Flower Catch-All (PS3/PSN) - Get Your Zen On

IMAGE(http://www.blogcdn.com/www.joystiq.com/media/2008/07/flower-e3-490.jpg)

Release Date: Out Now! - PS3/PSN

Is anyone else looking forward to this? I'm not sure it can technically be classified as a game, but if it's anything like fl0w, I expect it to be a nice and ambient experience. Check out the trailer here.

I figure this will be perfect to play before bed, with a steaming mug of green tea. A chaser to to cleanse your pallete after finishing a brutally violent action game - which is good, considering the Lost and the Damned releases around the same day.

I am admittedly curious. I really have no clue what it's about nor what it is for that matter. Hopefully they will have a demo.

Yeah I'm going to pick this up - something I think I can get my wife to play.

I very much enjoyed Flow and the videos of this one look interesting, so I'll definitely be picking it up when it is released.

ColdForged wrote:

I am admittedly curious. I really have no clue what it's about nor what it is for that matter. Hopefully they will have a demo.

Same here.

Nei wrote:
ColdForged wrote:

I am admittedly curious. I really have no clue what it's about nor what it is for that matter. Hopefully they will have a demo.

Same here.

Right here with you. I think the most annoying thing about the PSN store is the lack of demos for the downloadable titles.

Hippie-western-Canadian-pot-smokers are gonna be all over this!

WineGlass wrote:
Nei wrote:
ColdForged wrote:

I am admittedly curious. I really have no clue what it's about nor what it is for that matter. Hopefully they will have a demo.

Same here.

Right here with you. I think the most annoying thing about the PSN store is the lack of demos for the downloadable titles.

Agreed. Although I have to say I appreciate browsing it a lot more than the Xbox's NXE now - that just seems like a cluttered mess. I can't put my finger on it, but i seem to fight with NXE a little more than I have to to find new/free stuff.

WineGlass wrote:

I think the most annoying thing about the PSN store is the lack of demos for the downloadable titles.

Definitely. One of the most impressive differences between PSN and XBLA is that there are demos for everything in the XBLA whereas it's rare that you get a demo for PSN downloadable games. And for me that's almost always means I don't open my wallet for the PSN. I very rarely buy things I can't try.

I'm looking forward to it, but I'm thinking that that $10 seems a bit outside my comfort zone for it. I didn't mind paying the $2-$3 for Creeping (Lurking?) into Shadows, or whatever it was called, and I like the idea of interactive art/relaxation games, but I've read a few things (the Another Take at the end of IGN's review, for one) that make it sound like conventional video game ideas were shoehorned into what could have been a very casual, yet fun tech demo. I guess that's what I wish it was: a very inexpensive tech demo without checklists and level-ending goals.

Still, I'm interested. I look forward to reading some Goodjer impressions before I take the plunge.

EDIT:

Swat wrote:

Agreed. Although I have to say I appreciate browsing it a lot more than the Xbox's NXE now - that just seems like a cluttered mess. I can't put my finger on it, but i seem to fight with NXE a little more than I have to to find new/free stuff.

I completely agree. As much as I enjoy the NXE for displaying my Friends List I still struggle to find new, interesting, and mostly free sections of the Marketplace. I think it's unnecessarily difficult. It certainly allows Microsoft to more easily highlight their showpiece downloads, but the hidden gems are so hidden, that I often wonder if they just don't exist anymore.

From the 1up.com chatter, this can be gamey if you want or simply an experience if you don't want the game elements. They describe it as a really great flying game that incorporates great visuals with dynamic sound. There are levels and there are things that can be collected. From what I've seen the game reminds me a little of Auditorium at http://www.playauditorium.com in the way the visuals and audio come together and build up as you progress. Flower along with Noby Noby Boy are the two games I'm getting excited for. I wasn't initially impressed with the idea for Flower, but it's grown on me.

There are a number of PSN titles that I'd be interested in if I had more HD space (I bought the 40G model and don't really have the funds to buy a new HD right now-- which means I don't really have money for new games either ). This one is among them, along with Crash Commandos, Cuboid and Savage Moon. (Cuboid is actually a free flash game, and it's really good)

Count me among those who wish the PSN had more demos.

Why not?

I will be buying Flower I can't wait for it

I'm going to buy this as soon as I get home tonight. It looks great, and sounds like a relaxing, Pixel Junk Eden-esqe type of game that's perfect to play for a half hour or so before calling it a night.

If I play it for a few nights, it's well worth $10.

I downloaded it tonight and I can't get my wife to stop playing it (She is not a gamer). Beautiful and highly recommended if you like the eden series of games. Watching her play turns me on.... a little. If you know what I mean..... Anyway, just buy the game! Gotta go watch her play, the game, now.

It's cool but I guess I was expecting something more pirates of the caribbean and less space mountain.

I like free things. Demos are free. But are they? Often they result in spent money. Scratch that earlier statement: demos aren't free!

As a side note, I did buy Flower, look forward to trying it out, but not untill I've finished fragging aliens.

I just bought it and played the first two levels for about an hour.

It is very relaxing, and very satisfying.

I love some of the things they do with color and sound.

AmazingZoidberg wrote:

I just bought it and played the first two levels for about an hour.

It is very relaxing, and very satisfying.

