With all due respect to the great puzzle games of our time (i.e. Peggle, Portal, Bejeweled, etc.), this genre is not particularly known for its winning use of music (save, of course, for Portal’s “Still Alive,” but I am not counting that as part of the in-game score). Maybe this is by design, as the player will often be hearing the music for long stretches of time while he/she is completing a level. It also might be that these games often require a different kind of concentration and a lavish score could prove distracting.
Former EA developer Kyle Gabler and his partner, Ron Carmel, broke off from EA to form the independent studio, 2D Boy. Their first big venture, World of Goo, was an incredible success garnering various awards and near-unanimous positive reviews. This puzzle game consists of a whole bunch of anthropomorphized “goo” which the player must construct into various shapes and structures for the purpose of moving the goo from one side of the stage to the goal (a drainpipe). Sounds a bit bizarre, yes?
So, does Gabler hit the mark with the soundtrack? Does he successfully play the dual role of developer and composer? Hit the jump to read the review! (more…)
