Flower is the latest to come out of thatgamecompany - the creators of flow. I had expected a nearly meditative experience of color, music and ambiance of the sounds of nature.

Shortest way to say this is, yes. It is simple and yet complex when you try to understand what it does to you - which the following is trying to capture in some way.

The Playstation Blog announced its Spring Fever, and I can understand how they hatched that idea. Since gameplay revolves around soaring over gray, saddened fields, resurrecting them a bit each time your petals touch the budding flowers - the impression of spring time overtaking the winter is tangible to say the least.

There is nothing special about the mechanics of the game itself but it rather boils down to emotional response it gives you. My illustration of the coming of spring gives you a sense of satisfaction each time a gray field explodes into a vibrant and lively green. And as there is nothing apart from the grass, the blowers, the sky and the soothing music you don't get distracted. Instead, the experience is reflective and you get absorb how well the illusion delivers.

To stop blowing wind, and just spiral upwards over the hills and into the brighter sunlight grants you dream like sensation.

The "game" is, as far as I am able to discern, a reflective, nearly meditative pause from the surrounding world. No objective apart from gilding from budding flower to budding flower. No distractions. There is no over-emphasis as such, apart from the petal thing, so instead aesthetics and interaction melts into one.

It is hard to describe and give impressions to a game that relies only on your own overall emotional response and reflection on whether you like it or not as you play it. There is not reduction into parts were you still can usefully analyze it.

Since it cost me 70 SEK, which is your $9.99 (I think), I see no reason why not to spend some time and explore the game yourself. It should in any case be much more useful then these lines of texts.