GamesRelay

Name: Flower

It might seem like an almost alien concept to some people, but games don't have to be about shooting people in the face, racing round a corner on two wheels or blasting the mother ship of some invading alien empire, no, in fact there exists an entirely different kind of game style, ones to relax and inspire you; The PlayStation Network game Flower is one such game but how does it hope to compete in a world full of death, destruction and fast paced action?

Flower is from the same people that brought you flOw which as you may recall was also a somewhat different experience in the realms of gaming (you can read our review here) and this is no doubt a successor to that line of thought. In Flower you take control of the wind, you blow a petal from a flower through various landscapes which are home to flowers waiting to blossom, touching these with your petal the will make the flowers bloom and come alive, the more flowers you touch the more alive the world around you becomes.

As the game begins you're shown a wilting flower in a plant pot on the window ledge in an unnamed city, upon starting the game you'll be transported to the dream of the flower; the first flower dream is of a summers field and you start your journey to bring the other flowers alive, as you touch more and more of the flowers you begin to effect the landscape around you, previously dull patches of grey explode into colour and fill with life. As the field is brought alive more flowers sprout awaiting your touch to awaken them and bring more colour to the world. As you complete each level then the flower on the window ledge regains its life and another flower pot with another wilting flower is added to your window ledge in the city; each flower represents another dream which brings you ever closer to the city, the landscapes becoming more and more urban the closer you get to the city.

Control of the wind is simple and intuitive, you've got a button to control the speed of the wind and you use the six-axis controls to affect the pitch and roll of the petal, as you touch a flower a petal is released from it which joins your own, as you progress you amass quite a trail of petals which in turn allows the wind to effect you more and give you more speed. The camera follows the petal trail quite effectively, occasionally panning to a point of interest or a new path that has opened because of your efforts. Its got to be said that the game makes use of the six-axis controls better than most others, it's responsive and you never feel like your petals are going some place you didn't want them to, if only all games made use of it so effectively then we'd all be better off for them.

Graphically the game is right on the money, although relatively simple it doesn't make it any less a beautiful game to behold; the petals are animated well and truly look as though they are flowing with the wind, the grass is superbly animated down to each individual wave and move just as you would expect with the elements around them, you sometimes get to see the trail of petals flowing behind you as you double back on yourself and you can't help but be impressed. The scenery also includes man made structures such as windmills in the early levels and more industrial constructs later on such as electricity pylons and buildings, these add a stark contrast to the natural flow of the landscape and can seem intimidating, dark and brooding, almost like an unwelcome intruder in such an otherwise unblemished landscape. The music is dynamic and a reflection of the on screen action, each time you open a new flower a musical note is released which blends with the music almost seamlessly, although this is assuming you follow the flowers in order which you may not always do through fault of exploration or misjudgment of speed.

To call Flower a game might be a bit misleading; it's less a game than it is a showcase of what can be achieved with some imagination in today's gaming world. It is of course a game, there is a start point and an end point but it's impossible to 'lose' the game, there are no lives and no real progress can be lost as you won't ever find it too difficult to advance to the next level, there is no real challenge to Flower other than to relax you and take you on its journey. It's more of an interactive experience designed to invigorate you more than anything else.

If you're looking for a different experience from your usual gaming activities then you can do no better than this at the moment, it's simply that different from what you've probably come to expect from a game in recent times, it's not a massively long game and with only six landscapes to work your way through you'll likely have made your way through the game in almost no time at all. It's certainly not going to be something that everyone will enjoy, some people might not even see the point in it, but it's something you should at least look at and think about purchasing before you make your mind up to dismiss it in its entirety.