Flower

If you think Flower is not a game, or is just a pretty "tech demo" you'd be missing the point. Flower is another game on Sony's Playstation Network to appear that seems to set its self apart from what Microsoft is doing with Xbox Live Arcade. Flower is Unique. It's beautiful. And it's an incredibly soothing experience. Flower also has some of the best use of the Sixaxis motion controls we've seen to date, and believe me, that’s saying something.

Flower is simple. And when I say simple, it’s about as simple as a game can get. There are no "objectives" per say, the basic concept is to just fly a flower petal through the wind, meanwhile collecting other petals to add to your crazy petal wind flying, party train.  Each level is separated by a single flower pot inside what looks like an apartment in a busy city. The apartment starts out looking dirty, and depressing. But as you progress through each level, more life, and vibrant imagery appears in the apartment.

The gameplay is, as I said, simple. It is full on motion controls. All you really do is hold down any button, and use the motion functionality in the controller to steer the petals. As you fly through the grass fields, there will be certain flowers highlighted. These are the flowers you need to fly through in order to progress through each level. One thing to point out here is that there is no time limit. You are free to fly through the wind as long as you please. It may sound boring, but since the game provides an amazing soundtrack, simply doing that will give you an incredibly soothing experience that can’t put you into a deep trance. But of course if you do decide to go through the levels, as I’m sure you would, you'll want to look out for these flowers. Each level is different in the sense that the level designs simply change. You'll be doing the same basic thing the whole game, which is simply collecting flower petals as you progress through each level. But it almost seems as if Flower has its own personality, as you will find in a later level that it does to have a dark side to it.

For a downloadable game, Flower is gorgeous. The level of detail far surpasses most full retail games. The game supports up to 1080p, so if you got a good setup, Flower is a sight to see. Flower isn't a lengthy experience. You may be able to finish it in a couple of hours. Luckily the game supports trophies. So if your into hunting trophies, you can easily double or triple your experience. I love what Sony is doing with their downloadable game catalog on PSN. Flower is just another unique game that Sony has offered that probably would never have the time of day with other publishers. To wrap it up, if nothing else Flower is an incredibly soothing experience that after a long day at work or school can put you in a trance and make you forget your worries. Flower is $9.99 on the Playstation Store. Now go. Be the wind.