World of Goo

"The king of WiiWare, the king of third-party games, and one of the best games on Wii"

World Of Goo would usually be one of those games that is a true gem, but completely undersells and is a flop, forcing developers to churn out more crappy movie tie-ins and things entitled 'How to buy a pointless game that tells you how to do stuff you should learn at school'(Or something like that) to make enough money. Examples include Zack and Wiki, Pikmin, Soul Bubbles, and perhaps most tragic of all, Okami (Which I really recommend you pick up).
Not so with World Of Goo. Happily its sales are high and it has been a critical and commercial success so far. And boy does it deserve it!

World of Goo is a point and click puzzler with a twist, and a brilliant twist at that. Using blobs of Goo, you must build structures and overcome obstacles to get to the exit pipe, with enough Goo intact to meet specifications and be sucked up the pipe. Sounds simple? The basic idea takes 2 minutes to get hold of, but mastering the game will take you a lot longer. The various different types of Goo must be strategically used to get to your goal, with watery goo, goo that can be unattached and then reattached again, sticky goo, floaty goo, and many more. There are over a dozen types and every one is different and original. The puzzles are challenging but not impossibly hard, and a few minutes hard thinking and experimenting are usually enough to figure out what to do. Completing these puzzles reaps a healthy reward of satisfaction, watching as all your goo is sucked up the exit pipe. Each and every puzzle is completely different, and with 48 levels that's saying a lot.

The visual style of World of Goo has to be one of the most charming I've ever seen. It looks like it came straight out of a cartoonist's paintbox. The bright, vibrant colours and detailed backgrounds are a joy to behold. Even the goo blobs have plenty of character, easily distinguishable from each other, and with cute little eyes. There are times when you'll just gape in wonder at the artwork, the smooth animation and characteristic surroundings. The goo blobs literally come alive, and the sight of a tower toppling into a spike pit, and the sound and sight of your goo balls dying a horrible death, with various screams, is truly heartbreaking.

The soundtrack is equally stunning, with jaunty, lively tunes in frantic levels, and sombre, beautiful melodies in others. Most music is repeated for 2-4 levels, but you'll never tire of it, as each theme has its own distinctive beauty. Sound effects are also of high quality, especially the sounds of goo, squelching as they stick together, rejoicing as they near the pipe, gasping when they finally get to their goal, and screaming as they perish...

World of Goo features a small storyline between chapters. I wont reveal too much here, but when pipes start protruding into their world, the Goos investigate, and a large amount of events unfurl. The ending is very surprising. Throughout each level, small signs appear that when clicked on, display text written by 'The Sign Painter', an enigmatic chap who will make quirky but helpful remarks on the levels. I have to admit there were at least a dozen instances where I chuckled at these signs, as they often break the fourth wall in a humourous way, or relate to everyday things applied to the weird World Of Goo.

It's not all positive. Sometimes the controls can be slightly fiddly, grabbing the right goo is sometimes hard as others get in the way, and occasionally when letting go of a goo you havent quite positioned it close enough, it doesn't attach and falls to its death, and you wish there was a clearer indication of where it will go (There's a thin, faint white line). The game itself is short, with 48 levels that take 3-6 minutes each. There's not much replay value, and a level editor would have been nice as it seems a perfect game to have one. The game overall, while challenging, never gets really hard, and none of the puzzles are TOO taxing. However, these are minor niggles and are far outweighed by the positives. Think a pebble compared to a boulder.

Overall, World of Goo is a joy to play, and although once youve figured out each puzzle there's never as much satisfaction going back to it, a small minigame 'The world of goo corporation' where rescued Goo goes and can be used to build a tower, with each cloud in the sky representing another real player, is a small pleasant touch that really enhances the game and inspires you to go back and save as much Goo as you can. This is without a doubt the best WiiWare game, and even ranks as one of the best on the Wii so far, and at 1500 points is cheap too. Highly recommended.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 01/12/09

Game Release: World of Goo (EU, 12/19/08)