So the embargo has lifted and Flower reviews have sprouted all over the net, so I've got a new update of what I've been up to. Today, my review of Flower went live and I'm posting to share it with those that are interested.



Since I think the would be best experienced without much in the way of spoilers and hype, I'll keep this simple. When I first played the game, I was under the impression that this would be something of a 3D flow with more of a flight aspect and the beautiful field settings, but a few levels in, I noticed a developer story that made the experience engrossing enough that I wanted to see what was next and how things would turn out. I wouldn't the story itself is anywhere near as good as most out there, but it's the presentation that makes it memorable for me. The gameplay is a simple mix of flOw, Snake, and a flight game as you fly around with just a petal at first that grows into a big collection of petals as you cause more flowers to bloom and gain a petal for your beautiful conga line.

I gave Flower a Buy It recommendation and you can read the rest of the review here.

In other news, I picked up a few games today while driving around. I got NBA Street Homecourt (360) for $10 at Wal-Mart, Crosswords DS and Elite Beat Agent at GameStop for just over $30 total, though I may stop over at the Target I was at when I saw Mercs 2 and Viva Pinata Party Paradise, both for the 360, for $15 each. The former was behind glass and without anybody around, I didn't want to bother if I could just come back later for it since it wasn't high on my list of interested games at the moment.

Upcoming articles from me include an MLB 09 preview that should go live tomorrow and reviews of the new House of the Dead B-movie remake for the Wii next week, Savage Moon this week, and 3 on 3 NHL Arcade this weekend. I should have an interview this week, as well.