Though the IPhone port isn't perfect, World of Goo is still a dream of a physics-puzzle game and a must-play.
Fantastic gameplay finally comes to the iphone
Great value, lots of levels, one of the best games for the device
Touch controls and screen size blemish the experience, making it less ideal than other platforms.
- - -
World of Goo, originally released to Wii and PC in 2008, has for a while been a must-have for ipad owners, which makes it's port to the iphone almost mandatory. Though it definitely takes a few hits in gameplay due to the touch controls and small screen size, this version of Goo is still a wonder.
You might recall being a student in a physics class at some point in your education and building a bridge out of toothpicks and glue, which was supposed to hold a heavy weight. If that was appealing to you (as it sure was to me) you'll fall right in love with World of Goo. Though physics aren't the only aspect of this puzzle-gem's play, it lays a sturdy foundation for a wide variety of puzzles, all of which ultimately require you to secure a select number of goo balls by guiding them to a (rather absurdly placed) pipe opening. To get them there, however, you'll construct huge bridges and towers, use ballons, fire, and drool, and need to be rather clever in the end to find success.
World of Goo really succeeds through it's diverse arrays of gameplay. Each "world" builds upon the last, using physics-concepts you learn through action, and by throwing in entirely new types of goo and obstacles to keep things moving along. The variety really livens things up, and keeps World of Goo from any hint of monotony (though more standard construction puzzles would've been welcome). Assuming you ultimately gather an excess of goo balls through each puzzle, the extras appear in the World of Goo Corporation playground, where you compete online to build the highest standing tower. This mode also adds some value to the purchase, though it isn't necessary.
The port to the iphone isn't without it's drawbacks, however. For a masterpiece of a game, this version is certainly the weakest, though by no means should that detract you if you haven't played the game. First of all, the screen size is rather small, which means that you'll need to scroll around a lot to get a sense of the space in which you're working on any given level. Since scrolling works by touch and drag, sometimes this can be annoying if you place your finger on a goo ball and move that instead; by far this is mostly a problem in time-sensitive moments (for instance, when following a dropping goo ball or leaning tower). And though you can zoom in quite a bit by pinching the screen, you can only zoom out to a standard size, which is annoying. Secondly, since you select and move goo balls by touching the screen, at times trying to select the right goo can be difficult, mostly because you can't see what you're touching while you're touching it. Again, it's not always an issue, but can be in crowded spaces, for instance if you're trying to grab a balloon rather than a goo ball. These blemishes don't diminish the play significantly enough to tarnish the experience by any means, but it does make it a less desirable version to play given the options.
On the whole, however, this version of World of Goo stands pretty close to the rest, and maintains the magic of this wondrous game. If you've never played it, drop everything now and grab it. If you have it elsewhere, though, you might just skip out on the iphone version.
9.3/10