Just as I was about to boot up "Wii Music" from the Wii menu last night, my wife noticed an icon on that system's menu for another game. She asked: "What's 'World of Goo'?"
She only gets hooked on one or two games a year and doesn't ask about many of the games that play on our TV screen -- to say nothing of ones she merely sees as menu icons.
An hour later, after I was done with a session of "Wii Music," I showed her the physics-based construction game. Then I passed the Wii remote to her and let her try a level that I was struggling with. The level, called Ivory Towers, requires players to stitch together a web of Goo balls and strands so that the mesh can support its own weight while reaching a spout high in the sky. My construction kept collapsing. My wife's? She has asked that I mention that she was better at it than me.
Wife appeal is one unexpected attribute in "World of Goo"'s favor. Another: Is anyone else who's played it as impressed with the music as I am? It's shaping up to have one of my favorite scores of the year.
Next: I hope to beat "Dead Space" this weekend before I get walloped by "Fable II" and "Far Cry 2."