If you work a steady, full-time job, chances are that you have had a really bad day at work. Once you get home, you just want to relax and forget about all the problems you had. For some, you will pick up your favorite book or watch a TV program. For others, you might decide to go for a run or hit some weights to relive all that tension. I really doubt people would pick up a Videogame to help them forget about their troubles. Well it seems that answer to that is here and it's called Flower.
The premise behind this half-game, half-interactive experience is that fairly vague at first. In the game, you play as the Wind and it's your goal to help bloom various locations from drab environments into scenic and peaceful ones.
In each of Flower's 6 stages, you begin as the wind with a single flower petal. With the use of the X Button and the motions of the PS3's Sixaxis controller, you 'lead' that single petal towards flowers located around you to blossom the flowers and to collect more petals.
As flowers bloom, you open up the environments. At the beginning of each stage, the levels all look desolate but as the flowers blossom, the grass becomes greener and the sky becomes clearer. As you progress through the stages, you'll eventually blossom all of the flowers turning the stage into the kind of place you'll want to spend an afternoon just relaxing.
Flower is a very linear game. There is no dying so you never have to worry about doing anything wrong. Often, the objective is simply to bloom all the flowers in a specific spot in order to progress. Flowers that haven't been bloomed have a glow and you'll be easily able to pick them out even from far away. The controls make moving around each stage a breeze. When Sony released the Sixaxis back in 2006, this should have been a pack-in title that would have shown why you need this feature.
In terms of graphics, the game is fairly simple with it's look but stunning none-the-less. There are very few outside particles in each stage. For the most part, you'll be simply collection flower petals and traveling through grass, but both look stunning in High-Definition. Even the 'outside' environments look really good and add to the game's feel.
With incredible looking visuals, the sound helps to compliment the experience even more. The game contains a great instrumental score that will often have you leaving it playing to give your home a more relaxing feel. The music shifts with the speed of your flower petals and works on multiple levels, especially in the later stages of the game which have a very different feel from the beginning.
Flower is not a long game. The six stages can be completed in about 1-3 hours depending on how much time you spend on each. There are a lot of tiny secrets hidden throughout the game which does add to some replayabilty, but chances are that once you've completed the game, you'll only go back to get some trophies. Even with that, this is a game that does exactly what it intended on doing, offering a different, yet unique experience. Only hard-core gamers looking for something to kill will not find anything here to enjoy. If you've had a hard day at work, I strongly suggest turning on your PS3, playing any of the 6 stages (except maybe stage 5 = spoiler) and watch your troubles fly away with the wind...even if it's only for a few moments.
Showing posts with label PlayStation Network. Show all posts
Showing posts with label PlayStation Network. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Sunday, September 14, 2008
The Last Guy Review (PSN)
You have to give Sony credit with their PlayStation Network games. From The PixelJunk Series to Echochrome and everything in between, we have had some very interesting titles available for us to play. The latest original title is The Last Guy, a game that looks absolutely simple but is extremely creative. While the game doesn't take too long to complete, it shows a lot of potential and possible future releases.
The premise of the game is fairly straight-forward. You play as The Last guy and the world is being over-run with monsters and zombies and you are responsible to help rescue the remaining citizens of various real-world locations. This is where The Last Guy becomes so unique. Each level is actually a real location in the world and the game uses Satellite Imagery to show off these locations. Some at first thought believed they were images taken from Google Maps. That is not the case, but they are still the real thing. Locations vary from Newcastle, Sydney, Los Angeles, Santa Fe and Tokyo among a few others. You're not trying to rescue people from the entire city, but rather small chunks. As a nice touch, when your character is in a certain location, the game tells you exactly where you are. If you're walking near a museum, you get to find out exactly which one it is.
