IainFlocking good fun
For a long time XBLA has just been a bit of a dumping ground for retro remakes such as Bomberman, Worms and Super Street Fighter II. While the standards of these games are usually pretty high, it does make me wonder why I keep spending MS points on games I already own just for a possible 200 achievements. This is why I get a little excited when a new game like Flock comes along.
Flock has a pretty simple premise, you control an alien spaceship brilliantly called the Motherflocker with the task of abducting various farmyard animals within a set time limit. While Fock isn’t even close to revolutionary, it is a very solid puzzle game with three difficulties, in the form of gold, silver and bronze medal time limits for each of the levels, allowing for puzzle addicts and amateurs alike to join in the fun.
Flock packs quite a lot in for the 1200MS cost such as 55 single player levels and a fairly robust level editor for making your own farmyard frolics to share online but for all its acheivements, 
flock does have a few noticable flaws. The first of these lies in the hearding of large groups of animals, which often ends up with the heard scattering in various directions and using up valuable time, which quickly resorts to cursing at the TV on some of the more difficult levels. As well as this, the co-op features are local only, meaning you and your friends will have to be in the same room to flock with each other…
Overall, Flock is a very nice puzzle game with gorgeous visuals, unusual yet interesting music and just enough of a challenge to appeal to veteran puzzlers and inexperienced quizlings alike although going for perfect on every level may cause an unhealthy resentment towards sheep. Trust me on that one.
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