Xboxist

Flock! on Xbox Live for 1200 Points

If someone told us that they were hard at work on an a farming puzzle game for consoles, we might be tempted to feel their foreheads for signs of feverish delusion. Nevertheless, Proper Games and Capcom will bring just such a thing to the Xbox Live Arcade tomorrow in the form of Flock!, probably the first livestock simulator ever made. From the look of things, the developers have pulled off this crazy idea rather well.

First of all, the title has strong pedigree: The puzzle-platformer was developed be the same talented team known for their previous work on Lemmings, Crackdown, and Battlefield 2: Modern Combat. In Flock! players take control of an alien UFO that’s been given the challenging task of herding animals to its mothership through a variety of interactive levels.

Players will have to overcome the different behaviors of the animals to herd them successfully. This will require the use of quirky humor-filled strategies, as well as completing a series of physics-based puzzles. By finding or creating a passable route, players can herd the animals safely toward the ship. Solving the puzzles within the suggested time limit yields exciting rewards but players can also take their time to find more hidden bonuses for extended gameplay. With a unique theme, clever humor and easy pick-up-and-play controls, Flock! could end up being a surprise hit.

The game is played from a third-person, top-down perspective, where users take control and pilot the UFO around a series of small “plushie” islands surrounded by water. The animals that populate these islands – sheep, chickens, pigs, cows and so on – respond to the UFO in all kinds of interesting ways based on their nature. The challenge is to take advantage of these behaviors in order to help guide them to the mothership and rack-up points.

Friends can also join in through co-op play and when all the levels have been completed, users will be able to make their own plush and puzzle-filled levels using the level editor that comes with the game.

Flock! is available starting April 8th for the price of 1200 Microsoft points or $14.99 on PSN.