Like many, I found the idea of The Flock very cool. I suppose it was really the promise of a big event that came after so many player deaths. The only problem with that now is that the death countdown is at around 200 million. With about five players dying per match, we are looking at around 40 million matches before the event triggers. The bigger problem might be that a capture the flag game with no angles, just player vs. player, may not keep people involved with The Flock long enough to even see the big even kick off.
With The Flock coming out today, it's hard to recommend anyone pays the $16.99 for a title that really doesn't offer much. The graphics are lacking, the gameplay is run-of-the-mill, and there's no story or anything to drive us to keep going other than trying not to be bored. Unfortunately after a few matches, players won't see the point in continuing. It would seem Vogelsap is betting on players being intrigued by the big event after the counter reaches zero.
The Flock releases today on Windows for $16.99 on Steam and the Humble Store.
The Positives
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Controls were FPS style controls that really come with no confusion. There was really nothing to learn if you've ever played an FPS game. The only two buttons you had to learn were the B key for "Body double" if I were to guess, and the Y key for what I assume would be "Yell".
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The respawn mechanic lets you respawn immediately by using points from your total score as time ticks down. This could save you 15 seconds of waiting if you are in a decent lead over the other players.
The Negatives
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Polygon-filled graphics really disappoint in a gaming world where graphics and frame rate are king.
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Unfortunately the gameplay doesn't save this title, as it is stale and repetitive. There are three areas to play in, and they aren't really all that different either.
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No variables in-game, only player vs. Slower player. It's always going to be the same match. Theres no power ups, no weapons, no special skills. Players run after another player, trying to kill him before they get spotted and killed. There doesn't seem to be any tricks of the trade.
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Not scary or even creepy. It seems wrong to call it a horror game when there is nothing to add to it.
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No music, no sound effects other than screeching when pressing the Y key or the sound of running monsters.
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Once the game reaches and concludes its final event, the servers will go down and the game will no longer be playable.
The Unknown
- After the death counter reaches 0, another event happens. This is when the game stops being on sale, and only those who have purchased the game can participate. It sounds cool enough, but no one knows what the event is, thus it's hard to talk about in the review, and whether it's a positive or negative aspect. We might revisit this once the event actually happens.
What can one say about The Flock? It's certainly dark. It's also certainly another take on capture the flag. Or the flashlight. Well, really it's an artifact. One that attracts the flock of massive, one would assume undead, beasts that want to have the artifact for themselves. The flock uses brute force to kill the carrier after using stealth to approach them. The carrier of the artifact, on the other hand, need only to be aware of their surroundings while shining their artifacts beam at any moving flock. When one of the flock kills the carrier, a sort of small, evolved being, then its their turn to hold the artifact. As the player holds the artifact, their score goes up. Whoever has the most points wins.
The game is set in a seemingly post-apocalyptic environment full of crumbling buildings and petrified flock that were no doubt frozen in place by the carrier wielding the artifact. There are three areas, which have their differences, but really none worth noting as they gameplay really didn't seem to be affected by the environment. It's a dark, foggy, skyless area with no sound other than your own running or screeching. It's three against one lonely carrier. The carrier is slower than the flock, and clearly is the underdog. There's also no advancement to the game. Theres no leveling system, abilities to pick up, or anything else. You are a member of the flock or the carrier with an artifact. The carrier can shine a beam of light. The flock can screech to see where the other members of the flock are on the map and grant them a power and speed buff. They can also place a decoy of themselves to trick the carrier and take the by surprise. The matches last between 5-15 minutes and ends when a player reaches 100 points. There are also strange blue orbs that give the carrier a point boost and something called an objective point. It wasn't clear how the objective points change anything other than the rate that points are earned. That pretty much sums up The Flock.
However, there is one intriguing aspect of The Flock, which seems like a double-edged sword. The game employs a death counter. When that counter reaches 0, a special event occurs. When that special event ends, the game is no longer playable. Sounds interesting enough, except the game isn't free. So you're basically paying for a limited experience.