In order to save people you need to walk by the building they are hiding in. Once you approach an area, those in need of rescuing will begin to flee and once you walk by them, they join your chain. In a similar situation like the classic game snake, the longer your group gets and the more challenging it becomes. There are various methods to get your characters to the Escape zone, from trying to keep the group closer together or running and/or using some of the power-ups located in the maps. When you attempt to run or gather groups, you use up your stamina bar. The larger your group, the more stamina you have, but since you will need more power to get the chain to rescue, you'll still end up depleting your stamina bars. Each level contains various enemies that are also trying to stop you from rescuing people. If an enemy attacks your chain, then the people who were broken from it run to the nearest building and you must help them evacuate again. If a monster touches you, then you die and must restart the level.
Each level has a different time limit and required number of people to rescue. The early levels are fairly simple, but as you progress further, you will need to develop a strategy to rescue everyone. Also, in a level where you are in Stockholm, you need to have a long enough chain to completely surround a building. Since people are trapped within the walls of the building, only by completely covering the building with other victims can you free those stuck within the walls. The strategy does help the game's longevity and the added bonus of VIPs also allows for multiple play through in order to unlock four bonus levels.
The graphics are not anything special to mention. You're playing as a small sprite which other than his red cape and blue suit doesn't look anything spectacular. The people you are rescuing also do not look like anything other than sprites. The enemies on the other hand are much better considering their size in comparison to everything else. There are over half a dozen different enemies and each one looks distinctively different from the rest. Their actions are also very different and that factors into your strategy.
The music in the game is also very unique. It's weird electronic style works for the game, but it might not appeal to the masses. The in-game sounds of monster and people is also really different. It would have been a nice touch if the victims/rescued sounded more authentic to the areas there were coming from, but that a minor complaint.
While the game is fun, it is really short and this will be a turn off for some. With just over 15 levels and each one taking anywhere from 5-15 minutes, you can potentially complete the game over the weekend. Yes, the later stages are a bit more difficult, but once you figure the best course of action and properly execute, you can complete the basic requirements with ease. Thankfully, the inclusion of VIPs and online rankings do give you a reason to replay levels, but again, it would have been nice to have more randomization with the placement of the rescued or the escape zone(s). The only randomization do get is the place of power-ups.
There is potential for additional levels, but that will only occur if the game is successful. Also, user-generated content would have been nice addition to the game. Had this been a PC title, you could have seen that happen.
The Last Guy is a fun game and one I truly enjoyed playing. At 10 dollars, it is a fun distraction, but once you complete the game, you may not see any reason to continue playing unless your friends are also playing. I was a bit disappointed that the game lacks Trophy Support as there is no real excuse for the omission. If you are looking for something different and like to try games that are very different than the rest, you cannot go wrong being The Last Guy.
The premise of the game is fairly straight-forward. You play as The Last guy and the world is being over-run with monsters and zombies and you are responsible to help rescue the remaining citizens of various real-world locations. This is where The Last Guy becomes so unique. Each level is actually a real location in the world and the game uses Satellite Imagery to show off these locations. Some at first thought believed they were images taken from Google Maps. That is not the case, but they are still the real thing. Locations vary from Newcastle, Sydney, Los Angeles, Santa Fe and Tokyo among a few others. You're not trying to rescue people from the entire city, but rather small chunks. As a nice touch, when your character is in a certain location, the game tells you exactly where you are. If you're walking near a museum, you get to find out exactly which one it is.
In order to save people you need to walk by the building they are hiding in. Once you approach an area, those in need of rescuing will begin to flee and once you walk by them, they join your chain. In a similar situation like the classic game snake, the longer your group gets and the more challenging it becomes. There are various methods to get your characters to the Escape zone, from trying to keep the group closer together or running and/or using some of the power-ups located in the maps. When you attempt to run or gather groups, you use up your stamina bar. The larger your group, the more stamina you have, but since you will need more power to get the chain to rescue, you'll still end up depleting your stamina bars. Each level contains various enemies that are also trying to stop you from rescuing people. If an enemy attacks your chain, then the people who were broken from it run to the nearest building and you must help them evacuate again. If a monster touches you, then you die and must restart the level.
