Gameplay Basics RooGoo is a cute little game on XBLA, that features the Roo (cute little animals) vs. the Moo (slightly scarey cute little animals). The leader of the Moo captured the falling shapes that used to be a source of joy for the Roo, and has used them to power his cities. Now all the good little Roo have changed into evil little Moo, the few Roo left uncorrupted by power have to save their world.
How do they do this? Shapes will fall from the sky, and basically you have to fit the shapes through a series of spinning shape sorters. The shapes fall through, stack up, and continue falling. If you do not line up the shape sorter correctly, the shapes fly off into oblivion, and your “lose” meter goes up. Lose meter hits the top, you ... well... you lose.
Don’t let the cute fool you: this is one tough little puzzler
Gameplay is very simple, and the developers have added a few tricks to make it more interesting. There are stars, and if you catch them, they double the stack of shapes. There is a timer, for those who like to keep track of that sort of thing. There are also vicious Moo that on some levels will block the holes in the shape sorter. By hitting the speed up button, your stack of shapes will knock the Moo off the sorter and you are free to move ahead. Some levels also feature a creature, such as a butterfly, that will pick up a shape and move it back up, past one or two levels. You have to spin the shape sorter so that the butterfly goes through safely. The game starts off very easy, think toddler, shape sorter type easy (as in the demo). But soon, the complexity raises and it becomes one tough little game.
Graphics/Sound The graphics and sound are serviceable. They are neither ghastly or mind blowing. The overall design is that super cute, rainbows , sunshine, teddy bears type vibe, the sound is the same repetitive music over and over. I like the look of the game, I really do. The whole package just is fun to look at. It’s also fairly clean, looking, which is important since the game gets very complex very quickly.
I was slightly disappointed that I could not change the background, or unlock new skins/ heroes or backgrounds. What you see is what you get. Granted there are 45 total levels, grouped into worlds, and all of the worlds look different, but I have come to enjoy customization in my casual puzzle games.
Gameplay
The gameplay is fine, but I am a bit confused by the audience of this game. Again, it has a real child like look, but the game itself is quite unforgiving. Only a certain number of pieces are able to fall off before you lose the level. The problem is that once you have a big stack it is so easy to go from an empty lose meter to full lose meter with one bad spin. There is also no way to reduce the lose meter either through good play.
I will say this though. The game gets harder, and it’s not just because it gets faster. It gets more complicated. You have more shapes, more blocking Moos, other creatures, things like that. It’s not an easy game, but the difficulty comes from good design, not from speeding up the game.
So, the youngest kids may get frustrated, the older kids may be put off by it’s over the top cuteness. But adults who like a puzzler may enjoy this despite that thin story, and graphics.
There is on-line play, a vs. mode. Truth be told, I am surprised that there is no co-operative play, but the multi player is fun. The local multiplayer is particularily enjoyable. It has a great set up, there is no split screen. Shapes fall and each player takes a turn in rotating the current sorter. The back and forth sure keeps you on your toes.
Value It’s cute, but there is not much here to keep you going back unless you just love the gameplay itself. No unlocks, no customization, no secrets, not much to keep me coming back and back. There is a multiplayer that is pretty good, can keep you returning for more. But at a cost of $10, it’s a fine game.
Bottom Line It’s okay. It’s not great, but it’s not bad either.
Verdict
Download it see what you think. But be warned: the demo is the first (and easiest) part of the game. If you love puzzle games, then it may be worth a pick up. If not, save your points.
Here's a small guide to help you understand our evaluation of games.
PRESENTATION GRADE
Can be from the game's box to the contents of the booklet, and even the game introduction. (Intro, menus, options, etc)
GRAPHIC GRADE
Up to what point the graphics have been worked on my the developper. The design type, the effort used for textures and environments, as well as animations and framerate.
AUDIO GRADE
Is the soundtrack a good match to the game's style, he ambient sounds keeping with the gameplay and the sound effects clear and convincing?
GAMEPLAY GRADE
Placement of the controls and the inferface that the player with be using during the game.
REPLAY VALUE GRADE
The most important factor in the evaluation of a game. It identifies the lifespan of the game and the fun of coming back again and again.
I’ve always been an advocate for cheap and easy...Er...when it comes to gaming, that is. Unfortunately, it’s because of this that I’ve missed out on some of the bigger titles over the past few years. (CoD4, anyone?). Buying used games, ordering online from sites like Amazon or Ebay, is a simple way to avoid high pricing, (at least until you factor in...
I’ve always been an advocate for cheap and easy...Er...when it comes to gaming, that is. Unfortunately, it’s because of this that I’ve missed out on some of the bigger titles over the past few years. (CoD4, anyone?). Buying used games, ordering online from sites like Amazon or Ebay, is a simple way to avoid high pricing, (at least until you factor in... 
Kalee
RSS Feed