flOw on the Go
Thatgamecompany's brilliant little SIXAXIS-based downloadable game moves to the PSP.
Published: March 15, 2008
It's rather telling that the number-on downloaded PSN game (at least as of just recently) is one that struggles to even fill the title of "game." Thatgamecompany's flOw, luckily, can fill plenty of other ones: trip tool, relaxation tool, motion control tech demo. That people were actually cautioning against thinking of it like a traditional game just shows how different it really was, but the sublime mix of simple, easy to understand controls that really only had one button and a soundtrack that was entirely driven by the actions of the player meant that fl0w was something that could be pulled out for new guests just to serve as simple entertainment.
SuperVillain Studios, for their part, has managed to bring at least half of that heady equation to the PSP. The game is still a downloadable title (grabbed either through the PS3 or by way of the PC PlayStation Store), but without motion controls and with graphics that seem a little too ambitious for the PSP (or at least the engine that SVS built for it), it inches far, far too close to that, "well, why don't I just play the free Flash game version?" territory. Yes, you're still getting the core game, which started as just a fine arts thesis on dynamic difficulty adjustment, but the move to the PSP stripped out more than just the motion controls.
In truth, the game worked as well as it did because of the motion controls, though, which were perfectly suited to the more languid, blissful pace of the game. Using the analog nub is infinitely more precise and quick, but it also kills some of the immersion and the feeling that you're swimming through a petri dish. There is one thing that the PSP offers that the PS3 version can't: wireless (and rather seamless) multiplayer. Simply leave your Wi-Fi switch on and the game will automatically search for up to four other local players with which to dive. Setting it all up was entirely painless, and while the novelty of swimming around with multiple types of creatures is cool at first, it is, in the end, just that: a novelty.
I don't want it to sound like I'm completely knocking the PSP version of flOw, because it's still an interesting little experience (though headphones are absolutely required if you want the full effect). There's still something incredibly engaging about diving ever deeper into the abyss while gobbling up increasingly monstrous sources of food, continually watching your creature evolve as he does so. The framerate hitches, while not glaring, coupled with creatures that just don't seem to move in the same way and lack some of the detail of their HD counterparts, do hurt things a little too. Luckily, the ambient soundtrack arrived with nary a hitch.
If for some reason you don't have a PS3 yet, or you haven't at least played the game on a PS3, and are dying to check the game, out, this is certainly an option. It's decidedly more game-oriented than the more experimental feel of the PS3 version, and that's debatable as to whether or not it's an impediment to the overall design of the game, but at least the core concepts come through largely unmarred. Given the choice, though, the PS3 version is a far more "complete" experience despite not having some of the bits of the PSP iteration, simple as that.
SuperVillain Studios, for their part, has managed to bring at least half of that heady equation to the PSP. The game is still a downloadable title (grabbed either through the PS3 or by way of the PC PlayStation Store), but without motion controls and with graphics that seem a little too ambitious for the PSP (or at least the engine that SVS built for it), it inches far, far too close to that, "well, why don't I just play the free Flash game version?" territory. Yes, you're still getting the core game, which started as just a fine arts thesis on dynamic difficulty adjustment, but the move to the PSP stripped out more than just the motion controls.
In truth, the game worked as well as it did because of the motion controls, though, which were perfectly suited to the more languid, blissful pace of the game. Using the analog nub is infinitely more precise and quick, but it also kills some of the immersion and the feeling that you're swimming through a petri dish. There is one thing that the PSP offers that the PS3 version can't: wireless (and rather seamless) multiplayer. Simply leave your Wi-Fi switch on and the game will automatically search for up to four other local players with which to dive. Setting it all up was entirely painless, and while the novelty of swimming around with multiple types of creatures is cool at first, it is, in the end, just that: a novelty.
I don't want it to sound like I'm completely knocking the PSP version of flOw, because it's still an interesting little experience (though headphones are absolutely required if you want the full effect). There's still something incredibly engaging about diving ever deeper into the abyss while gobbling up increasingly monstrous sources of food, continually watching your creature evolve as he does so. The framerate hitches, while not glaring, coupled with creatures that just don't seem to move in the same way and lack some of the detail of their HD counterparts, do hurt things a little too. Luckily, the ambient soundtrack arrived with nary a hitch.
If for some reason you don't have a PS3 yet, or you haven't at least played the game on a PS3, and are dying to check the game, out, this is certainly an option. It's decidedly more game-oriented than the more experimental feel of the PS3 version, and that's debatable as to whether or not it's an impediment to the overall design of the game, but at least the core concepts come through largely unmarred. Given the choice, though, the PS3 version is a far more "complete" experience despite not having some of the bits of the PSP iteration, simple as that.