Each level has a different time limit and required number of people to rescue. The early levels are fairly simple, but as you progress further, you will need to develop a strategy to rescue everyone. Also, in a level where you are in Stockholm, you need to have a long enough chain to completely surround a building. Since people are trapped within the walls of the building, only by completely covering the building with other victims can you free those stuck within the walls. The strategy does help the game's longevity and the added bonus of VIPs also allows for multiple play through in order to unlock four bonus levels.
The graphics are not anything special to mention. You're playing as a small sprite which other than his red cape and blue suit doesn't look anything spectacular. The people you are rescuing also do not look like anything other than sprites. The enemies on the other hand are much better considering their size in comparison to everything else. There are over half a dozen different enemies and each one looks distinctively different from the rest. Their actions are also very different and that factors into your strategy.
The music in the game is also very unique. It's weird electronic style works for the game, but it might not appeal to the masses. The in-game sounds of monster and people is also really different. It would have been a nice touch if the victims/rescued sounded more authentic to the areas there were coming from, but that a minor complaint.
While the game is fun, it is really short and this will be a turn off for some. With just over 15 levels and each one taking anywhere from 5-15 minutes, you can potentially complete the game over the weekend. Yes, the later stages are a bit more difficult, but once you figure the best course of action and properly execute, you can complete the basic requirements with ease. Thankfully, the inclusion of VIPs and online rankings do give you a reason to replay levels, but again, it would have been nice to have more randomization with the placement of the rescued or the escape zone(s). The only randomization do get is the place of power-ups.
There is potential for additional levels, but that will only occur if the game is successful. Also, user-generated content would have been nice addition to the game. Had this been a PC title, you could have seen that happen.
The Last Guy is a fun game and one I truly enjoyed playing. At 10 dollars, it is a fun distraction, but once you complete the game, you may not see any reason to continue playing unless your friends are also playing. I was a bit disappointed that the game lacks Trophy Support as there is no real excuse for the omission. If you are looking for something different and like to try games that are very different than the rest, you cannot go wrong being The Last Guy.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
PixelJunk Monsters Review (PSN)
Both Sony and Microsoft in the attempt to attract every possible gamer have done a great job in offering plenty of niche titles that you might not normally have played. For the most part, the biggest surprises have been those that were made available either on Microsoft's Xbox Live Arcade service or Sony's PlayStation Network. Since both systems launches, we have been honoured at playing some titles such as Geometry Wars, Rez N+, Echochrome and Super Stardust HD Extreme just to name a few. In Sony's PSN, the PixelJunk series has also been one of the main players in the PSN.
PixelJunk Monsters is the second release by Q Games. The first game was PixelJunk Racers and recently, they released PixelJunk Eden. All three are very extremely different but all three are incredibly addictive with their game play and frustration. In PixelJunk Monsters, you play a 'hero' of sorts who is responsible to protect a village/home from waves upon waves of enemy monsters. The game is a strategy game, but rather than building units, your goal is to build towers of a number of different set-ups to stop the on-coming groups of monsters.
The game follows the same structure of PC based strategy games; you are placed on a map, must research and create your towers and hope for the best. At the beginning of each level, you are given a small amount of money which you can build your initial towers. From there, for every enemy you kill, you either will get money and in some situations, you will receive gems which will allow you to research better structures. Certain towers work well against specific enemies; some are strictly for air units, some for ground and then you have a couple that attack both. At the same time, while you might have a strong ground tower, it will be useless against fast moving enemies, so you really need to determine the best towers to build and where to place them on the map.
Since each level is different, it really does take strategy to figure out the best course of action. For the most part, the wave patterns are the same from level to level, but the layouts will force you to carefully place your towers and upgrade them properly. Like with other strategy games, your towers upgrade either by taking out enemies or if your character stands where the tower is and does his war-dance (the character does dance).
The level designs do get progressively more difficult as you progress through the game as do the strength of the waves of enemies. The first few waves will be easy to take care of, but once you get to the harder levels and stages, you will often end up losing because the strength in numbers of the enemies is just too great for your units to handle.
This is where the frustration sets in. Since the levels are relatively small, the path between where some enemies start to where your village is might only take a few seconds to reach. If you haven't upgraded your units or do not have a proper dispersion of towers, you will not last long. One saving grace is that once a specific enemy unit stops attacking (near the end of each stage), you can sell the units you have for them to create more powerful towers to stop the stages last wave, which is always a slow but extremely powerful monster.
