Customer Reviews

World of Goo [Online Game Code]

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Looking at the general quality-to-budget and time-to-staff ratios of games in general and specifically games on Wii it would be easy to assume that the days of the lone coder producing anything of value or interest are far gone. Even first-party titles by the often heralded Nintendo today all too often show low production values (Wii Play), rehashed and tired gameplay and graphics (Mario Kart Wii, Animal Crossing: City Folk) even though they are made by such a large corporation.

But then there's World of Goo, a two-man project (2D Boy's Kyle Gabler and Ron Carmel) that's innovative and beautiful, has great Danny Elfman-ish music and sound-design reminiscent of Loco Roco. It's genuinely funny - the humor, a bit dark at times (a la Braid or Psychonauts) and contains many Internet-community and computing references (similar to that in the new Sam & Max episodes and Portal) and - if not braking the 4th wall - then at least tapping it. The level-design brings Lemmings to mind.

The general idea is to use the titular Goo balls to build a physics-enforced structure to a pipe somewhere on the level through which the remaining goo-balls can escape. In standard puzzle-game fashion you are gradually presented with new an varying challenges both in terms of the environments and through new goo-balls with different properties such as those that can jump, are flammable or detachable.

Through-out the game you are accompanied by the mysterious sign-painter. Hints and story elements are presented in a Braid/Portal-esque way, partly through the environments but mainly by the sign-painters posts. These are often funny and much like the levels themselves comments on society and pop-culture, bringing greater depth to the game and making you really feel the plight of the poor goo balls... as strange as it may sound.

However even if you - like my wife - skip the signs all together, there is a fantastically addictive and fun game here that everyone deserves to play. My only gripe with the game is that it was a bit too easy. I burnt through the 50 levels in just five days, about 10-hours. But then there is the Tower of Goo mode in which you build as high as you can and compare your results in real-time to others around the world who's records hover as clouds in the sky, providing constant incentive to manage just a little bit higher. The goo balls you build with in this stage are the excess balls from the main stages, so by going back to improve your results in those stages you can gain more balls to build your tower with.

World of Goo is the best thing to happen to WiiWare and one of the best things on Wii period. For those who don't have a Wii there are also PC and Mac versions and with a Linux version on it's way there is little excuse not to buy this game. Yes, now we come to the darker side of gaming, piracy. This game is DRM-free and while DRM won't stop the determined pirate and I applaud 2D Boy for putting their faith in their audience... unfortunately piracy of World of Goo is a real problem. This is not a game by a large corporation swimming in money, so please try the demo and if you like it, buy it.

The Wii has a lot of good games, but most are overlooked. The same probably happened to this awesome puzzle game, World of Goo.

The fun is in using the remote to experiment with the little goo caracters and then using them to form a connection to the exit. As levels progress, the Goo's get different properties that add a lot of variety to the game. Up to 3 friends can use a Wiimote and help with the levels, making this a great co-op experience. I had a lot of fun with my friends, and even non gamers who like to point out solutions that often work!

Anyone who enjoys a good brain teaser and just plain old fun should download this as soon as they can.

Lately I've been underwhelmed by many of the Wii Ware titles out there, but if this is the new direction that Nintento is taking with the platform, I say keep it coming! This is one of the most innovative games out there, regardless of platform (although the use of the Wii wand does give the game a more organic feel than twiddling buttons would). Like any good game, it's easy to learn yet hard to master. Also, the physics of the game are nearly real-world perfect. You get a fantastic amount of bang for your buck on this one.

This game has the polish that most games lack. The gameplay is creative and simple but diverse. World of Goo is excellent and can be picked up by all types of players. To top it off the developers are friendly. There's also, Linux and Windows versions which are all DRM free available for download [...]. The WiiWare version is great because up to 4 people can control the goo balls at once.

Buy it now, you won't regret it.

On the surface a simple puzzle game, World of Goo is imbued with a strange but beautiful art style and sense of humor that makes it one of the best values on the Wii.

