Posts with tag: world-of-goo

One of the big indie game sleeper hits has been 2D Boy's remarkable puzzle game World of Goo. However it looks like most of the folks who have played the full PC version of the game haven't been good enough to actually pay for it. According to a comment string on Rock Paper Shotgun, the developers have said that 90 percent of the full copies being played on PCs are pirated versions.

One of the 2D Boy team members, Kyle Gabler, stated they arrived at the number by "...looking at unique ip's that have contacted our leaderboard server for any reason, at least once." However he seems to have a good attitude about the whole situation, saying, "I know it sounds like a gruesome number, but we like to tell ourselves 'those people wouldn't have bought it anyway'. The good news is, some have mailed us, telling us they bought the game because they first pirated it and liked it. Hurray for (some) humanity!"

[Via Joystiq]

Spike TV will once again hold their own awards ceremony devoted to video games this year. Today the nominees were announced for the annual Spike TV Video Game Awards and they have all the usual suspects. The awards themselves will be show on the cable TV network on Dec. 14.

You can head on over to the Spike TV web site to check out all the nominees. The catagory of best PC game has just four games; Left 4 Dead (not yet officially released) Warhammer Online, Crysis Warhead and Spore. We are sure a lot of folks are wondering why games like Sins of a Solar Empire, Far Cry 2, Fallout 3 and others didn't get nominated in this catagory. One interesting new development is the addition of the Best Independent Game where two PC titles got nods, World of Goo and Audiosurf.

Developer 2D Boy has released a Mac demo for World of Goo. The demo lets you play the first level of the game. Players must manipulate goo balls to build structures and solve puzzles in this unique and challenging independent game. Don't forget to check out how the PC and Wii versions stack up against each other.

Download the World of Goo Demo [Mac] (32 mb)
Download the World of Goo Demo [Windows] (32 MB)
Read the World of Goo Review

The indie game World of Goo is one of the best games of this year, independent or otherwise. This game by 2D Boy has managed to gain a following on both platforms it has been released on. Critics and consumers alike love the combination of surreal humor, stylized graphics, and physics puzzles. According to Metacritic, World of Goo is only beat by Mario Galaxy in terms of critical acclaim. But which one is better? Are PC owners missing out by ignoring the WiiWare version, or are Wii owners being shafted in favor of the PC version? Welcome to Big Versus: World of Goo edition.

Comparing the two versions of World of Goo is not so much a "what is left out" list, but rather a "who can use this best" list. Both versions are very similar to each other to the point of retaining the same basic experience that their counterpart has. This lack of many major differences make choosing the version you want rather difficult. Therefore, choosing your version to play doesn't rely on which one has better features, but rather which type of person you are as well as what kind of screen you want to experience World of Goo on.

If you take a look at our weekly roundup feature you might be able to figure out that the Big Download team is a little short of breath; it's been a very busy last seven days, and we can prove it right now:

Exclusive features

• BlizzCon and related features: We have out our hands-on impressions of Diablo III and Starcraft II from the show floor along with coverage of the Diablo III Art and Lore panel. Our Boot Disk feature this week is related to BlizzCon as we look back at Diablo II and our Alt-Tab op-ed column takes a look at how the Activision-Blizzard merger might affect Blizzard the developer
• Reviews: Big Download has our final word on Civilization IV: Colonization and the indie game hit World of Goo.
• Previews: We have an exclusive hands-on preview of the next chapter in American McGee's Grimm
• Interviews: Take your pick this week as we chat with the creators of Project Aftermath, Atmosphir, Sins of a Solar Empire Entrenchment and Blood Bowl along with a quick Q&A about this week's purchase of Gamecock by Southpeak.
• Neverware: Cancelled PC Games Part Two: It's baack. Take a look at the many PC games that you will never get to play.
• Video Game Cosplay Gallery: It's October so that means we are looking at all of the costumes made by fans and pros for their favorite video game characters.
• Mac Monday: Our weekly look at Mac gaming takes a look at the title Droid Assault
• MODMonday: Our weekly mod feature takes a look (again) at a Max Payne total conversion, the Half-Life influenced Max Freeman.
• Big Iron: Our hardware column this week takes a look at how hardware can't improve gameplay.
• Big Ideas: The weekly look at game concepts takes a gander at the double-jump. Really.
• Freeware Friday: Our look at free PC games is all about the impressive strategy game P.U.R.E.
• Virtual Bargain Bin: Our look at cheap PC games is about the classic Ubisoft title Beyond Good and Evil.
• BigCast: After a week off, our BigCast podcast is revamped with a new format. Check it out.
• Contest: You have a chance to win one of three copies of the PC version of Dead Space.

This demo lets you play the first level of World of Goo. Players manipulate goo balls to build structures and solve puzzles in this unique and challenging independent game.

Download the World of Goo Demo (32 MB)
Download the World of Goo Demo [Mac] (32 mb)

Once upon a time, there was the Experimental Gameplay Project. Created by students at Carnegie Mellon University, the first game created for the project was a simple tower creation sandbox game dubbed Tower of Goo. In this experimental game, you used goo balls that could attach to each other with elastic strands to build a tower. Pretty simple. Upon taking a look at the game he had just prototyped, the creator, Kyle Gabler, decided that this game would be the basis for a larger experience. Working together with a coworker from EA named Ron Carmel, they crafted an indie darling that merges excellent physics gameplay and clever puzzles into a professionally-made game that surpasses many games made by major development studios. World of Goo is simply incredible.

It's been a busy week for the stock market, most of it bad. Thankfully the folks at Valve know that everyone appreciates a sale and this weekend's game on sale via Steam is the original Peggle title from Popcap. The casual arcade game is normally $9.99 but you can grab it for just $4.99 this weekend. The sequel, Peggle Nights, will be released on Steam on Oct. 15

That's not all that's gone on at Steam, however. The download service just added a number of older Ubisoft games to its line-up, including both expansion packs for Heroes of Might and Magic V, The Settlers: Rise of an Empire Gold Edition, The Sum of All Fears and Brain Spa. All of these games are 10 percent off their normal prices on Steam until Oct. 17. You can also pre-order Far Cry 2 via Steam and get $5 off its normal price until its release on Oct. 22.

You want more? How about that World of Goo, the award winning indepdent puzzle/construction game from the two man dev team called 2D Boy, will make its worldwide debut via Steam Oct. 13? Pre-orders for the game are being taken for $19.99 and the Steam version will contain achievements via Steamworks. Finally, pre-orders are being taken for Egosoft's X3: Terran Conflict, the space trading-combat game. The release has now been confirmed for Oct. 17.