Game Reviews

Flockers

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Flockers
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If you were to distil the essence of Flockers down, you'd end up with a lemming in a woolly jumper.

The aim of the game is to shepherd a group of sheep to the exit of each level. To do this you need to use a number of special powers. There are spinning saws to avoid, switches to push, and deadly drops to navigate.

And it's all put together very nicely. There are some niggles with the controls, though, and the levels don't necessarily spark in the way you want them to.

That's not to say that it's a bad game, but it's one that feels a little slighter, and a little more fiddly, than it perhaps should.

In wolf's clothing?

Each level is set in a dingy warehouse of sorts. There's a pipe that spits out some sheep, and another pipe that sucks them in. You need to get a number of the farm animals to the exit pipe to complete the level and move on to the next.

You'll earn more stars if you get all of the sheep safely home, finish within a time limit, and nab the golden sheep that's hidden somewhere on each level.

To start with you can make some of your sheep jump, but soon you'll be given tools that let you build walls and structures, rocket-packs that let your herd ascend walls, and other gizmos and gadgets to help you along the way.

Unlike in Lemmings, though, you've rarely got a full suite of tools at your disposal. It makes the levels feel a little less experimental. There's a right way to do things, and that's the only way to get the best results.

The controls are sometimes a little fiddly as well. You need to long-press on the screen, then drag to select multiple sheep with the same power, but it doesn't work every time, leaving you wiggling your fingers around to no avail.

To the death

That's not to say there isn't fun to be had here. As puzzlers go Flockers has a lot to offer, and some of the later levels require intricate combinations of powers and structures to complete. There are strange boss fights too that add a level of timing to proceedings.

But you're always left with the feeling that the game should have something more to offer. It's fun, but it's safe fun. And while you'll enjoy your time with Flockers, it never quite grabs you by the scruff of the neck like you want it to.

Flockers

Full of Team 17's wicked humour and some neat ideas, Flockers doesn't quite have the chops to be more than the sum of its parts
Score
Harry Slater
Harry Slater
Harry used to be really good at Snake on the Nokia 5110. Apparently though, digital snake wrangling isn't a proper job, so now he writes words about games instead.