World of Goo

I picked up World of Goo last night. Picked up is a misnomer here though really, because you can't buy it at retail. It's only available through digital content distributions, in this case through the Wii Shop.

This purchase marks three Wii Shop purchases for me in two months. These are the only games I've purchased for the Wii recently -- I haven't got a boxed Wii game since Mario Kart. Not that I don't love my Wii, but I think it speaks to a promise of downloadable games. There's a surprising amount of quality out there, and this past year's releases of XBLA, Wii Shop, Playstation Store and PC gaming heralds a promising future for digital content distribution. Braid, the excellent platformer-meets-existential-philosophy title, released a few months back on XBox Live Arcade to rave reviews. World of Goo just out this week, only on Wii Shop. Similarly, we've seen the Penny Arcade and Homestar Runner games, although little more than fan service admittedly, available only via digital download. And of course the excellent but difficult Mega Man 9, available across a number of platform's digital content distribution schemes, but only available on digital content distribution schemes. Add Steam into the mix, and it gives gamers greater choice. That can only be good.

Having said that, what about World of Goo? It's fantastic. It looks great, sounds great, and plays great. The levels range from quick and simple to quick and difficult. But that's good. The challenges are physics-based and behave like they should. The visual design is adorable, a little bit Nightmare Before Christmas, a little bit I Love Katamari. Plus, the co-op play is a wonderful idea, especially on the Wii. At any time you can drop in and out and play a level, and it goes up to four players. I was tackling puzzles with my wife's assistance, and it was a blast. Even when your creations topple over and collapse back into goo, you get a good laugh out of it. It just means you can try it again! It has all the satisfaction of playing with Lego or Magnetics toys without all the mess of actually picking them up after they topple over. It makes for a great party game. It's a lot of fun to watch, too, as people's carefully crafted structures reach for the sky or plummet back to earth.

At 1500 Wii Points (or Nintendo Points as they may be calling them now that the new DS will be releasing with downloadable content), it may be a little pricey for a downloadable game. It's really worth the money. I imagine you'll get ten or more hours just playing through the basic levels without repeats, and that doesn't include getting your friends involved to play a few levels cooperatively. You do have friends, right? Then get this game, you'll all have a ball. Of goo.