[FedoraGuy]

I know some people have trouble surviving in this game and in answering Lurkio's question about how I got a high score, I produced a quite lengthy response that didn't belong in the 'favorite 360 game' thread in which it originated.

I copied and pasted the info to this thread so that all that typing wasn't for naught and so that others might get a little help on this awesomely fun game! I'm by no means an expert, so feel free to discuss or add more to it.

Do you have a technique or something, because I always seem to die on 250. (IMG:http://forums.mygamercard.net/style_emoticons/default/mad.gif) (I've tried going around in circles but it always seems to fail. (IMG:http://forums.mygamercard.net/style_emoticons/default/sad.gif) )

Well, practice. Lots of practice. I played it every day after work for two weeks and got a lot better.

When you're circling, be sure to keep a clear line in front of your vessel, that is, always shoot in the direction you're headed. Well, not constantly shoot in that direction, but never neglect it. For instance, when I'm 'in the zone', I'm able to look both at my ship and at the space I'm about to move into (where I'm mostly shooting) so that something stupid like a blue diamond or little pink square doesn't nip me from behind or I don't get caught in a tangle with no way out.

To take out enemies, try to practice spraying them, not just targeting individuals. Think of the game as a series of paths you have to clear and how you can clear them rather than seeing individual enemies that you have to take out.

Take out snakes as soon as you hear them spawn. They almost always spawn in the corners, at least early on they do, and try to take out black holes before they cause too much confusion and/or burst open with those little fast circles. I sometimes do the converse of this and let the black holes eat up a bunch of the enemies, then either take them out before they explode (you can hear them 'revving up') or let them explode far away from me and spray the area to catch all the little circles as they burst out. This is a technique I use sometimes when the screen gets a little overwhelming and I need a quick breather.

Visually, I find the game easiest to play when I'm about six from my tv. Too far away and it's hard to decipher things when the screen is full of enemies, too close and it's more difficult to 'survey' the whole scene. It sounds silly, but sit up straight, too. If I slouch when I play GW, I tend to die earlier and more often because my sense of direction on the 2D screen is thrown off on an angle.

Also, learn the sounds the enemies make when they spawn and fly around. This has saved my butt so many times, just hearing a red ship coming toward me or knowing that the screen is about to fill with little jacks from all corners. I used to listen to music (thru my 360) while I played, but now I listen to the game soundtrack. I think that's mostly a mental thing to get me in the right frame of mind, but you definitely want to hear the sound effects when playing this game.

My last piece of advice, use those bombs! I can't tell you how many times my friends have played and died before they even reached 100,000 with ALL of their bombs left. The only way you can get a large score is if your multiplier gets really high and that's not gonna happen if you constantly die and reset the multiplier. You'll eventually wanna get the "Collect 9 bombs" achievement, but I would say concentrate on getting a high score and you'll end up getting a lot of the achievements along the way (plus some pretty hefty scores on the leaderboard (IMG:http://forums.mygamercard.net/style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) ).

One last thing I do that's purely preference is to move the bomb button to the shoulder buttons as opposed to the default triggers. I had a problem with 'prematurely' blowing my bombs, but clicking the shoulder buttons is a lot more deliberate than tapping the trigger.

I hope these hints help. There are videos of top players on youtube and other video sites that might give you insight on how the greatest players play the game. They 'recommend' you go counter-clockwise (because that's how the pros do it), but that's never worked for me. In the end, it's all up to you, though. There's not really a 'trick' to the game, you just have to spend insane amounts of time with it.

That day I got over 1mill, I had 9 lives and 8 bombs at my highest and even when I'd die, there were so many enemies onscreen that my multiplier would get to 5 or 6 before I knew it. It's amazing how quickly you get extra lives at a high multiplier, too. It was pretty sweet! Good luck, Lurkio!

[Narilka]

Thanks so much for posting this! While I've tried many of these things, it's good to see I'm on the right track, so thanks for taking the time to write this up and give it its own thread.

[Lurkio2]

Wow. Thanks Fedora! (IMG:http://forums.mygamercard.net/style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

I don't practice and play this as much as I should. It's usually once or twice every other day. I suppose that is why my high score is only 300,000. (IMG:http://forums.mygamercard.net/style_emoticons/default/sad.gif) I can easily see where im going wrong now.

1. I always forget about bombs. I only tend to use them when I get down to about one or two lives. And of course by then it's always too late. I'll try moving the controls from the triggers to the shoulder buttons. (Although I've never really had the problem of accidently setting them off, or even prematurely, but there's aleays a first) (IMG:http://forums.mygamercard.net/style_emoticons/default/wink.gif) .

2. When I am going round in circles, I often stop firing ahead of me, and sure enough a sodding green thing will get me. (IMG:http://forums.mygamercard.net/style_emoticons/default/mad.gif) 9/10 times it's my downfall. My curse on GW is that once I loose one life, I'll loose all of them in the next 10k. I let my guard down I think. (IMG:http://forums.mygamercard.net/style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif)

3. Whenever the snakes come in the corners, I instantly move inside to avoid them and it seems like my screen, (or area of manoverability), is greatly decreased. I can't head straight into them, because obviously I'll die. Those snakes are what makes GW so hard for me.

4. Another fatal floor for me, (there seems to be a lot lol), is that I accidently set off the black holes, and just leave them! I always let them explode and send the circle things after me, which the majority of the time I kill. (Well the majority, anyway...). I'll definately start destroying them now. (IMG:http://forums.mygamercard.net/style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

5. My 360 is on a desk in my room. So either I sit on a chair infront of it, (which is about 2 feet away), or on my bed, (which I never do because it's miles away). I can see where your coming from about the slouching, but im a sloucher and I always will be one! (IMG:http://forums.mygamercard.net/style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif) And I never play music through my 360, so I know all the sounds. (I could even sing you the sound track if you want? lol Im that obsessed with this game! (IMG:http://forums.mygamercard.net/style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif) )

I'll have a go tonight, and I will not stop until I beat my high score! (IMG:http://forums.mygamercard.net/style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) Thanks for the hints Fedora!

[FedoraGuy]

NP, just glad my tips might actually help someone out!

3. Whenever the snakes come in the corners, I instantly move inside to avoid them and it seems like my screen, (or area of manoverability), is greatly decreased. I can't head straight into them, because obviously I'll die. Those snakes are what makes GW so hard for me.

One thing I had to learn to do was use the spraying technique I talked about on a group of snakes. By the time the snakes come out, you've got one of the two better weapon types, and if you bombard the area in a thick wave of fire, you'll clear out most if not all of the snakes immediately, especially with the gun that sprays wide. Just remember, it can take a couple good back-and-forth waves of fire before it's safe to proceed.

And yeah, getting corralled to the center is very dangerous in this game, but sometimes it happens. Just try to pick a direction and spray it good or use a bomb (IMG:http://forums.mygamercard.net/style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

Good luck!

[BLACK x CAPONE]

Ahh, Geometry Wars. How you hate me so, lol. I think my high score is a little over 400K, and I tend to never use a bomb until I hit 100K. That USUALLY works for me.........until I get random......things (no pun intended) flying at me......Have you seen the highest score in that game??? *** ridiculous!!!!