The variety in GEON comes through the power balls. Each one has an individual trait to keep things interesting, from electrifying tiles and setting traps to doubling your speed and hiding your movements from the other side, so the element of strategy is certainly there. There are a total of 7 to choose from and it certainly helps to add some more-lateral thinking.
The graphics, like most games of this style, are very colourful and bold, with a simplistic look. There are the occasional big explosions of eye candy when goals are scored and games won, but everything else has a feeling of being toned down for the sake of the gameplay and keeping it usable for the player. This is not to say that it’s a bad thing, as with titles like this you do have to tread a fine line between looks and playability, which is done well here. Everything is fluid and moves as smooth as you’d like, with functional being the major word to describe what’s on offer.
The sound is also a firm believer in this idea. The music is prominent without being as irritating as office elevator music, but it also doesn’t stand out from the background enough to become memorable. It’s almost as if it’s there to serve a purpose, which it does. There’s a really nice touch with the tune changing as you flip sides, which keeps things interesting for your ears. The only problem is you’ll be too busy focusing on getting to the goal to pay it as much attention as it’s looking for. The spot FX are adequate at best and don’t really stand out too well. Going back to Namco’s yellow pizza pellet popper helps to illustrate this. How many of you associate Pac Man’s “Wakka wakka” noise as one of the most well known sounds in gaming? This shows that a basic noise bank, if done well can be memorable. This simply isn’t the case here.