Viral Survival is the illegitimate offspring of Geometry Wars and Snake. While I lack the DNA evidence to prove its parentage, there's enough DNA to provide a fun, fast arcade experience.

Viral Survival is fun to look at. This is one of the few games where I've had just as much fun scrolling through menus as I did looking at the in-game graphics. They're really nothing more than a few scrolling menus, yet there's something really fun about watching them zip, scale and zoom in every direction on the screen.

The fun carries over into the rest of the presentation. On a purely technical level, Viral Survival looks like a Flash game. Your character and enemies are flat, simple images on the screen. But at the same time, each carries just enough personality and charm to jump off the screen. Everything may look and sound simple, but developer PeakVox got a lot out of very little.

Play modes are split between five distinct modes, all based around the same core gameplay concept - survive.

In Normal, you need to avoid viruses while collecting DNA strands, which trail you similar to Snake. The more strands to collect, the longer your DNA tail becomes and the harder it gets to avoid viruses. If a virus hits a DNA strand, they go flying, forcing you to scramble and pick them up before they disappear. Power-ups periodically appear in the area. One gives you a missile-like projectile to destroy viruses. Another acts like a power pellet in Pac-Man.

Zoom 128 works in a similar way, but adds a tight camera zoom. As with Normal, your goal is to collect DNA, though here you only need to snag 128 in a set time. It sounds easy, but the tight camera adds a claustrophobic sense that, when combined with the fast-paced gameplay, can lead to a few anxious play moments. Progressive Mode is even more frantic. You can only move in a certain direction and really only have control over your speed.

Shooter is similar to Geometry Wars. Rather than collect DNA strands, you shoot viruses, but there's a catch. All of your shots are automatic and only happen every few seconds. It's an interesting twist on a common play type; every shot really does count. If you miss the timing by just a little, you're out of luck and need to avoid the growing viral swarms until the next shot loads. If you'd rather blast away at enemies, Horde Mode provides the same setup, but you get to pull the trigger.

All five modes are fun, but tend to drag after a while. Viral Survival isn't built for marathon sessions. It's a meant for short, action-packed sessions. Most of your motivation to keep playing will likely come from wanting to earn a top spot on the leaderboards or by earning achievements. I found both to be great motivators, but if climbing leaderboards or unlocking virtual brag tags aren't your thing, Viral Survival will only hold your interest for so long.

Challenge is as varied and unique as Viral Survival's numerous modes. As far as I could tell, there's not a universally easy mode. All offer their own level of challenge that will be unique to each player. I had a really hard time with Zoom 128, but ruled Normal Mode. Both feature a similar premise, but I get really nervous with strict timers and counters.

Although everyone will find their own way through Viral Survival's various learning curves, nearly everyone will find a steep first step. Though most modes begin slowly, they ramp up in a matter of seconds. It's a bit intimidating at first, and I can actually see it scaring some players away. After failing miserably in Progressive Mode, I had to force myself to check the mode out for the sake of this write-up.

Viral Survival offers support for nearly every Wii controller available. The Analog Stick is the main event. You'll press one or two buttons depending on the mode, but your thumb will get most of the workout. After testing out every controller I own, I found I had the most success with the Wii Classic Controller Pro. The Nunchuk's Analog Stick is great, but didn't feel nearly as solid as the Classic Pro. This may very well be personal preference, but I noticed a definite upgrade in movement speed and agility.

When I first started, I was disappointed in the lack of motion support. From the outset, Viral Survival looked perfect for pointer-based motion controls. The more I played, the more I realized motion-control would have been a bad idea. When enemies start to crowd your character (and they will), you'll want the ability to make really quick, accurate turns.

Viral Survival is not a game you will play for hours on end. You certainly can, but I was never able to spend more than a few minutes in any one session. Though the comment may sound like a slight towards the game's quality, it's a compliment. I didn't play a lot, but had a lot of fun every time I did. I never felt like I had to wait for things to get better; it was all right there. In a sense, it's a great arcade experience.