By John Walker on January 8th, 2009 at 11:40 pm.
Capcom are so predictable! If it’s not a game about a young lawyer solving murder mysteries with the power of his glowing necklace and dead boss possessing the body of a 15 year old girl, it’s a game about herding sheep with a UFO. Just typical. The latter is Flock, a completely barking mad-looking puzzle game that… well, I couldn’t have summed it up better: it’s herding sheep with a UFO.
Announced last summer at E3 for PC and the console download services, there’s finally a new trailer released for CES 09. Things are still oddly quiet on Capcom’s own site, either US or Europe. It goes unmentioned. But if you dig deep enough you’ll find it on Capcom Digital, which looks as though it was made in 1997. Anyway, more details there.
Have a look at the trailer. It looks gorgeous:
The aim is to gather various animals in your mothership, the game apparently using “a sophisticated physics engine that drives the challenging puzzle elements of the game.” That seems like it might be a slight exaggeration, but still, I think it looks rather lovely. It’s going to allow co-op play, which is basically the future of puzzle games now, right? And will come bundled with a level editor.
It’s being made by Dundee company, Proper Games. (Their website shows off the recent batch of screenshots.) Among their ranks are some industry vets, and they state their intent is to create downloadable games that bring us “the old school arcade values we all grew up loving.” Splendid stuff.
A demo was released last December on the PlayStation Network, which is naff all use for us, but at least we know that it’s with us soon. Oh, and it has its own Facebook page. And that’s all the Flock news I have.
08/01/2009 at 23:51 Pidesco says:
I’m just loving Capcom more and more.
08/01/2009 at 23:55 Wildbluesun says:
SHEEP.
Did anyone else play that game way back when? It was amazing, I loved it, it actually defined gaming for me for a long time.
Y’know? Pick a herder and herd sheep through the most insane, tripped-out levels ever? Henchmen cows? An evil pear? Start with the farm and go to the nightclub, via the space station and chocolate factory?
*cough*
That was for the PS1, so says Wikipedia. This looks a bit like a remake/resurrection. And therefore I WANT IT.
08/01/2009 at 23:59 Nitre says:
Ooh, this game tickles my fancy, i must say.
09/01/2009 at 00:02 Bhazor says:
It seems to feature you herding “Dougal from the magic Round about”s. So that’s nice.
But I was burnt by the infuriating demo to Sheep so I’ll remain cautious.
09/01/2009 at 00:11 Flappybat says:
Now that’s different. And awesome.
09/01/2009 at 00:23 Dr_demento says:
I remember Sheep, Wildbluesun. It was…. strange.
09/01/2009 at 00:31 Doctor Sampa says:
Ufo with sheep ?
Where I saw that before ?
Oh yes, TANKTICS.
09/01/2009 at 00:37 noexes says:
“‘a sophisticated physics engine that drives the challenging puzzle elements of the game.’ That seems like it might be a slight exaggeration, but still, I think it looks rather lovely.”
Oh come on, it looks sophisticated enough to allow the gameplay to work right, which is al that matters.
09/01/2009 at 00:39 Cycle says:
It also looks similar to Crop Circles, an arcade game released on the PC and Mac back in 1998 (over ten years ago, now… thanks for making me feel old, game).
http://www.mobygames.com/game/crop-circles-escape-from-planet-3
09/01/2009 at 00:45 Kua says:
This is pressing all my pleasure buttons.
09/01/2009 at 00:53 Tonamel says:
Sheep was awesome! Granted, it was insanely difficult, so I don’t think I ever got more than halfway through it, but it was really fun. Dripping with personality.
This looks like a worthwhile update, so I’ll have to keep an eye on it.
09/01/2009 at 00:54 Radiant says:
Hahaha that slight pause as the ufo realises it has driven the sheep off the cliff.
When is it out?
09/01/2009 at 01:04 Yann Best says:
Doctor Sampa:
That was my very first thought on seeing the screenshot – it’s Tanktics + Sheep! It’s as though late-90′s PC game development never stopped <3
09/01/2009 at 01:36 Nero says:
Yep, this look pretty lovely.
09/01/2009 at 01:39 Tim says:
I hope they release it as a digital download. It looks fun.
09/01/2009 at 02:20 Down Rodeo says:
Wildbluesun: I know it, too. It was very tough, but the music was genius. My sister has become interested in retro type games (I bought her a PS1 for her birthday) so I think I might try to get a hold of that. Hell there will likely be loads on Amazon.
09/01/2009 at 03:33 Mo says:
Yep, I played Sheep on PC when it came out … brilliant game! Flock looks like it’ll succeed Sheep quite nicely.
Also, “Proper Games” is an awesome name … why has no Brit developer used this before? :)
09/01/2009 at 04:00 Benjamin Finkel says:
That was a lovely synopsis of Phoenix Wright in the second sentence. I’ll have to keep that one in mind, for convincing friends and strangers to play.
Ben
09/01/2009 at 04:13 Caiman says:
Instant purchase. I’ll probably get it on Live Arcade though because of the co-op.
09/01/2009 at 04:44 Thomas Lawrence says:
@Doctor Sampa: Man, I thought I’d be the only person to remember Tanktics.
09/01/2009 at 05:36 Phil H says:
Being a silly Qore subscriber, I got the Flock demo last month on my pee-ess-three, quite a bit of fun to be had, lots of love in the small details.
09/01/2009 at 06:49 c-Row says:
That trailer gave me the first grin of the day. Well done!
09/01/2009 at 07:40 Wildbluesun says:
I remember finding Sheep annoyingly challenging too…
Until I found the difficulty settings.
You could get it to only 5 sheep to complete the level, meaning you could do a few just by carrying the sheep past everything. O’ course, if you were a true addict you then went back and did it again, so as to beat all your cousins’ high scores.
