S&S; Indie Review: Sunflowers

Title: Sunflowers
Format: PS Vita
Release Date: October 9, 2012
Developer: The Game Atelier
Price: $3.99
ESRB Rating: E

Anyone that wants a nice change of pace from the gory first person shooters and overrun zombie-infested cities, you should definitely check out Sunflowers.  
Presentation, and Core Gameplay:
The presentation of Sunflowers is what caught my eye, and will most likely catch the attention of others as well.  Seeing how this is the team behind The Flying Hamster, you can expect a genuine and eccentric visual style.  This game is definitely charming.  There are tons of bright and vibrant colors, mixed in with a lot of tropical themes. The flowers, clouds and the sun all have these cutesy expressions on their faces.  This is definitely the stand out of the game's simple package.  The gameplay is vey simplistic as well, making it easily accessible for any player.  The game makes use of the Vita's tall portrait view, and it's full touchscreen capabilities.  You'll never use any of the face buttons for the game.  Even if the game doesn't use the actual physical buttons on the Vita, this doesn't make the game simpler.  In Sunflowers, you'll be controlling the always cheerful sun.  You have the ability to beam down powerful rays of light. Your goal is to  target the growing seedlings, but seeing how your rays are too powerful, you'll need to pass your rays through passing clouds to create jovial rain drops that will help grow your seeds into full blossomed flowers.  If you miss your target, or hit a vicious storm cloud, your precious florets will be set ablaze.  Thats the simple nature of the game, but as you progress through the levels, the difficulty progresses right along with you.  New obstacles will arise, like blistering winds and irritating leaves that you have to get rid of by shaking your Vita.  The game is perfect for short bursts rather than hour long gaming sessions staring at your screen.  Since you only have three lives, this adds to the game's overall challenge.  There are over 300 types of flowers to collect, with the more rare types appearing on the harder levels.  You can also share flowers through the Vita's Near function, if anyone is around you.  The very act of collecting each flower adds longevity to the game.  
Final Thoughts:
There isn't much else to the game, finishing levels and collecting different types of flowers it what you get.  The gorgeous presentation looks beautiful on the Vita, each adorably drawn sun, cloud, and blossom adds to the games joyful personality.  If you're looking for a fun Vita title, Sunflower is worthy of your $4 bucks.   S&S Rating: 7.5/10 @whatsPlay