A great concept with a really nice level editor, but the actual gameplay isn't all that fun.
I really wasn't sure what to expect out of Flock! before I played it. I knew the basics; that you played as a UFO, and you herded animals into a waiting mothership across various puzzle based levels, but the concept didn't sound particularly fun to me. Even after playing the first few introductory levels in single player, I wasn't exactly sold on the idea. Wielding the UFO around wasn't nearly precise enough in my opinion, and I hated that the sheep would get hung up on little objects, slowing me down and making it difficult to corral them into the ship.
Honestly, it didn't click with me until about 12 or so stages in, and really not until you start to get to the other different animals, and the full set of abilities your UFO has. Flock! is certainly a different type of puzzle game, and there's obviously some care and development put into not only the design but the puzzle lay out as well, it just doesn't start to shine until later though.
For those of you that are unaware of Flock! up to this point, I'll break down the basics for you. There's around 50 or so single player stages strung out in the regular mode, and a series of co-op only stages as well (just local though). In both, you'll control a small UFO that emits a light underneath, which you then use to scare various animals, including sheep, chickens, cows, and pigs, along a path that's headed towards the MotherFlock!er, which is your giant mothership. There's a certain amount of animals required for collecting in each stage, and you can pass with the bare minimum, but rewards are doled out depending on how quickly you finish, and if you're able to get every single animal on the stage.
The rewards come in the form of items for the level editor feature, which is a pretty robust set of tools for the game that allow you to create your own stages using all the items, animals, and other devices found in the single player experience. The level editor is really pretty crazy, there's a lot to figure out at first, but it's a well-rounded experience that I'm sure quite a few inventive players will have fun trying out. I'm not particularly skilled at level creation in anything, but I can certainly see the appeal here, and Flock! doesn't leave anything to be desired from what I could tell. Obviously your creations can be shared with other players, and you'll see new levels from Capcom as well for download.
The real hook of Flock! comes from the physics involved in the game engine, and the puzzle like qualities of each stage. Certain stages are easy to figure out, and when you start most are little more than a straight line, requiring you to simply guide the animals to the end. However, you'll quickly come across stages with different obstacles, like something as simple as a fence, which you'll either have to destroy (by making cows stampede), or find another way to overcome. Since the gameplay is heavily based on time, you'll want to come up with the quickest solution possible in getting around things, and the game will require that most players go through a particular stage multiple times just to figure things out the right way. A lot of levels have a particular solution to them that will gain you the best ranking, but figuring this out will definitely take some time. As you play you'll gain a variety of abilities as well, little tools that your UFO can make use of to help you corral the animals better, or to overcome various obstacles.
And while the game did finally click with me, I still never felt like I was having a lot of fun with it. The idea is great, and the game looks really solid, but I was frustrated with it more often than not, and it wasn't because I couldn't figure out what I was supposed to be doing. I just never felt like I could get a decent handle on the UFO controls, and I realize it's supposed to be a bit loose, but I'd often over-correct it and steer animals away or split my group off, when I really wanted something a bit more precise to make me feel like I was in more control of the group than I ever really was. I imagine that a lot of players will be able to wrap their heads around it better than I did, but it certainly wasn't the best experience for me.
Also, at $15 I think the asking price is a bit steep. I realize we're going forward into this digital age, and the idea of XBLA/PSN titles passing that ten dollar mark isn't as outrageous as it used to be, but I can't see the value here, outside of the level editor. If you're content to buzz through the single player without posting up the best times/result, you'll finish it in about four hours, and the co-op mode being offline only feels pretty limited in scope. This is a game more for the gamer that enjoys replaying levels in an effort to better their previous time, and less for the person that's content with just finishing things up. The level editor is definitely huge, but if you don't think you'll tinker with it, I can't see any reason to pick this one up.
