Game Review: Flower

Aimee Green - Lincoln Journal-Star

Sony lists the genre of its downloadable game "Flower" as Zen gaming.

It's a good description for "Flower" and other games like it, such as the earlier PlayStation Network title "flOw," created by the same developer.

The Zen game has none of the frantic, violent trappings of most video games. Instead, it's about the experience, focusing on the environment and is, for most people, quite relaxing.

You play as the wind, picking up petals from flowers, which open as you breeze over them. Soon, you have a collection of brightly colored petals trailing along behind your "lead petal."

The goal for "Flower": Open all flowers on each level. Of course, the game doesn't tell you that --you're dropped into the world without a clue what to do. Exploration is what "Flower" is all about.

The game has an environmentalist flavor. As you blow along into the game, mankind encroaches into the colorful fields. The mood changes with the weather.

Somehow, the wind's flower-opening movement revives each segment, turning brown grass green, lighting up flowers and brightening manmade elements.

It's an interesting experience. The flowers play notes as you open them, creating songs of different tempos depending on how fast you're moving.

The only button used is a face button; when pressed, this picks up the speed of the wind. Otherwise, everything is directed with the Sixaxis motion controls.

It is a Zenlike experience: floating freely at your own pace, blossoming bright colors and triggering chords of melody."Flower" is unlike most games I've played.

There are only six main levels, but hidden in each level are three secret flowers. Finding those will take multiple playthroughs.

Sometimes, it's fun to just sit and collect flower petals, enjoying the scenery, without time limits or boss battles.

For $10, it's worth a download.

Favorite moment: Rushing through dozens of flowers and triggering their music.

Feels familiar: A friend likened "Flower" to playing "Lair," but with controls that actually work. I agree. The long tail of flower petals also reminds me of that old "Snake" game.

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