One called Titans-a so-so Asteroids clone with AI-driven targets-is new to the iPad, but others, such as the basic “shoot ‘em all” mode Deadline, the forced move from shielded ring to shielded ring mode called King, and the overwhelming collection of surrounding enemies game called Waves, are better. The core of Geometry Wars is the variety of included game modes, which unlock in succession as you complete prior stages. Geometry Wars’ spectacular particle effects, bright vector-based line graphics, and wavy grids originally came from Xbox and PlayStation console games, and inspired quite a few clones-even good ones-for the iPhone and iPod touch, but they’re flashier and cooler here. You touch the left side of the screen to position your ship and the right to fire in any direction, occasionally using a bomb button at the bottom center of the screen to clear everything out.

Each of the seven different game modes puts you in charge of a spaceship that maneuvers around a grid in a confined area, shooting and dodging anything that moves. Though the game won’t appeal to everyone-it’s a dual-joystick overhead shooter with deliberately retro graphics-it has quickly become one of our most-played iPad games. We hadn’t expected to be playing anything from Activision as an iPad launch title, but Geometry Wars: Touch for iPad ($10) was a “must-get” release when we spotted it in the App Store.

Zen bound 2 switch