometric shapes. Ok, before you close the page at this rather stale sounding game, just hang on. Geometry wars brings a very playable and fun game to the Nintendo Wii, and if like me you are longing for a nice "classic style" game on the Wii, then you need to give this some serious consideration.

The whole premise of Geometry Wars is based on the gameplay, which is just as well as the Nintendo Wii certainly won't be challenging the Ps3 or Xbox 360 for next generation style graphics, however I am sure you are wondering how the Wii interface will cope with such a gamestyle. There are various ways to play the game, if you choose the standard Wii Remote/Nunchuk combination you control your little hexagonal ship using the Nunchuk's control stick and aim your gun by pointing the remote at the screen. A tiny red line indicates where your gun is aiming and an icon sitting on that line verifies exactly where the remote is pointing. It sounds convoluted and  initially it certainly will have you pulling your hair out, however with a little bit of practise it does become almost second nature. The  biggest issue I experienced was that I moved the controller too fast and ended up aiming in the wrong places. Thankfully if you can't master this methodology the game includes support for the classic controller which has two control sticks, thus giving you the original control structure the game was designed around. This works perfectly for the arcade purists amongst you and will not cause any hair loss, however some of you may be disappointed to hear that the gamecube controller is not supported.

What makes Geometry wars an ass kickingly good game is the combination of fantastic visual design and chaotic yet addictive gameplay making you strive to get yet another high score. The audio is a pumping techno rave affair which inherently adds to the adrenalin fuelled atmosphere. If you (like me), can remember your childhood playing arcade machines, then you will already be able to taste the gameplay this title promises to deliver. Each distinct enemy ship behaves differently, some will split into smaller ships when shot, some will make every effort to avoid your shots and others will just head for your hull while laying mines, in a last ditch attempt to end your existence. Additionally, there are black holes which will randomly appear which play havoc with gravity in their vicinity, consuming any ships nearby before exploding and spitting out more adversaries. If you still aren't sold on this, then I would start checking for a pulse because the sheer visual impact, gameplay and presentation quality will suck even the most sceptical of gamers into the fray.

As I mentioned briefly above, Galaxies is a much expanded version of the original Xbox title many of you will have already experienced with a ton of new enemies and content to justify the release as a boxed, in store game title. At $40/£25 (wii version) it is actually really good value for money.

So what do you get for your money? Well instead of one neverending drone of a level, Galaxies now comprises 60 different planets each with a slightly different take on the Geometry Wars universe. These range from different enemies to various arena shapes, some of which are really devious. Moving barriers, different enemy ships and arena designs means that while the core gameplay is pretty much the same, each level will force you into playing different tactics to survive, and win.

To win you have to survive as long as possible with each "life", doing so will get those coveted high scores, due to the multiplier system. Thankfully unlike the previous versions, this isn't automatically calculated, dead enemies leave behind Geoms, these are tiny dots giving you anything from a +1 to a +10 on your multiplier, if you don't avail of these then it will take eons to get a gold medal. The Geoms add a nice twist to the game as they are normally in threatening positions, forcing you to take risks and gamble with your life for the possibility of higher scores.

Furthermore Geoms can be used to buy in game items, including new planets and galaxies and upgrades for your ship drone. I replayed many levels to continue collecting them long after I reached the maximum 150x multiplier. This cool drone is a circular defense system (I call mine Skippy) that follows you around the screen handling various tasks, such as attacking enemies, collecting geoms or transforming into a gun turret to protect you from death. The more you play, the more powerful it becomes, mutating from a dot to an omnipotent flying fortress later on (well it still looks like a dot, but I thought my description sounded better).

Co operative play is a great addition, you can play through the galaxies together or co operate in the never ending Retro Evolved mode for the ultimate high score. If you have a friend you don't particularly like, then there is a versus mode, again based on Retro Evolved which is again a simple quest for the top score, however you need to have lightning reflexes to defeat the enemies before your human opponent does.

Although this is a review of the Wii game, I have played the DS version and it runs slightly slower than the Wii version which can frequently make the game a lot easier as you have more time to react. The DS game also doesn't look as pretty as the Wii version and you will notice that the background grid doesn't distort making the onscreen action much less exciting. The DS game really isn't a patch on the Wii version, although if you frequently travel on a train, plane or bus it certainly makes for a welcome distraction. I still haven't been able to get my Wii and 32 inch LCD TV onto American Airlines flights, but I will keep trying.

Geometry Wars is a fun and addictive arcade shooter that manages to improve on the previous Xbox version in almost every way possible, in fact even with the dated concept it feels fresh and modern. If you were a fan of the Retro Evolved game this is also included as a deal breaker.

If you have both a DS and a Wii, then the Wii version is a no brainer, it is more capable of delivering the hugely chaotic gameplay on screen while melting your eyes with screen warping and an array of other confusing and entertaining effects, and best of all it only costs $10 more. Couple this with the option of using the classic controller and the Wii game comes highly recommended.

If you have beaten Mario Galaxies and are awaiting the next best Wii game, then make sure you don't overlook Geometry Wars: Galaxies, you will be surprised just how addictive this title is.