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Drones that aid you in battle also add flavor to each round. Some guard your back with a spray of bullets, while others circle your ship and shield you from danger. As you fight more battles these companions gain XP and become more powerful.
The scoring system has also been tweaked. Fallen foes now drop Geoms that increase your score multiplier and help you unlock new levels and more types of Drones. Geoms don't hang around on the screen for long, and you'll have to get close to enemies to grab them. This new element of risk and reward works well in Galaxies, and you'll find yourself trying to take down crowds of enemies at point blank range instead of from the other side of the screen.
Above: Galaxies' new Drone allies, wily shapes and diabolical levels makes Retro Evolved seem as plain as Asteroids
Fans will notice a significant drop in the amount of cursing and angry restarts that follow deaths. After you die, extra Geoms to unlock new levels or Drones are waiting for you in the menu; and leveling up your collection of Drones or testing your skills in some of the more challenging levels breaks through the monotony of its predecessors one-level grind.
New multiplayer modes also let you join forces or compete with a friend on the classic Retro Evolved stage. You can either partner up to share bombs, lives and score, or compete to see who can steal the most kills to rack up a higher score. There's also a Co-op Solar System, with ten levels designed just for two. But even though multiplayer is always more than welcome, they feel tacked on in comparison to some of the DS' more inventive game types.
We were wondering if Galaxies would feel like a slightly dolled up version the arcade title. But because of all the improvements and extra content, Galaxies' offers lots of replay value to help justify the purchase.
