World of Goo- WiiWare Review

World of Goo


Review by: King Zarthius

Year released: 2008| System/Console: Nintendo Wii (WiiWare) & PC

Price: $15/£11




World of Goo is a game about mysterious blobs; coming in a variety of flavours; black, red, sticky, green, skull, and more -- and it's the first, truly brilliant, original title for Nintendo's WiiWare service. Naturally, it's not the blobs themselves that define World of Goo but what the two-man team (at max 3) at 2D Boy has done with them, crafting increasingly devious challenges that combine the sense of wonderment and boundless creativity of LocoRoco with the brainy play approach of Portal.



The game's basic principle is to work with the blobs to build stable structures to reach a tube that hangs somewhere on the level. You build these structures and formations via a drag'n'drop method. For example; you drag a goo-ball above another set of 2 blobs, it will show connecting lines, then drop it and a new piece of structure will form. However, you should not be wasteful with the goo-balls, because the pipe sucks the excess balls, and they carry through to the next level. That is to say; one can only manage certain levels when enough blobs have been transfered through the tube.


To ensure that this principle does not get boring, there are all kinds of Goo Balls within the game. Here is an excerpt: black goo-balls can be used only once, green goo-ballscan be recycled, red goo-balls end up quickly in flames, white goo-ballsare fire-resistant, skull-goo-balls are insensitive to nasty saws and blades, and burr-goo-balls tack your structure to other moving objects in the level.




Thanks to the simple but ingenious game developers there is no need of a long-boring tutorial! Instead, your thrown straight into the World of Goo, and you automatically catch-on. Also, it helps to read the signs, the first manual sign simply notes that you move the Goo via drag'n'drop. The game clearly increases in difficulty gradually, but in the first chapter alone, which is in retrospect an "introduction chapter" one can immediatly experience loads of fun. This feeling of being thrown straight into the fun, follows you throughout the whole experience and gives the game a certain perfection.

Short gameplay video:



The special thing about World of Goo is that it seems almost every first-time user understands the game's mechanics and control scheme with relative ease. Of course the game is no easy puzzle to solve; while at the beginning it is quite easy, eventually much skill is required and one must plan their methodology in the construction of their goo-structures, and more of a tactical component is added. In the later levels often you will need to consider how the level ends before you begin your sophisticated goo-towers. Even if your halfway through, and your plan is clearly failing, never get frustrated. Every time you are stuck, you can simply hit the "retry" button and start again.

An important mention is also the signs. Throughout the levels the developers have placed signs to help the player. At first glance they seem to be useless messages, but in reality the signs provide valuable information to help the player solve the level's puzzle. The faithful signs accompany you from the beginning until the end of the game as a kind of companion - a bit like the companion cubes of portal, eh?

Weighted Companion Cube


Another reason to get this game is because of the extremely brilliant soundtrack, the lovely level backgrounds, and the graphics. It is a rare day when both sound and graphical settings of a game agree, but that day comes along when you play World of Goo. It also would not be an odd thing if you go back to play a level over and over again just to hear the amazing soundtrack.

World of Goo is a fascinating piece of software. You can feel a real sense of formal dedication by the developers. The 2-man 2D team has got every little detail of the game worked out, with the big picture in mind. Actually, it is quite surprising how accurately the game is polished and optimized. It leaves you to think that the developers took many, many years to create such a masterpiece. The game-play really does satisfy any gamer, with its wealth of truly sublime variation. Even the superb soundtrack alone will leave the player wanting to play over and over again.
This is a must have and well worth the money!

-Zarthius