World Of Goo

To Fit This review onto a page, I'm going to have to stifle the natural inclination to gush. So let's get this out of the way - World of Goo is fantastic. It has a simplicity and effortlessness so profound that it's obvious that you're being protected from the complexity and effort inflicted on the poor developers.

In World of Goo - which, for the sake of not upsetting anyone, we'll abbreviate to Goo - you have to get the balls of sticky tar into a pipe. Position a ball within the range of an existing structure, and it'll bouncily connect and extend that structure. Each goo has its own abilities -some are gooier, some form more connections, others are sticky, and some types can be reused. There are exploding goo balls. There are also massive lady goos that you have to crush into tiny lady goo. All of these work together in a clever way to get you to that pipe.

The beautiful design of the worlds, the brilliant tactility of the goo-play, the funny and sub-real anti-corporate storyline, and the Danny Elfman-esque music are immersive and charming enough to make you fall in love with the game. But it's 2D Boy's ability to keep a fundamentally simple idea fresh and exciting over five worlds that makes this a game worth frothing over. You won't get bored. Things change. We haven't included screenshots from the final levels, because it should be a surprise. Goo doesn't get too hard - it is a game that wants you to enjoy playing it. Levels that seem impossible are in too small an area for the solution to not become apparent. However, if you want to stretch yourself, every level has an OCD completion criterion. If you insist in chasing all of these objectives, I bid you adieu - you are on the hardcore road to cultivating a variety of new and exciting mental illnesses.

It could be said that it's a little short, unless you're chasing completion - and sometimes, when you're dealing with multiple kinds of goo, it can be difficult to get the cursor to land on the one you want. Despite these minor niggles, World of Goo is a game of such independent and charismatic flavour, it hits you full force with the excitement of how games used to feel. Anyone not buying it right now is making an idiotic mistake.