World of Goo

Downloadable for Mac, also PC and Wii
Sublime slime
Amongst all the big budget AAA titles to fall upon us at Christmas, there was one that shone like a beacon, calling out to all who appreciate something a little different. Costing a fraction of the Hollywood budgets of modern games and made by only two people (2D Boy), it's fitting that it was also one of the most creative on show.
Garnering all sorts of awards, World of Goo began life in the Experimental Gameplay Project as Tower of Goo, with the proof of concept giving life to the wondrous child i've been playing lately.
To call it a physics based puzzle/construction game would do it a great disservice as such a dry description leaves out so much of what makes this game a joy to play. Filled to the brim with great character, design, music and a general over indulgence in imagination and wit, World of Goo is a puzzle game that's as delicious to play as the balls of Goo themselves.
Building constructions out of Goo is the name of the game, with the general goal of reaching a pipe for the Goo to be sucked up by. Such similarities between levels end there though as each is magnificently different in approach and task, using the laws of physics to delightful extremes.
From constructing a floating platform in the stomach of a creature to using friction and weight to build up through its throat, The World of Goo takes great pleasure in creating environments and puzzles that are primed with innovative puzzling and surreal comedy.
Each ball of Goo that runs along your impromptu construction can be picked up and placed, creating a new strand for your tower or bridge (or whatever you may be building). Different Goo comes with different abilities such as increased friction or weight, each allowing for the wildly varying demands of each level.
With such genius on display and a bizarre, self-referential plot about the Goo discovering they're in a video game, you owe it to yourself (and 2D Boy) to buy this now.
9/10