WiiWare is a platform that hasn't had a whole lot of great games yet. Sure, there have been some decent titles available for download, but in all honesty most of the games available were thoroughly mediocre, and even the good ones weren't necessarily groundbreaking. At the time, WiiWare almost appeared to be something just tacked on the Wii Shop Channel for the sake of having original games available through the Internet like PS3 and Xbox 360 have... but then a wacky little puzzle game called World of Goo came along, and all that was about to change...

World of Goo is a puzzle game, and all the levels have just about the same goal: build up your mass of goos to reach the pipe, which will suck up any remaining goos, and if you collect enough goos you win the level. It sounds simple enough, but World of Goo thrives on mixing a simple goal with some challenging scenarios. You will sometimes have to build over dangerous obstacles or even float your goos to your destination. The variety of ways to clear each level makes it so the game never gets old, and even up to the very end the game feels totally fresh and exciting.

To help the game retain that fresh feel there are also many types of goos to work with and learn about. Your average goo will stick to two or more goos nearby when placed, but special types of goos can be reattached, resist spikes, or stick to any moving object indefinitely, to name a few. These are all introduced to you at a steady pace throughout the game to keep it fresh without overwhelming you. The only disadvantage to all the types of goos is perhaps World of Goos' only true flaw, and that is that it's sometimes hard to grab a particular type of goo. The goos are often bunched together so that you can't grab that pink balloon you need because three black goos are moving along past it as well. Thankfully this very rarely costs you anything except slight irritation.

Even if you do end up losing the puzzle because of that, there are time bugs to help you out. These little bugs are flying around on the screen, and there are often quite a few of them in a level. Clicking on one will move you back in time to your last move so you can try it again without restarting the whole level. Naturally, this comes in handy on many occasions. This also helps make the game more user-friendly, therefore improving the game's accessibility. Also helping that along is the ability to skip a certain number of levels throughout the game. If you are so badly stuck on a level that you absolutely can't figure it out, you can skip it and return to it later. While this seems like cheating I think it works wonderfully to allow just about anyone to reach the game's end, which you will not want to miss. The limited number of skips allowed also makes it so the feature can't be overused, perfectly balancing out the game's challenge factor.

And challenging World of Goo most certainly is. World of Goo puts you in some pretty difficult scenarios, and you are constantly using all your intelligence to fight the game's excellent physics engine and difficult situations. The difficulty is so well balanced by the time bugs and skips, though, that you never feel overwhelmed, and you can simply keep going without much delay. Of course, figuring out the puzzles is part of the fun in the game, so you might not even feel inclined to use any skips. The game's brilliance makes it a joy to play, so the challenge is actually welcome to make you appreciate the game all the more and make you use your brain while playing a video game. What a concept!

To add some value and even more challenge to World of Goo, there is an OCD challenge in every level. These are occasionally somewhat easy, but most of the time they are really hard to do. They involve collecting as many goos as is made possible by the level or completing a level within a certain time limit. These are good for players looking for more gameplay and even greater challenges, and there is a great sense of accomplishment every time you clear one. Without the OCD challenges the game lasts for roughly 5-7 hours, which is pretty decent considering the $15 price point.

World of Goo is a truly interesting game from start to finish, and the plot also helps to keep you interested. It complements the game very nicely, because it's strange but brilliant, much like the rest of the game. The story isn't told to you in cutscenes or dialogue as in most games, but it is hinted at throughout the game by the mysterious 'Sign Painter.' There are signs to read in every level, on which the Sign Painter tries to help you or just says something funny to hint at the game's world, occurring events, and the plot. I really can't give anything away because I want you to experience it for yourself and also it's kind of hard to explain. The plot is simply brilliant, and even though it's a puzzle game World of Goo's story complements the other aspects in a better way than you might expect.

But all this brilliance would go to waste if World of Goo didn't play well, so thankfully the game plays almost perfectly! Aside from the issue I described earlier with picking up a certain type of goo, the game's controls work very well. The Wii remote's pointer is almost as effective as a computer mouse in this game, and the controls can almost always keep up with the action. Nothing in the game will ever frustrate you either (again, with the exception of not being able to grab a particular type of goo very easily) so the game remains challenging and fun all at the same time.