I love some of the things they do with color and sound.

I, too, played the first two levels last night. I agree that they do amazing things with color and sound. The game does a good job of making you feel relaxed, and everything contributes to those points. I can't wait to play more of it.

I caved. I was going to hold strong and righteously punish Sony for the lack of demo... but then I pictured my 5-year-old daughter flying around doing something with flowers and coughed up the cash.

I did the first two "levels" last night and enjoyed it. It's certainly a departure from my usual fare.

I told Julia -- who has never really gamed -- about it this morning and let her try it before school and, though she had trouble remembering to bank instead of yaw, she had a great time. She liberated several areas all by herself. Even my wife commented on the beauty of the visuals and the music. Win.

I have been watching the videos and I still don't see who I get to kill. I am not sure I can play a game where I don't get to kill something.

Yep, the game is fantastic, and I really enjoy what I played last night. Looking forward to going back home later and playing some more, so that's a good sign!

Only played the first level last night, but really enjoyed it, and my wife really got into it as I hoped she would. It's a great game to play before bed, very soothing.

You bastards. First Mount and Blade, then Sins of a Solar Empire...and now Flower. You guys are killing my wallet!

I turned the game on towards the end of the night intending to only play the first level or two, but I got sucked in and stayed up way too late playing through to the end of the game. Honestly, I'm at loss for word to describe how compelling the game is. You can see just from the first level or two how visually and aurally impressive and evocative it is (if at all possible, play this game on an HDTV with a good surround sound system turned up loud -- anything short of that won't be doing justice to the amazing artistry of the graphics and sound), but as you play further the game actually has a bit of a story to tell. In fact, I think you will be as surprised as I was to find such a simple game stirring powerful emotional responses.

If you've ever played Rez from start to finish (all the way through area 5), playing Flower through in one sitting offers a similar type of "synesthesia" experience, except perhaps a bit more powerful due to the lack of any sort of death mechanic to worry about. If you haven't played Rez, you should, but just know that the previous sentence is close to the best recommendation that I could ever give for a game.

Like many others bought yesterday night and played the first two levels. Asked my girlfriend who plays some games like Animal Crossing and Pikmin to play the game before I did, but after a minute she stopped and said she doesn't like the motion controls and was getting a headache. She watched me play though and liked it. She said she thought the sound was good and liked the way the music was incorporated with what you do.

For me the game is really fun, but a little hard to control. I find myself wanting to collect every flower even though I don't think you have to and this makes it kind of challenging. When I start to go fast, I miss a few flowers and have to go back a lot.

There is also a free wallpaper and theme that you can pick up and Sony seems to be pushing this game as a spring season game.

If you are having trouble with the controls, try using either L2 or R2 instead of one of the face buttons as your accelerate button. The game offers a wide range of speeds, but using the face buttons will only really let you use "off" and "fast."

I was expecting a neat little distraction, but this game really impressed me. It's a beautiful blend of art, music and ambiance. That may sound like a recipe for nap time, but there's a good amount of rushing through the grass, pulling up into the air, and diving back down again - it's no flight combat simulator, but there's something exhilarating about it all.

Everyone who owns a PS3 should get this game, if at the very least to get the word out that we appreciate games like Flower, and want to see more.

On a side note, I can't remember the last time I've smiled this much at a game. It's like comfort food for the brain. I sure hope there's no subliminal messages embedded, or I'm totally screwed.

zeroKFE wrote:

I turned the game on towards the end of the night intending to only play the first level or two, but I got sucked in and stayed up way too late playing through to the end of the game. Honestly, I'm at loss for word to describe how compelling the game is. You can see just from the first level or two how visually and aurally impressive and evocative it is (if at all possible, play this game on an HDTV with a good surround sound system turned up loud -- anything short of that won't be doing justice to the amazing artistry of the graphics and sound), but as you play further the game actually has a bit of a story to tell. In fact, I think you will be as surprised as I was to find such a simple game stirring powerful emotional responses.

If you've ever played Rez from start to finish (all the way through area 5), playing Flower through in one sitting offers a similar type of "synesthesia" experience, except perhaps a bit more powerful due to the lack of any sort of death mechanic to worry about. If you haven't played Rez, you should, but just know that the previous sentence is close to the best recommendation that I could ever give for a game. ;)

Yeah, what he said I played the first couple of levels, then gave my girlfriend a go, and before too long I'd watched her play through the entire game. It really is a thing of beauty, and the comparison with Rez is very apt.

When I first played flOw it was on the PC; it was the original flash version Jenova Chen had put toether for his thesis project on fow as a philosophy of play. After that experience, playing it on the ps3 with motion felt unwieldy to me. I almost wish I hadn't had experience playing it with a mouse because I couldn't get into the flow (couldn't resist) of controlling it. Although, playing it co-op with my friend was a different experience alltogether: there was so much going on onscreen that controll became the least of my worries. This makes it sound like I didn't like flOw: that's not true. What I do mean to say is that picking up flOwer reminded me right away of why I don't appreciate motion control on ps3.
I have a soft spot for all indy games, maybe because the developers passion is discernable so near the surface. I still love the experience, it's mis en scene, user defined pace, aural reinforcement, purity of concept, etc. It's just too bad that I can't forget the hunk of plastic in my hands.