{Review} Super Flora Fighter

"Super Flora Fighter" by Corey

"Super Flora Fighter" reminds me of "Call of Duty" in some ways. If that statement is not getting me any clicks, I don't know what will.

Story
Two clans of trees, the McBlues and the O'Purples fell afoul of each other, locked in a struggle of arboreal dominance for all eternity. Posterity does not know who first used defoliation bombs, but now the land is barren. Look what your wrath hath wrought.
But... can it be? Is it possible?
Two acorns, miniscule but full of potential have survived in the ground, ready to burst forth and establish their clan's dominance once and for all. They are the last tree gladiators, the Super Flora Fighters!
Aaand I just made up that entire story, because there is no backstory I found. You are an acorn, now do what acorns do and grow!

Mechanics
Your acorn can basically extend branches and roots of a certain length. Using WASD or the arrow keys, you choose the angle and the length, then press space or LMB and watch the growth. At the end, a node will form, from which you can extend new branches and roots etc.
Growing into one of the reservoirs in the ground will grant you a higher rate of water collection. Water is the currency for your plant. Each branch and root will cost you. Branches on the other hand give you solar energy to... I think that's just for stockpiling. The game says that growth is helped by resource reserves so that is probably it.
My "Call of Duty" comparison is due to the fact that single-player has less meat on its bones than a "The Afterlife's Next Topmodel" competition, held by bored skeletons at an unfashionable graveyard after two in the morning. The game says that it's training for the multiplayer, which is played in a splitscreen. Not having a lot of people around me right now I could call to come over and play an indie game with me, I can't speak to the joys of the multiplayer. It may dispense the most enjoyable experience since man first picked up a controller to humiliate his fellow man with digital punishment and clever insults. It could maybe work in a "Mount Your Friends" kind of way, but I don't know how much long-term appeal I would find in it or when a round would end. The single-player seemed happy enough to let me grow my plant into geometrical shapes above ground and an unstructured mess below the grass, and not give me an ending before I decided on my own that I had seen enough.
Neither can I say whether the two perks you pick at the beginning (e. g. faster root growth, faster sun collection...) are well-balanced or not.

Presentation
My first impression came in the form of a very chippy tune blaring from my speakers, but I got used to it quickly. Same goes for the graphics - they do their job and you can identify all the party of your tree at a glance.
I may be critical of some mechanics and the replay value, but the game embraces the theme of the contest. I think gaming's greatest strength is to put you in the shoes of another person, creature or concept and to let you make the decisions from there (see "Crusader Kings II" for medieval rulers, "This War Of Mine" for war survivors, "Democracy 3" for politicians and "Monster Loves You" for... well, monsters). In this case, you make decisions the same way a tree would. Where do I have to go to find water? Do I have enough to expand?
Sadly, this is a rather thin layer of decision making. Expand now or expand later seems to be the most important decision and the game does not tell you how much your plan is going to cost you. All you get is a voice saying "Insufficient water" should your tree be malnourished.

On the whole...
I would have liked to see the game make more of its promising concepts. The feeling of growth and creating a root network tickled my fancy, but the expansion above ground and the seemingly aimless gameplay left me disappointed. "Super Flora Fighter" could be fun if it embraces its theme a bit more, maybe adds some additional upgrades to be bought with sun points and brushes up on its presentation.
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Link: http://contest.gamedevfort.com/submission/403#.VdiOmvntlBc

Dev: Corey

Time Played: 15 minutes

Got My Vote? No, but I hope it gets a bit more development in the future. There is the seed of an interesting game there. Come on, did you really think I would let that pun get away?