Frustration will cause plenty of trail and error. Since each of the latter stages can take at least 30 minutes to complete, you will be really angry if your village dies when you've reached the last few waves.
The graphics and sound are typical PlayStation Network fare. The animation and art for the levels and characters are nice, but will not impress the average gamer. It is a unique style that works well for this type of game. The towers each are distinctively different, same with the enemies, so there won't be times when you cannot distinguish what you are looking at. As for the sound, it is the low-point of the game. It is extremely repetitive and annoying to the point that you will want to play this game either on mute, or wished there was a Custom Soundtrack option.
It is clear that PixelJunk Monsters is not for everyone but it is a game that should be at least tried. Thankfully at only 10 dollars, you are getting plenty of value in a PSN game. With 21 stages lasting anywhere from 10-40 minutes, you can accumulate a lot of playtime. There is also an expansion pack available that increases the amount of playable stages. You might be frustrated at times, but I strongly believe that you if you give it time and play it strategically, you will be satisfied with your purchase.
PixelJunk Monsters is the second release by Q Games. The first game was PixelJunk Racers and recently, they released PixelJunk Eden. All three are very extremely different but all three are incredibly addictive with their game play and frustration. In PixelJunk Monsters, you play a 'hero' of sorts who is responsible to protect a village/home from waves upon waves of enemy monsters. The game is a strategy game, but rather than building units, your goal is to build towers of a number of different set-ups to stop the on-coming groups of monsters.
The game follows the same structure of PC based strategy games; you are placed on a map, must research and create your towers and hope for the best. At the beginning of each level, you are given a small amount of money which you can build your initial towers. From there, for every enemy you kill, you either will get money and in some situations, you will receive gems which will allow you to research better structures. Certain towers work well against specific enemies; some are strictly for air units, some for ground and then you have a couple that attack both. At the same time, while you might have a strong ground tower, it will be useless against fast moving enemies, so you really need to determine the best towers to build and where to place them on the map.
Since each level is different, it really does take strategy to figure out the best course of action. For the most part, the wave patterns are the same from level to level, but the layouts will force you to carefully place your towers and upgrade them properly. Like with other strategy games, your towers upgrade either by taking out enemies or if your character stands where the tower is and does his war-dance (the character does dance).
The level designs do get progressively more difficult as you progress through the game as do the strength of the waves of enemies. The first few waves will be easy to take care of, but once you get to the harder levels and stages, you will often end up losing because the strength in numbers of the enemies is just too great for your units to handle.
This is where the frustration sets in. Since the levels are relatively small, the path between where some enemies start to where your village is might only take a few seconds to reach. If you haven't upgraded your units or do not have a proper dispersion of towers, you will not last long. One saving grace is that once a specific enemy unit stops attacking (near the end of each stage), you can sell the units you have for them to create more powerful towers to stop the stages last wave, which is always a slow but extremely powerful monster.
Frustration will cause plenty of trail and error. Since each of the latter stages can take at least 30 minutes to complete, you will be really angry if your village dies when you've reached the last few waves.
The graphics and sound are typical PlayStation Network fare. The animation and art for the levels and characters are nice, but will not impress the average gamer. It is a unique style that works well for this type of game. The towers each are distinctively different, same with the enemies, so there won't be times when you cannot distinguish what you are looking at. As for the sound, it is the low-point of the game. It is extremely repetitive and annoying to the point that you will want to play this game either on mute, or wished there was a Custom Soundtrack option.
It is clear that PixelJunk Monsters is not for everyone but it is a game that should be at least tried. Thankfully at only 10 dollars, you are getting plenty of value in a PSN game. With 21 stages lasting anywhere from 10-40 minutes, you can accumulate a lot of playtime. There is also an expansion pack available that increases the amount of playable stages. You might be frustrated at times, but I strongly believe that you if you give it time and play it strategically, you will be satisfied with your purchase.
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