The digital delights of Sony’s scrumptious PlayStation Network service know no bounds. Aside from letting punters compete in online gaming, stream films, browse the Internet and more, its premier attraction rests in the copious supply of downloadable games ripe for the picking. From PSN exclusives to PSOne Classics, minis and plain old add-on content, Sony’s online space is chock full of goodies battling it out for your hard-earned digital dollars.
Welcome back to another installment of Inside PlayStation Network, where every Monday – Friday we’ll pluck a PSN release—be it new or old—and put it in the spotlight for a thorough dissection. Fancy getting a new PSN game but don’t know what one to plump for? Perhaps this feature will help. Didn’t realize that a game was available in your region until now? We’ve got you covered. Or, perhaps you were musing over what those lucky Japanese folk were tucking into over in the Land of the Rising Sun? You can be sure our coverage will extend to those rare regional exclusives as much as those firmly embedded on the public consciousness.
Today, we shine the spotlight on the quirky PSP outing, flOw.
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Developer: thatgamecompany, SuperVillian
Region(s) available: North America, Europe, Japan
Players: 1-2
Developed as a collaborative effort between the irreverently-titled thatgamecompany and SuperVillian Studios, flOw originally started off life as a PlayStation 3 title before making the transition to Sony’s slab as a digital download. Conceived by Jenova Chen & Nicholas Clark, the quirky aquatic adventure raked in ample sales and even bagged itself the 2008 Game Developers Choice Awards. Not too shabby. Conceptually, the game is pretty simple: Players assume control of a small marine being tasked with gobbling up other lifeforms in order to not only survive, but also evolve.
flOw boasts a top-down perspective, with five environments up for grabs to explore. As you penetrate deeper regions, you’ll come across the game’s equivalent of plankton, as well as numerous creatures – some of which will even attempt to feast on you. These critters come in all shapes and sizes and possess individual patterns to boot, so you never know quite how they’re going to react until you make a move. Expect to come across everything from hulking predators to the collective threat of shoals of fish.
Shovelling food down your gob has two primary functions, namely regenerating your health and causing you to evolve. And, while you can’t technically perish in the game, losing all your health will cause you to scuttle back to a safer depth, plonking you back at the top of the food chain. Completing stages boils down to gorging on an egg, which can only be consumed when your creature has fully realised its potential. After you’ve snaked on this item, gamers will unlock fresh playable animals and are then transported back to the selection screen allowing you to embark on a new quest. There’s five aquatic lifeforms to choose from, not counting the critter you get to fiddle around with in the end credits sequence.
Each animal possess its own unique attribute, such as the ability to execute a short burst of speed or a predator-like strike that targets an enemy’s weak point. Furthermore, flOw adapts to your own skill level, scaling the difficulty of your deep-sea shenanigans to match your abilities. It’s worth noting, however, that the depth (no pun intended) isn’t quite as great as the PlayStation 3 version of flOw, with noticeably smaller bodies of water to explore. Multiplayer is up for grabs however, and supports up to four players via ad-hoc.
Tune in again on Monday as we take another butcher’s Inside PlayStation Network.