If you are looking for a premium quality app, World of Goo would be a fine candidate. This game has a lot in common with the classic bridge builder but a little more… gooey. Your job as the player will be to build two dimensional structures using different kinds of goo balls in order to reach a certain point on the map. Other than building structures there are no more similarities with any bridge building game. As you will quickly see, World of Goo has stunning graphics, music, sound effects, storyline and humor packed into a single app.
Let’s just start by getting one thing straight. World of Goo is one of the greatest apps we have ever laid our fingers on. It has a a great balance of gameplay, feeling, storyline, graphics, you name it. The quality is no doubt comparable to the Angry Birds series or even better.
At first, the menu and gameplay may seem a little weird. There are no obvious buttons and no tutorials for dummies. The learning curve is not so steep and it can take a while until you are familiar with the game’s inner workings. Each level has a few signs posted here and there with a nice touch of humor that will provide subtle hints for your course of action. The sign painter will keep you company throughout the entire game.
In a nutshell the ultimate goal of each level is to build a structure that will lead the goo balls into a suction pipe. You have limited goo balls so plan your structures ahead. Of course, things get really complicated when different kinds of balls come into play, and all the physical forces start making their presence felt: gravity, weight, elasticity, inertia, wind and fire are just some elements that you will need to tackle while playing. Levels have a target number of goo balls required for the suction pipe. Of course, getting more balls will add up to your bonus. What bonus? Well, guess what: all the collected goo balls will be available to you in a custom, free play level where the aim is to build the highest tower of goo. The more goo balls, the more building blocks you will have.
The length of the game is average: one full afternoon is about the time needed to play the entire game from start to finish. There are no different difficulty levels or multiple endings so once you are done playing the only incentive to replay a level is to save more goo balls for your tower of goo.There are four chapters plus an epilogue and free build level for your tower. The first five follow the storyline of the World of Goo. Each level has it’s own art, design and different strategic approach. This puzzle game has one of the most diverse level solutions encountered so far. The overall difficulty is average so don’t get scared of all this.
Challenges
So what is the game like anyway? Is it a bridge builder clone or not? What am I supposed to do as the player?
World of goo has similarities with bridge building games in terms of construction. One big difference is that construction takes place in the real world which means that structures may fall while you build them. However, the game has much more to it than building solid bridges. Some levels require fast actions, some require setting fire to your flammable structure in order to blow something up.
Game feeling
As we mentioned earlier, World of Goo has one of the most immersive experiences. There are a couple of great soundtracks that accompany you while playing, cut scenes kick in every now and then and each level has its own custom graphics. Humor is present in the form of text comments from the sign painter and other characters that you will discover later. The levels also closely follow the storyline. For example the following screenshots are from two levels that take place inside the digital highway.
Conclusion
If you are into physics puzzle games and love eye candy graphics then buy this app immediately. Yes, it’s a little expensive compared to the average games for Android but it’s worth it. The developers also have a free version of the game (with obviously less levels available) which you can get at https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.twodboy.worldofgoodemo.
Summary
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| Reviewed Version | 1.0.2 |
| Device used for testing | HTC Nexus One |
| Price | $ 5 |
| Size | 46 MB |
| Advertising | No |
| Developer | 2D BOY |