The WiiWare and PC puzzler World of Goo has landed on iPad and as JOE’s Leo Stiles finds out, Plants Vs Zombies may have a contender for top iPad title.
By Leo Stiles
Let’s face it, some games are just not suited to a touchscreen, especially since the absence of buttons can make controls seem like a beast to be tamed, rather than an extension of your hands. From frustrating platformers to ill-advised takes on first person shooters, the iPad just doesn’t play well when quick reaction times and complex manoeuvres are needed in games. Happily, games that take advantage of the iPad are starting to appear.
World of Goo is one such game; a port of a PC and WiiWare title that dazzled gamers a couple of years ago. At heart the game is a physics-based puzzle game but it is set apart from the growing number of similar titles thanks to its surreal design and original take on genre mechanics.
Central to the game are the little balls of goo that players can use to construct bridges and towers to navigate around the levels, with the ultimate goal to lead as many goo balls to the exit pipe as possible.
It sounds simple enough but like all great puzzle games, it soon gets fiendishly tricky as new types of goo are introduced, with various attributes such as balloon goo which can raise your structures or even float them about the levels or the green reusable goo balls which players will have to be careful when redeploying or risk toppling their structures.
World of Goo, so good that even your cat might want a go…
Controls are perfect; tap a goo ball to move it and move your finger around the screen to view a different part of the level. The main challenge comes from navigating seemingly impossible landscapes with hazards becoming tools to success and seemingly helpful objects suddenly blocking your goal. The game rewards experimentation and half of the fun is derived from using the different goo balls in a new way to solve the levels.
World of Goo is certainly challenging, but at no time did I fell the sting of failure because of unfairness – it was simply my own damn fault . Consequently, the game has a terribly addictive quality that is shared by all the best puzzle games. Be warned, one more go can easily turn into a two hour play session if you aren’t careful.
The presentation of the game should also be highlighted with Tim Burton-style landscapes and character design mingling with a highly polished soundtrack. Developer 2D Boy have managed to translate the game to the iPad flawlessly with some 40 levels all present and correct.
If that doesn’t sound like much then it’s worth pointing out that every goo ball you save in the regular levels goes towards an addictive game mode called World Of Goo Corporation, where you compete against the other players around the world to build the highest tower. The more goo balls you save in the main game, the more you will have to build with and makes for an elegant alternative to a highscore leader board.
World of Goo launched at €7.99 but was recently reduced to just €5.49 and even at the higher price I would have no hesitation at recommending this game which, apart from the peerless Plants Vs Zombies, is the number one reason to get excited about games on the iPad.
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