Pour one out today for Bizarre Creations. The "Project Gotham Racing" and "Geometry Wars" developer closes its doors today after Activision's January closure recommendation following the publishers unsuccessful attempts to sell the studio. Bizarre put out two solid releases last year -- "Blur" and "James Bond 007: Blood Stone" -- but both titles failed to hit blockbuster numbers, prompting Activision to move ahead with the closure.
So Bizarre closes up shop today, leaving behind a legacy that will stick around for a long time to come. "Geometry Wars" alone reinvigorated the gaming public's interest in twin-stick shooters. Now you can't go very far without bumping into one, especially with the rise of mobile gaming and the genre's popularity on handheld devices.
The big one of course is "Project Gotham Racing." Not only does the series bizarrely stand as the spawning ground for "Geometry Wars," it is also a solid racer with great visuals, tons of exotic vehicles and tight gameplay. "Project Gotham Racing 4," the last console release in the series and the second for Xbox 360, opted for a "more is better" philosophy over dramatic new innovations, but its 2007 release was well-received and continues to stand as one of the stronger current-gen racing games.
Bizarre was also a competent player in the action space even if its games never reached the heights that others have. The 2008 game "The Club" offered a marvelously entertaining twist on the third-person shooter formula, bringing in ideas from the "PGR" series, and racing games on the whole, to deliver a combo-oriented run-and-gunner in which lap times were just as important as kill counts.
Bizarre video editor Eamon Urtone put together a little retrospective video meant to honor the team's efforts throughout the years. I'm sure the studios talented employees will find themselves a new home soon enough, but it's a damn shame to see such a strong group of creative minds going their separate ways.