There is a white goo that can create three walls. For example, black goo creates two walls when stretched between two points. There are different types of goo, with different properties. Using your wii-mote or your mouse, you click and drag balls of goo (which float around your structure until you use them) stretching them to create new walls and points on the structure. The noises are cute and do not overpower the excellent music. The goos make a variety of noises, and your structures will creak sometimes. World of Goo is strangely relaxing and I think the music contributes to that strongly.
I would describe the soundtrack as jazz meets video game pop. The songs fit the art style, sort of upbeat, cartoony, and fun. The graphics are nice, if a little plain. The structures you build sway realistically in the wind, and flex realistically under their own weight. The goos themselves are not pretty, but the graphics are very functional and smooth. The backgrounds are attractive, but a bit plain.
The art style reminds me vaguely of Ren and Stimpy or Toejam & Earl. The graphics in this one are cutesy, cartoony, and what you have come to expect from puzzle games over the years. That sounds easy and repetitive, but the game has a great physics engine which ensures it isn't as easy as it sounds, and the fantastic physics engine and the variety of goo types make every challenge different. You have to build your goo structure so that it won't fall into a pit, sag onto the gears, touch the spikes, topple over, or fall into a giant creature's stomach, etc. What is so addictive and enthralling about this game? WoG is a game of architecture. If you do it efficiently, you will have goo left to escape. You stretch the goo balls to build structures designed to get your remaining goo out of the level. The basic gameplay is simple - each level you have some balls of goo trying to reach a pipeline. I haven't been this excited about a puzzle game since Katamari Damacy, and this is far less likely to make your thumbs fall off. Both are excellent prices for this independently published gem.
Google tells me the PC version is available for $20. It is available through the wii's online shop for $15. The gameplay is very original, but if I had to categorize it, I would call it one part lemmings and one part Jenga with a healthy dose of physics. I purchased World of Goo and I have been addicted since Friday. It is pretty rare for me to buy a game, and even more rare for me to be excited enough to write a review of a game. While I still own a lot of that stuff, my video gaming now is limited to about an hour a week, usually a short session on the wii. There was a time when I was in front of a playstation or Xbox for 2-3 hours a day on average, but those days are behind me. Something a little different this week, a video game review.