Ahhhhh good times. Four pre-pubescent relatives happily having half-hour turns on Sheep.
09/01/2009 at 08:44 Naurgul says:
Hey, I remember Sheep too! I also remember liking it; granted, my opinions from back then are not considered very high quality material by my current self. Anyway, I don’t remember the game being hard but I was probably one of the lucky folks who discovered the difficulty settings.
As far as Flock goes, I can’t say I’m really impressed. It reminds me of Look out Mr Johnson!, only it’s top-down and with swarms. Still, I’d love it if RPS gave us updates on this one, since it may result in me changing my mind.
09/01/2009 at 09:16 Bobsy says:
Sheep! Class act.
Also, anyone recall “Sheep, Dog ‘n’ Wolf”?
FLOCK IS JUST A SDW CLONE LOLOL
09/01/2009 at 09:54 Pod says:
This looks ace.
also: SDW was really good fun too. Conclusion? Sheep in games makes games better games. games.
09/01/2009 at 10:22 Feet says:
I owned Sheep! It was like lemmings. I thought it was pretty pants. ¬_¬
09/01/2009 at 10:27 Heliocentric says:
another Capcom game “age of booty” is due to come out on impulse sharpish as the stated release date is the 31 of December 2008. Now to find out if its a pirate game or a hip hop video game. $9.99 (aka £6.56)is a pretty tidy price too.
09/01/2009 at 11:19 Bobsy says:
Mmmm. Sheep, Dog ‘n’ Wolf pretty much sank without a trace but I remember it being of decent stock, despite the godawful name. It was set in the Warner Brothers cartoon “universe” which meant rubbing cel-shaded shoulders with Daffy Duck, Bugs Bunny and the like.
EDIT: Whoa Nelly! It appears I was remembering SDW completely wrong. Man, do I ever feel stupid. Plus, the edit system broke my post. Crivens!
09/01/2009 at 11:23 SuperNashwan says:
Looks like something I’d have played off an Amiga Power coverdisk catapulted into the future. This is a good thing.
09/01/2009 at 11:25 Bassem B. says:
I’d get it just for seeing and hearing those sheep bounce around. Also, penis crop circles.
09/01/2009 at 11:27 manintheshack says:
All I can say is you missed a trick not using ‘Like lambs to the saucer‘ as the post title…
09/01/2009 at 11:27 Bobsy says:
Oh to hell with it. Comment editing killed my family!
EDIT: Oh, NOW you want to work? You’re just being spiteful, edit button. SPITEFUL.
09/01/2009 at 11:41 Ian says:
I think I saw about this a while back, either in PC Gamer or on one of the inferior gaming sites I visit.
Either way, it looks finger-giggling-good.
….
Or something.
09/01/2009 at 12:07 roBurky says:
That looks amazing.
09/01/2009 at 12:17 Rei Onryou says:
The Sheep dying made me sad. Then their Angel ghosts floated up and I laughed. SOLD!
09/01/2009 at 12:21 Jerricho says:
*GLEE*
09/01/2009 at 12:21 Colthor says:
That looks a laugh :)
09/01/2009 at 12:33 Tei says:
I aprove this game.
Everyone involved get bonus points for this.
09/01/2009 at 13:24 Down Rodeo says:
manintheshack: That’s brilliant. Sorry, RPS, but you have been out-punned.
(I remember Tanktics too! Good times).
09/01/2009 at 13:24 Diogo Ribeiro says:
A chance to go “BAAH!” without feeling like you’re part of some herd mentality gone wrong? Yes, please.
My trust in Capcom seems to have been a good bet :)
09/01/2009 at 13:25 Stenl says:
I also thought of Tanktics when I saw the screenshots, which I have never played, yet it left quite an impact on me, because Tanktics was the very first video game review in a magazine that I ever read.
09/01/2009 at 14:49 David says:
That looks joyous.
09/01/2009 at 15:05 Radiant says:
@heliocentric
And thank you for making me google “Age of Booty”.
But I admit it was all me who then clicked on image search.
09/01/2009 at 15:11 Scandalon says:
Am I the only one concerned by all the, uh, “love” expressed here for any games involving sheep? I thought this here was an English-ish website, not a Scottish one. ;)
09/01/2009 at 15:14 manintheshack says:
@Scandalon: I think you’re confusing stereotypes, but in any case, who doesn’t love sheep?!
09/01/2009 at 18:57 Bremze says:
Sheep are awesome and have made every game that has them better. Getting all 10 sheep for the farmer in Black and White was so worth it!
09/01/2009 at 18:59 Bremze says:
Also I got a “Sheep Placenta On Sale” ad by google shown on this page. What.
09/01/2009 at 21:44 Smurfy says:
AWESOME
Hope it’s on Steam. Steam is a safe haven for weird, creative, original games like this one. They get eaten up. Unless they’re godawful.
09/01/2009 at 22:31 jonfitt says:
Looks like fun. Which is better than some.
10/01/2009 at 16:35 Ian Kiigan says:
Nice to see I am not the only one who remembers Tanktics!
And yeah Flock looks like fun.
10/01/2009 at 21:21 Diziet says:
Why can I not find a demo of a game called Flock on PSN, only the rather lackluster but amusing at the time PS1 game Sheep? Or am I being blind?
10/01/2009 at 22:54 Diziet says:
To answer my own comment, the Flock demo on PSN is a Qore exclusive which is some paid for PSN magazine in the US not available to us brits. Wikipedia, as ever, has an article on Qore. Think I’ll stick with XBox Live paid for as at least with that you know what you’re getting.
18/05/2010 at 22:13 Dark-Star says:
LOL, immediately thought of Tanktics. Fun game…wish they’d release a level editor for it.