World of Goo also looks pretty fantastic. Everything animates very realistically with a smooth frame rate. The physics engine also makes for some great graphical moments, like when a tower of goo is leaning back and forth, and the tension increases. The individual goos are also animated very well, and they are actually given personality in their facial expressions as their eyes widen when they're about to get killed and such.

And the sound department compliments the game's personality also. The goos make funny noises a lot, like when they're dying or getting picked up. The music is also very good and fitting to the game, each song is fun and catchy. The soundtrack was even requested by many players, so one of the few people who worked on World of Goo put a soundtrack together and it's available on the Internet for free.

World of Goo is, quite simply, one of the most brilliant games I have ever played. That brilliance shines through in its puzzles and story, and it manages to be weird all the while and still feel ingenious. The game is also fun, but very challenging, and the difficulty is perfectly balanced out by the available time bugs and skips. World of Goo is a fantastic game that's easily recommendable to just about anyone.

Positive:
+ intuitive puzzles
+ challenging without being overwhelming
+ time bugs and skips balance out the difficulty very nicely
+ wacky personality makes it a lot of fun
+ excellent physics engine
+ entertaining story that is unfolded in a very unique way
+ graphics and sound compliment the game nicely

Negative:
- sometimes hard to grab a particular goo

LAST WORD: World of Goo perfectly mixes wackiness with brilliance and fun with a challenge. It might well be the best downloadable game you ever purchase.

9.3/10

You've heard of independent film studios and independent music labels. Rarely does an independent video game break through and succeed. The gaming market is flooded with franchises (EA Sports, for example) and copycat video games that essentially provide the same game play, game after game, with only a name change to create the illusion of a difference. World of Goo actually is different.

Working within the puzzle game genre, World of Goo brings together a dry wit sense of humor, excellent music and simple yet appropriate sound effects, a well-designed and good looking world, and a lot of fun. The game play consists of figuring out how to use little balls of goo to interact with the world and reach a goal. The player is introduced to a variety of goo balls that have different properties and engage the world of the game using different physics.

My only complaint is that the game is far too short, but rest assured, it is worth it. After all, the credits consist of four people (not including the special thanks), and this game is truly a huge achievement for such a small staff.

This is one of the best games I've played in five years. I highly recommend it.

This is one of the most creative games I've played in a long time. I was a little leery at first because the object of the game is to create structures out of balls of goo to reach the pipe which is located somewhere on the screen, and I thought it would get boring fast. But as the levels increased new concepts were introduced that made each level more challenging and the game more addicting. For example, different balls of goo have different abilities, and some levels require you use balloons to hold your structure up. But these are only a few of the many imaginative ideas they came up with to give the game variety.

Not only did the developers formulate a great concept for a puzzle game, but the overall artistic appeal shows just how innovative the developers really are. Both the graphics and the music coincide perfectly to give the game a dark-comical edge, which immediately reminded me of Tim Burton's work.

This game is worth every dime, much more than most can say for some Wii games that cost considerably more. I also noticed they have it for PC, but it seems to be pretty much the same so I'll stick with the Wii Ware for now.

I do have to note that if you play this game for too long at one time, you may have a hard time seeing straight for a few minutes after.

I've found Goo to be an amazing game. I'm afraid to say that I've racked up many hours of play on my wii as well as my laptop in the pursuit of goo balls. I enjoy it so much because Goo doesn't totally rely on your swift physical responses, although at some levels it is required, but your thought process in solving various problems. Being 54, I'm not easily amused by video games, but this one is truly addicting!

I've had this for a couple of months now. When my sister and her family visited, the great question was who was next. We had people playing from age 5 to adult. It was tough for my 5 year old son, as he's not very coordinated yet, and this requires fine motor skills. I would say anyone from 6 and up could easily play this. My sister said that the first thing she would do when she got back was get her Wii on the Internet, so that she could download this game.