Roogoo is a cute and fun puzzle game that offers a surprising challenge, but ends far too soon.
The story takes place on the planet Roo, where its inhabitants (called Roogoo) capture falling meteors for energy. But the ruler, King Goo, begins using the meteors to build cities for his own selfish gain. Drunk on the power, he transforms into King Moo, and his followers transform into Meemoo. You play as an adorable little Roogoo (think a less masculine Chip 'n Dale), tasked with capturing the falling meteors before the king's son, Prince Moo, can capture them for himself. Of course, this silly little story really is meaningless, as the point of the game is to solve the puzzles and move to the next level.
Roogoo begins as a simple puzzle game. Shapes fall from the sky, and you must rotate a series of platforms to catch those shapes. Correctly line up a square hole with a square "meteor" to allow the shapes to pass through the platforms and collect in a bottom platform. Sometimes the shapes stack on a platform and will only fall through when a certain number of shapes have been collected. If you fail to align the correct hole with the falling shape, then the shape will bounce away. Missed shapes will fill a lose meter, and when this meter is filled the game will end. Successfully capture all shapes and you will move on to the next puzzle. And that's all there is to it.
Of course, like any good puzzle game, the challenge escalates quickly. In Roogoo, different elements are added to almost every puzzle. Additional shapes, evil Meemoo blocking holes, and flaps that open and close over holes are just some of the challenges added. The pace of the game increases until this simple children's game becomes an addictive challenge.
The controls are simple to use and never get in the way of the action. The shoulder buttons rotate the platforms clockwise and counter-clockwise, and the directions can be mapped to either button. The colors of the shapes make it easy to identify the shapes and the holes to be lined up. Sometimes the stacks of shapes can grow quite large and, combined with the occasional awkward camera angle, a platform can be obscured and cause the player to miss the correct hole. However, this happens infrequently enough not to be a serious problem.
If there is a problem with the game, it is that the game is too short. The increasing challenge spurs the player on, but, with only 45 levels, the game ends far too soon. As soon as you get the hang of the controls and all the different elements, the game ends. While it's always possible that future downloadable content could be provided, it would be nice to have more levels available immediately. Still, attempting to achieve 100% and beat the par times for each puzzle will extend the life of the game quite a bit.
The game also offers Xbox Live and Local Xbox multiplayer modes. Local Xbox offers two different games: Race and Party Play. Race challenges you with completing a puzzle before your opponent. To further complicate matters, successfully stacking shapes fills a meter that allows you to place a Meemoo on your opponent's platforms. This mode is fun and can get quite hectic as you battle to complete your puzzle. Party Play allows 2-4 players to complete a single puzzle cooperatively, with each player alternating control of a platform. Xbox Live only offers the Race mode. The mode can be a lot of fun if you can find somebody to play. Finding another player is the real challenge. To make matters worse, once you find a player, you will be separated as soon as the race is completed. It would be nice to be able to hook up with a friend and play multiple games at a time.
Roogoo is a fun, challenging, and addictive game, but the short single player game and the lack of players on Xbox Live will make your experience quite short-lived.