Flower Preview

There is a lot to be said about a game that comes in with low expectations and then blows the blossoms off the flowers … literally … and in the process becomes a treat for the eyes, ears and gameplaying in general.

Such is the case with the SCEA preview of Flower, from the same development crew that gave us flOw. Flower is a platformer, of sorts, but rendered out in three-dimensions to create a very Zen-like experience. Not only do the graphics create that mood, but the musical score would be perfect for meditation.

The journey begins in a city, gray, cold, and with the kind of industrial wash that makes for a dreary world. On the window shelf of what appears to be an apartment is a potted plant, with a single flower stalk on it. Click it and you are transported to a field far away, with rolling hills. The grasses come in two versions, green and blanched, dry brown. You use the SIXAXIS motion of the control to swoosh in, like the wind, pick up a petal from a blossoming plant and then guide that petal to other plants. As you touch the aura surrounding them, another petal will fall and add to the gently swirling petals you control the flight of.

As you pass over the fields, collecting petals, the brown areas will become infused with the spores floating with you, and with a soft music flourish, will transform into green fields. At the end of this first level is a small hill with a dead tree on the top of it, its branches barren. Swirl in, dance with the up-breeze there and the tree springs to life, its branches becoming green with leaves that bespeak of a new beginning.

As you return to the apartment, the city in the window does not quite look the same. There is some color to it, some life.

And those splotches of brown do not always turn green. Sometimes they become purple, or blue or .. well, you can well achieve the colors of the rainbow in your flights of fancy over these fields.

Only four levels were available in the preview build SCEA sent, but it was more than enough to whet the appetite for a lot more. The music and visuals are simply stunning and the game should have a very broad appeal.

A 12-year-old girl in the house took one look at the game, got her hands on the controller and was entranced. She proclaimed it her favorite title and was rather disappointed that only four levels were available.

Flower is slated to be a PlayStation Network release and is a peaceful, intriguing and enjoyable title that should have a very broad appeal.