World of Goo will blow you away
Today I happened to run across an article on a DRM free game called World of Goo and how even though it has no piracy protection it is being pirated at about the same rate as games with protection. Nothing new here, people have been saying that for years. Anyway, the screen shots perked my interest so I decided to download the demo. I knew that less than half way through the demo I would be purchasing this game. First it’s an independent game and I like that. Second the developers don’t believe in punishing their legitimate customers with stupid copy protection that only annoys the end user who paid for the game. And third, the game is freakin fantastic and totally original, so lets get on with the freakin fantastic part.
Beautiful art direction
Maybe it’s just my taste in art, but I think the art direction in this game is stunning, it’s very Tim Burton, only very vivid at times. Every level has a life of it’s own, and as I played I found myself wanting to see the next level and waiting with anticipation. The screenshots that follow are beautiful, but keep in mind these are static shots, in the game everything is animated and moving which makes the experience even more rich.
The screenshot above is actually in game. Basically World of Goo is a puzzle game, but it’s like no puzzle game I have ever played before. The only games that I could sort of compare it too would be Lemmings or Enigmo, but make no mistake, World of Goo is about as original as you get.
World of Goo is a physics based puzzle / construction game. The millions of Goo Balls who live in the beautiful World of Goo don’t know that they are in a game, or that they are extremely delicious.
Addicted from the start
This game is extremely addictive and the demo comes with the entire first chapter of the game, which is quite a few levels. By the time you are done you should be itching for more, which is fine because there is a lot more to come if you buy the game. As I mentioned already the other great news is that this is a DRM free game. There is no serial or any kind of piracy protection on it, so do the developers a favour and buy the game if you do like it. Once you do it’s yours to install and play when ever and where ever you want.
It’s raining Goo
Each level is set in a vibrant original World of Goo. There are different types of Goo and the way it reacts to the environment around will vary depending on the type and various other factors. My big question is where is an iPod Touch / iPhone version of this game. The whole concept screams for a touch based interface, but you will have no problems with a mouse either.
Balloon Goo will help you hold up your bridge of Goo supports, but be careful of those spikes up top.
Sometimes you have to build your Goo towers quit tall and it will begin to sway back and forth. If it sways too much the entire tower can come crashing down.
Sign posts are in every level and they will either give witty humour or cryptic tips that will help you get through the level.
This is what the level selection screen looks like. You can go back to any level you have already completed to try and beat your records, which include time you took, number of moves and Goo balls collected. As you collect Goo in each level you get more and more Goo balls on the main screen of the game where you can do anything you want. The more of the game you play, the more Goo you have to play with in this sandbox mode. You can also see how tall other players have built their towers here.
Wind is also another element along with those wind mills which will actually destroy your Goo balls if they come in contact with them.
Scroll down to see the rest of the screenshots, or stop if you don’t want too many spoilers. These screenshots consist of chapter one and two. You can find out more about the game at 2D Boy where you can also download the demo of the first chapter. This is one of the most creative games I’ve played in years.
