Clouds & Sheep (Android)

Device: Samsung Sidekick 4G

 

Quick Glance

Have your CV's ready for updating because Clouds & Sheep will have you taking on the roles of multiple occupations. Doctor, weatherman and even cupid are just a few of the titles you will self-proclaim whilst taking care of a very emotional herd of sheep. This review will see if its clear skies or, a lot of dark clouds up ahead for this android title.

Released onto the market during mid-summer, Clouds & Sheep burst onto the scene at a perfect time to display its vibrant and playful artwork. Handy Games aims to have the player reaching for the stars (literally) in an attempt to find a new feel for farming games across the market.

Background

Backed with a total of 22 games under their belt, will this game be the 'black sheep' stand out from the competition or, will this bundle of wool simply muddle in with the rest?

Design

Starting the game I was taken through a rather lengthy tutorial which failed to offer a skip button. It was surprising considering that the general tutorial content can be viewed before the start of the game by clicking on the help button located on the Main Menu. Nevertheless now that I was a whiz kid in sheep care 101 it was time to get stuck in and manage my very own herd.

Stationed in the centre of the screen is your very own patch of land where your emotionally crazy sheep may graze, sleep, play, fall in love, introduce new-borns, fall ill and possibly die. It is also on this part of land sign posts, animated with red exclamation marks, located at the bottom of the screen appear to issue tasks.

 

Clouds & Sheep adopts a 'baby-step' approach when it comes to assigning tasks. This means with no difficulty setting, the game delivers easy challenges to begin with then slowly increases to a challenging level.

 

I believe this has been done to ease players into the game and keep them constantly feeling a sense of achievement when accomplishing a challenge. However, users seeking an instant challenge may not feel fully content with the wool on offer.

 

Completing tasks will generate stars, once enough have been collected they can be used to purchase items from the in-game shop. Another way in which to grab some stars is to ensure that your individual sheep are happy. Sound easy? It would be if you didn't have to play as a psychiatrist! These emotionally crazy sheep will have you catering to their every need to ensure there is a smile of their face.

 

By incorporating an element of emotions it gives the game a stand out factor to its competition. I spent a good amount of time trying to find a balance for maintaining a happy herd. Nevertheless when all else fails I was able to throw my sheep up in the sky a number of times which will put a smile back on their faces. Comical at first but can feel repetitive when you constantly see the same distress calls coming from the herd.

 

By incorporating two different types of sheep it gives the game an edge. When a heart floats up and hits a white cloud a normal sheep is born. However, if the heart hits a thunder cloud then a black sheep is born and has the ability to let off bursts of lightning harming all the beloved sheep around it.

 

This feature of new-born creation enjoyment was countered by frustration. There were numerous occasions when a perfectly still cloud would suddenly move towards the heart in the sky. Now to have a mass of normal sheep is one thing, but when this happens and causes multiple lightning sheep to be created, then just like the sheep my emotions fell.

 

With a shopping option I was able to enhance my level of play time with the sheep and the customization of the patch of land. The feature that I found the best was the ability to brand your sheep giving them names. I used this to name just one or two of my sheep and it can give a more personal feel for the game besides, wasn't a baby lamb on your list as a pet for Christmas?

 

Gameplay

The game relies on the cloud system to ensure that the sheep stay warm, water the ground to allow grass to grow, create puddles for the sheep to drink or, if in a thunder cloud ignite a camp fire. The feature works well allowing me to group multiple clouds together to form a rain cloud simply by dragging them close.

 

Unfortunately this didn't always work so well having me swiping at the screen constantly until the game recognised two clouds together and merged them. Alternatively the clouds are able to be separated by holding your finger on top and moving left to right.

 

With the seemingly never ending requests for food and drink from the herd, it was nice to know that if I needed a few extra clouds I could simply use the sheers from the shop, tap on a sheep and watch their wool float into the sky to form a cloud.

 

The life cycle of the sheep is one out of the norm but is definitely worth a mention. They are made from clouds, fall to the land and when they die they will then return to clouds in the sky. It’s a nice outlook on life allowing the game to be enjoyed by the younger audience.

 

One downfall was with the placement of some objects, after being placed on the floor they were unable to be moved. No matter how many times I tried to tap, hold and drag nothing was moving. This became a problem and unfortunately resulted in death for one sheep because it was stuck in a corner.

 

Luckily it was a branded sheep which meant that rather than forming a cloud a tomb stone is placed just outside my patch of land in respects. It also meant I was able to revive this particular sheep again increasing the bond factor a player could possibly have with a sheep.

 

My biggest upset however came from the over extended usage of advertisement. This unfortunately played a heavy role in making me put the game down and stop playing after a while. There was times where in the game it would countdown for the advert to appear on the screen. Other situations I clicked on the in-game shop to purchase some flower seeds and was then shown a VIDEO ADVERTISEMENT!

 

Presentation

I was pleased with the way that Clouds & Sheep had displayed the objects in the patch of land. With a subtle outline but a distinguishing border they are clear to see over colours that could possibly make it difficult. The entire game flows with regards to presentation, there are no sections which would make you think why is this here.

 

The music used is a joyful beat and had me humming along after just a few plays. The in-game sound effects play justice to the actions being performed, all is of a 'cartoony' nature and had me laughing and smiling when certain actions took place.

 

I liked the layout of the HUD system, it is very minimal and easy to understand allowing the main focus to stay situated on the sheep. The simple tap and use feature for the items selected from the shop played a role in making the game run at a steady pace. The animations used for either displaying sheepish affections or even simply motoring their mouths away at grass makes the game stand out to any other animal management game on the market.

 

Conclusion

Handy Games offers the option to either pay to remove adverts or a free way which will include you downloading another game. I understand that advertisements are a part of games these days, I am not disputing that, I just hope they reduce the amount they use.

 

Other than that it would be nice to see some other elements incorporated into the game that could possibly allow the player to take particular sheep out to complete one on one tasks such as jumping fences, bouncing on clouds etc just to break up the repetitive motion.

 

All in all this is a game that I found to be pleasing for a brief period but not something I could see myself hanging on to for the long run. It is better suited to people who perhaps want to relax and tap away after a long day at work with a cup of tea. As for more frequent gamers I would recommend a different animal management game that could offer a bit more of a challenge.

 

Game Rating 7.6

Design 8.0

Gameplay 6.6

Presentation 8.3