Review of The Flock

An unusual online game about the mystical artifacts, fear and intraspecific competition

In online action The Flock is a very unusual trend. It is generally difficult to determine in a particular sub-genre. It is not defmatch, but not a team game in the full sense of the term, although there are elements and that, and another. Technically, the game two categories of characters. On one side of the barricades - carrier. This puny humanoid, clutching a mysterious artifact, exuding divine light. His task - to find at the level of the subject with the simple title "Purpose" and activate it with the artifact.
But this will not be easy, because the Media are constantly hunted by other players who play for the flock, a group of creepy gargoyles, very fast and equipped with long, sharp claws. They are more and they are much stronger than his opponent in open battle, but their weak side - vulnerable to light artifacts and disunity. The congregation - not a single flock, and several independent predators, each with one goal: to steal the artifact, killing its current owner, in turn due to this new medium and to score as many points by activating the goal.

Where did the artifact and why flock hunt for him is unknown, but it even adds mystery game

To win in this competition may be just one player, and more numerous, at first glance, monsters, really just competing with each other, except without killing each other. This dictates a completely new tactic requires both courage, resourcefulness and prudence. Important is not only to get the artifact, but also make it in time. Because of this, some players refused to even in the early rounds immediately missed the infamous mystic lamp, providing the first move to make more desperate applicants.
Well, and then the hunt begins. Gargoyle is sufficient for only a few moments to get to the beam artifact to die, but stopping members Flock kameneyut and become invulnerable. Therefore, the pursuit in The Flock is often quickly followed by periods of intense activity and inactivity. Climbing higher, your monster notices distant glow of the artifact. He moves. Someone had found a treasure, and now hunted and balls looking around at shadows, looking for the goal. Trying to stay in the top tier, and are constantly jumping from one boulder to the dilapidated roof, and from there - to some new boulder, you follow the bearer, quickly closing the distance. It has been seen in the darkness, and he himself: a small, fragile, haunted.

Monsters are strong and fast, but are afraid of direct light and literally burned alive, if the media will have time to catch them while driving beam

The goal is close, and you try to get close to the final throw. Humanoid with a mystical lantern notices you and goes straight into the eyes gargoyle dazzling beam. You instantly stop, turning to stone, impervious to light deadly. At this time, on the other hand one selected from your competition. Alternately diverting the attention of the victim, you pick up closer and closer. Who attacked first? The second gargoyle can not stand before and rushes to the media. He does not have time time to turn around and falls down dead.
The artifact goes to a competitor, but after half a second, you pounce on it. The rest of the monster is too far away to catch the scene before you activate the goal. On your score falls tidy sum bonus points, but you have no time even to enjoy this moment, because now you do - sacrifice. A small, defenseless and very awkward, is not able to even jump. And now you need to be nervous, look around, sweating and twitching from sudden rustles. The Flock gives rise to a lot of highlights, and it is its main strength. Your role is constantly changing, you then turn into a ruthless and dangerous predator, you become miserable nonentity, whose only salvation - a lantern in his hand.
Maps in the game are very few, only three, but almost everyone has features that seriously change the gameplay. On one of them the action takes place in a huge cave, the bottom of which is lost somewhere far down in the fog, and the characters are forced to huddle in a relatively small islands. Step left, step right, one failed attack, and well thought-out roll is converted into flight toward death. Other razgorozhena gates that can be raised and lowered by means of special buttons, hidden nearby.

Aerobatics - hide among the statues, which is dotted with one of the cards, pretending monument

But the most unusual in The Flock is that it, unlike other online games, will be ending. The game has a global counter "lives" (at the start, there were about 250 million, of which at the time of preparation of the article had already spent 40 million). Every death takes away one notch, and when the counter reaches zero, a burst that is common to all users, the final, in which they can participate. After this, according to developers, The Flock servers will be turned off and play it can no longer ever.
According to them, it is necessary to maintain a stable interest in the game for a long time. Having started playing, they hope the fans will want to at least wait for the principle of the finals, to see how the matter. The idea of ​​the original, but what of it will turn out and whether the ending worthy of the expectations, to predict, alas, is impossible. Especially that the very concept of the game has made it vulnerable to griefers. In today's Internet could find enough people who will make his mission as quickly as possible to drain the supply of "lives" designated community The Flock.

Cave - the most treacherous card. The congregation then need to constantly look at his feet, so as not to collapse into the abyss

The game is also subject to occasional bouts of instability. For example, you connect to the server and discover that your character does not move. But what happens is, thankfully, rare.
The Flock is not enough and some smoothness in animation, and in general - quality graphics and visual design is quite low. This is compensated by the general atmospheric and the fact that the constant mist still did not really make out. But could the same game to make much prettier.

Genre horror multiplayer lately gaining popularity on Steam. The quality of these games are different, but The Flock - certainly one of the best. It has its problems, but it saves the unusual gameplay and tense atmosphere. Play as one of the members of the monstrous Flock - one of the best multiplayer experiences in recent months.