World of Goo (Wii)

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Description

World of Goo is a physics-based puzzle game where players need to build constructions using balls of goo. The original concept is based on the prototype Tower of Goo Unlimited! by Kyle Gabler, one of the developers of this game, created for the Experimental Gameplay Project website.

Rather than a series of puzzles, the game presents the balls of goo as living creatures in a universe they set to explore. They need to find out about the power source of the world they live in and the true meaning behind the Goo Corporation. In most of the levels, the constructions need to reach a pipe that sucks the goo balls out of the level. To succeed, players need to bring over a certain amount of balls or do it within a limited amount of time. There are also OCDs (Obsessive Completion Distinction) where players can aim for secondary, much more difficult goals.

Each level brings entirely new challenges, based on gameplay, environment elements, art style and types of goo balls. Regular balls can be dragged and dropped with the mouse or wii remote to form cohesive connections, but only for a short distance. Because of the physics and the wobbly matter, a solid basis is required. Balls can be picked up and moved around to adapt the constructions. While buildings sometimes timebugs will appear. When clicked, they allow the player to go back in time for one move. The types of goo differ greatly in abilities, connections and response to physics. Some of the goo balls introduced gradually are ivy goo (attach and detach at will), albino goo (four connections), balloon goo (fly upwards), water goo, pokey goo, fuse goo, bone goo, and much more. In some levels, sleeping balls can be woken up to join the construction. Constructions not only bend, but can also be broken when gravity gets the upper hand. In later chapters, players acquire a whistle that can be used to lure all loose goo balls in a certain direction.

More of the world is revealed through cut-scenes and sequences during gameplay, always with a humourous nod. There are five main chapters with different levels that follow chronologically for one year in the world of goo. The environment is changed to reflect the season. Often, players will save more balls of goo than required. These are stored in the World of Goo Corporation, a separate level reminiscent of the original prototype the game is based on. There, players can use extra goo balls to build a construction as high as possible. With an online connection, it is possible to view the height of other players. In-game hints are provided through signs that can be clicked and contribute to the story.

The Wii port supports up to four players simultaneously in cooperative gameplay. The PC port is single-player only but features online leaderboards where players can compare their scores to one another.

Screenshots

There are no Wii screenshots for this game.

There are 72 other screenshots on file for other versions of this game.

Alternate Titles

• "World of Goo: Корпорация Гуу!" -- Russian spelling

Part of the Following Groups

• Bridge Construction games
• Covermount: Level (Romania)
• Middleware: SDL
• Physics Engine: Open Dynamics Engine (ODE)
• Protagonist: Blob

User Reviews

There are no reviews for the Wii release of this game. You can use the links below to write your own review or read reviews for the other platforms of this game.

The Press Says

Eurogamer.fr	Jan 12, 2009	10 out of 10	100
NintendoWorldReport	Oct 17, 2008	10 out of 10	100
DarkZero	Jan 27, 2009	10 out of 10	100
GamingHeaven / DriverHeaven	Oct 24, 2008	96 out of 100	96
IGN	Oct 10, 2008	9.5 out of 10	95
Gamereactor (Sweden)	Jan 07, 2009	9 out of 10	90
HonestGamers	Oct 16, 2008	9 out of 10	90
Gamervision	Oct, 2008	9 out of 10	90
Jolt (UK)	Nov 26, 2008	9 out of 10	90
GameLemon	May 30, 2009	8.9 out of 10	89

Forums

Topic	# Posts	Last Post
Anyone play it?	2	vedder (20184) Feb 06, 2009
Soundtrack	1	Kabushi (122704) Jan 21, 2009
Music	4	Opipeuter (16477) Nov 03, 2008

Trivia

1001 Video Games

World of Goo appears in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die by General Editor Tony Mott.

Editing the game

In the Properties directory in the World of Goo install directory there's a text file called "config" where you can edit some things. At the top of the file the programmers have left a humorous warning saying: "IMPORTANT WARNING: If you edit this file, your computer will probably explode. Your friend, the High Resolution Sign Painter"

Meat Boy

For the iPad version a challenge was launched to find the hidden Meat Boy character (from Super Meat Boy) in one of the levels. The first to report the correct location received a download code for the iPad version.

Savegame bug

The initial pre-order version contained a bug where clicking "Reset" could delete all the savegames. This was soon fixed with a new download of the entire game.

Steam versions

People who downloaded the pre-order version could use their activation keys to register the game in Valve's distribution application Steam and download it again there. That way, those who got the game early could also have the achievements that were introduced with the Steamworks integration. The initial Steam release was only available for two days for European customers (13th and 14th October 2008). Because the retail European version would only be released in February 2009, the publisher demanded it to be pulled from Steam. Customers who bought it during the initial two days could continue to use it and worldwide downloads were still available from the developers' website 2dboy.com.

US retail Macintosh version

At some retailers, boxed Windows/Macintosh hybrid versions of World of Goo were sold that accidentally contained a Windows installer only. This included boxes sold by the Apple Store, Best Buy US, some German game shops, and possibly others. However, the Macintosh users were not left out in the rain as the developers offered a free Mac download to those affected, besides the usual publisher replacement option, that is.

Awards

• GamePro (Germany) / GameStar (Germany)
  • 26th February 2009 - Special Jury Award
• GameSpy
  • 2008 – #4 Wii Game of the Year
  • 2008 – #6 PC Game of the Year
  • 2008 – PC Puzzle Game of the Year
  • 2008 – WiiWare Game of the Year

Information also contributed by MZ per X and Tom Hell

Related Web Sites

• GooFans (site with new levels and mods for the game)
• World of Goo (official game website)
• World of Goo (TIGdb entry.)