Noby Noby Boy

  I'll be honest with you straight from the start, I had no idea what this game was when I bought it. The information on the PlayStation Store was vague, but for three quid I thought I could take a gamble. It turned out to be a good decision..

You are a worm called Boy. Confused? Well maybe if I mention that there's another worm called Girl floating in space on an endless mission to visit all the planets then things will become clearer. No? Okay then, well obviously once I explain that the grand total of all the Boys' stretching prowess add to the total length of the Girl, thus enabling her to get to the next planet on the list then I'll here a collective "aah" won't I? Oh well, don't worry about the back story, it's clearly just some Japanese nonsense designed to give the illusion of an online community to what is essentially a solitary, but nevertheless, rewarding experience. 

You control Boy with the two analogue sticks, the left controlling his head and the right, his.. well his rear. You exist in a strange stylised 3D world full of random objects, some of which you can eat, others which simply serve to give your worm something to wrap round. As you eat you gain the ability to stretch, and with that you can wrap yourself round things in a myriad of amusing and unique ways. And that's basically it. Doesn't sound much really does it? There are no objectives as such (if you ignore the bit about getting Girl closer to the next planet) and the game pretty much leaves you to your own devices and lets you create your own fun. The graphics are simple, colourful and suit the style of the game to a tee. The music likewise fits snugly into the gameplay and leaves you feeling relaxed, a feat most games fail to achieve. As far as the online element goes, there's a few nice little touches, being able to send messages to friends and have them splashed along their worm's body is just one, as well as being able to record your game and upload directly to YouTube. 

Noby Noby Boy should be rubbish, but its not. Every fibre of my being wanted to hate it the second i started playing it, but i just couldn't.  But its the uniqueness of the controls and the strangeness of the world which make it so, well, enjoyable. While the music lulls you into a trance, the strange little games you make up for yourself can keep you occupied for hours. The lack of purpose to the game actually liberates the playing experience and you can just relax and makes funny shapes. I would also like to add that my two year old son loves watching this game, he will happily sit on the couch with me and watch transfixed i play.. and there aren't many games that can do that.