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Looking forward to playing Flower on your Vita? Go check it out now on the Store! Mini review inside
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| all pictures are from the Vita screen shot function! |
With the PS4 comes an updated version of the game (I will hopefully have a chance to play that soon...), as well as a Vita version. I thought we would have to wait for Friday, but nope, here it is today. Great news for those of us who already bought Flower? You can download it for free on the Vita and the PS4 when it is available. If you need to buy it, it is only $7 for all three systems.
How does the game play on the Vita? You have two controller options: tilt, or touch screen. I was excited to first try out the motion controls, since it was a really great experience on the PS3. The problem is, you have to tilt the screen away from your eyes to turn and such. Not very helpful when you want to actually see the screen. That was a bummer.
I switched over to the motion controls and had a bit of a problem at first. You steer with the two sides of the front screen (slide your thumbs up and down to do so), but then you also have to touch the rear screen to activate the wind (to move forward). I didn't realize I was touching the back panel to do so at first, but once I tried to make precision movements by touching and releasing the back panel it felt a lot better. Still, I need to practice to make the tight turns I remember doing on the PS3 version.
For those of you who don't know, you basically are a flower petal that floats on the wind awakening all the other flowers in a world (in your dream). Yes, you try to open up all the flowers, but the game is much more visceral than that. A true gaming experience.
The graphics were always smooth and beautiful... stark, gray backdrops suddenly transforming into vibrant, colorful palettes. On the PS3 they were great, and the beautiful OLED screen totally does it all justice. The grass blades swishing in the breeze, the trail of flower petals behind you... It is a very relaxing but rewarding game. I've always enjoyed sitting down to a random level of Flower, as have my young children, and the Vita version is no different. It is a great fit for the Vita.
Verdict:
8/10
You will like this game if you:
- liked the PS3 version... it is nearly identical in every way. Beautiful graphics and soothing gameplay
- want an "on the go" game. This is a perfect fit. Levels aren't that long, but enough to feel a sense of accomplishment
- don't like to spend much. $7 is a small amount to play for Journey's predecessor (and those of you who already bought it on the PS3? It's a free download!)
You might not like:
- the controls. I'll be cleaning off the screen pretty often after playing this game.
Let us know in the comments what you think!
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