Dem-o-rama: Scene It? Box Office Smash! and World of Goo

by Justin McElroy { Oct 20th 2008 at 12:25PM }

We're actually leading with an apology this time on Dem-o-rama. We're sorry about the inclusion of Scene It? Box Office Smash! (now available in demo form on Xbox Live). We know that you probably couldn't care less, and even if you could, we imagine that you could wrap your mind around what the experience will be like without the aid of a demo.

But we have a good excuse! We needed something to pair with the utterly charming World of Goo, which now has a downloadable demo (via BigDownload) that constitutes about one-fifth of the actual game. You should really be playing that now, instead of reading this. Go ahead, we don't mind.

Source -- Demo: Scene It? Box Office Smash!
Download -- World of Goo Demo

Tags: demos, scene-it, world-of-goo, xbox-live

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

devian @ Oct 20th 2008 12:30PM

I enjoyed it, but it seemed like Valve when Half Life 2 first came out.

Physics. In Games. We get it...

Still an impressive game for an Indie developer.

Dr. @ Oct 20th 2008 1:08PM

The gameplay focuses on the physics. If you remove the physics, there isn't a game.

I fail to see how this is anything like HL2 and its tacked-on physics puzzles.

muddyhelmit @ Oct 20th 2008 12:42PM

World of Goo is one of my favorite games. It's a refreshingly clever game. Everyone should play it.

eldee @ Oct 20th 2008 4:23PM

I bought it off of steam, and there are some fundamental problems that I can't STAND.

#1) If you're going to release a game on PC, It needs to be able to change resolutions. PERIOD. Locked to 800x600 with no way to change it? What is this, 1998? You can edit the config and change the res but it produces some other big problems.

#2) In a time-based game or situation such as the later levels of Goo, you need a more concise interface. I like the simplicity of clicking and grabbing a goo and putting it where you want, but when your shit is about to topple and you're trying to grab a balloon but grab a black goo instead it's just fucking infuriating. There are literally dozens of goos of different species all swarming around the screen at once, and they go over the top of each other making selecting them incredibly difficult in some of the later levels.

3) The gameplay is fairly shallow once you get past the gimmick. For a budget title depth can slide a bit, but even simple puzzle games can have a surprising amount of depth. It just seems like there were many missed opportunities to create a little diversity.. or maybe that's what the next Goo game will have

Other than that, I thought it was a pretty fun game that was frequently aggravating (usually not in a "difficulty" way, but in a "design" way). Overall I would personally give it a 7/10 on the Casulol game ranking meter (I honestly don't see why review sites use the same scale with budget titles). Compared to full length games, it's probably closer to a 5 or 6.

So yeah, overall I think the game is overhyped and not deserving of the perfect 10's it's getting

Steven @ Oct 20th 2008 12:45PM

There's nothing wrong with the xbox Scene It! game okay!!! >:( Well other than the lack of online multiplayer, i dont always have friends around to play. :( Does the new one have it?

DigDug @ Oct 20th 2008 2:13PM

other than it's a very poor mans version of Buzz Quiz (which is infinitely better). I also suspect Lips will be a very poor mans version of Singstar....

sg luke @ Oct 20th 2008 12:53PM

Yes, the new scene it! has online play and will have DLC. Finally, a game i expect to have tons of DLC that i'm willing to pay for.

j.howlett @ Oct 20th 2008 1:14PM

i remember hearing about world of goo awhile back and seeing it. i must have confused the title with another game. the videos i saw reminded me of elefunk also.

Geist @ Oct 20th 2008 3:50PM

Perhaps you are thinking of Tower of Goo, the game the guy released before this. It was essentially a technical demonstration for this game.

j.howlett @ Oct 20th 2008 4:52PM

perhaps, i remember the little goo things and connecting triangular shapes. that shot also reminds me of locoroco

Marty @ Oct 20th 2008 2:50PM

Is World of Goo on XBLA now too? I'm confused.

TheOverlord#2 @ Oct 20th 2008 3:21PM

PC & WiiWare Only

eugaet @ Oct 20th 2008 3:48PM

Gah! That screenshot made my right eye start twitching. Not as nefarious as a lot of the later levels, but it was the first that had me silently cursing the developers. Did I say silently? I meant right out loud.

t_m @ Oct 21st 2008 6:45AM

Why isn't World of Goo getting more coverage?

After Braid came out there wasn't a rock remote enough to hide under.. but this game has hardly had a mention on any of the games sites i read.

Maybe the designer should start going on about the price to get some coverage...