Game Play: Flock (PS3)

I don't remember when I first heard Flock being mentioned but something about alien abduction is generally going to perk my interest when it comes across my desk. Flock is an upcoming PSN title which has you stealing animals with your spacecraft. The concept is more or less a puzzle based herding game. Animals are scared of your UFO's beam and need to move them towards your mothership for delivery.

It's a great premise, but the implementation was a bit so-so for me. Maybe my expectations for the game were different, thinking that being an alien abductor might involve a sense of power - but for the most part the game seems to focus on being somewhat powerless. You can add romance your sheep's lives to make little sheep, which I found kinda entertaining until I accidentally dumped the entire family into a large whole oddly left on the farm.

The graphics and overall presentation are wonderfully cute and cartoonish. There's a lot of quality production here, but I'm not sure the core game mechanics sold me. It wasn't like The Last Guy or PAIN in that sense.

Still, grab the demo and tractor beam a few sheep to see for yourself. If the puzzles grab you, you'll like it.