We’ve been hit hard by arcade releases over the last few months. A genre I had once discredited as an easy way to leech more money from online gamers, has now become a vastly strong pillar in the gaming industry. The term arcade nowadays is used rather loosely for those thinking that I’m twittering on about the latest Tetris or Galaga devices; arcade in modern gaming terms simply means games that are available to download from either Xbox Live of Playstation Network such as The Maw or Noby Noby Boy. However the modern arcade genre has many branches and the one that has been far more successful than any other is the Indie games branch.

          Skip the explanations if you wish, but what I mean by Indie gaming, is playing games that have a very unique twist/spice to them that makes them stand out from every other game on the shelf. World of Goo proved to be a tremendous example along with the very recent Noby Noby Boy, but all the focus in this review is on Flower.

          Spring is coming, we all know it. Though I’ve been hit by an onslaught of wintery blizzards and endless bouts of rain, snuggling up with my Playstation 3 and this priceless title has brought me the feel-good aura we all associate with the coming of the first season.

          ThatGameCompany can only be previous picked out for another previous arcade title they cooked up for the Playstation 3 back in its early days; Flow. They announced Flower in mid 2008 and though my first opinions on the upcoming title were mixed, I still had an inkling that Flower may have potential.

          Flower can be summed up easily in one word, “Relaxation.”  Everything from the controls to the feel good vibes makes it such an easy game to pick up and play whatever the circumstances.

         

There isn’t an actual plot to Flower; the game begins on a musty windowsill where a lone potted flower droops as the busy city bustles from outside of the grey windows. As you hover over the plant, you drift into an almost fantasy-like paddock of lush green. Your mission in the game is to lead a petal around large environments, where you will gather other petals and reach the finish point. You lead the petal by holding any button to act as the wind. Combined with the use of the SixAxis, you will soon be flowing around the lush fields with a thousand colourful petals in tow. It may sound ever so dull on paper, but you really have to see it in motion. With no times or scores to beat or lives to lose, the world is your oyster...

          Of course you won’t just be flying from A to B, you are required to pass sub-goals before you can advance into certain parts of the levels. These boundaries are usually marked as either green grass meaning you can pass or dark and murky grass meaning you can’t. Other flowers will usually be littered in the dark grass patches, and as you interact with those flowers, the darkness will fade and emerald green will claim its place. It isn’t just patches of fields you will be restoring to light too, you will re-light lamps, repair windmills and even spark up haystacks, all creating a weird florescent but heart-warming feel to every level. The last level is arguably one of the most feel-good moments in gaming, as a single petal, you will invade the large dark and gloomy city, and as you restore flowers, white pearly skyscrapers will take the place of the dull black obelisks before them.

         

The design is very simplistic but ever so effective, the contrast in colour between restored land and dark land is obvious enough to depict a “good and bad” scene. The music is also very fitting, perfectly indicating which parts of the game are fuzzy and light and which others are gloomy and depressing. It may sound sad, but I’m also going to mention the physics; yes the movements of the grass and petals themselves. The polish and detail added to every blade of grass is only just another reason to buy this classic.

          Flower has surprised me, and has solidified my faith in the Indie games sub-genre. If you’re feeling remotely depressed about what’s going on outside, or just need a bit spring in your gaming, what are you waiting for?