There
is an ongoing (it would seem) discussion in popular culture regarding
video games. Can they be considered art? It is a fairly tedious
discussion of which I will save you all the trouble by stating the
answer. Yes, yes they can. If dancing, poetry and, especially, movies
are considered art then video games must be too. Of course some
games, like movies, are more arty than others. It's A Wonderful Life
would probably be considered to have more artistic merit than, say,
Bad Boys 2. And a game like The Unfinished Swan will certainly
convince a lot more people of gaming's contribution to cultured media
than Saints Row The Third. Indeed any game that starts off with a
blank (read – completely white) screen with no clue as to what to
do, clearly slides itself into the art game camp, as well as showing
some serious balls too. It only takes a few seconds of tapping the
various buttons until you locate the 'fire' button and a black ball
arcs from your cross-hair. It makes contact with a surface and with a
messy splatter, covers the area with black paint. It then clicks that
you must reveal the world around you using this paint, identifying
the walls, pathways and objects in the world around you. Welcome to
The Unfinished Swan.
I swear, modern graffiti is getting less creative. Somebody get a mop
This
game tells the story of a young boy named Monroe. Monroe has lost his
mother to the vice like grip of Death itself, and is now being
relocated to an orphanage. Being the sensitive types they only allow
him to keep one of his mother's many unfinished paintings. It is
unclear why his dear old mum was unable to complete a single
painting, maybe she had Alzheimer's, or a very short attention span.
Anyway, he chooses.. wait for it.. The Unfinished Swan. Suddenly the
swan comes to life, half missing neck and all, and disappears through
a magical door. Having nothing better to do than face the inevitable
abuse waiting for him in the orphanage, Monroe decides to follow
suit, and enters the doorway. The rest of the story involves a
child's story tale, told by a, rather naff, female narrator and
concerns the exploits of a lonely king and the kingdom he once ruled.
The story is pretty straightforward and child-like, but keeps you
engaged throughout its short duration. As well as the narrator, story
boards can be located by hitting them with paint, revealing a page
from the book which is read to you in the manner of an over
protective mother reading to a 2 year old.
It's time to fire the gardener. The Unfinished Swan's kingdom
is covered in these climbable vines
So
you begin, throwing projectiles with reckless abandon, and
splattering everything around you with black paint. Walls, fences,
statues, frogs, tables and staircases, nothing is safe from your
black fluid. Pretty soon the once invisible world begins to resemble
the beaches near the epicentre of the BP oil spill. The effect is
captivating, with the landscape taking shape before your very eyes.
Just turning around to see where you have come from, and where you
have painted is visually very impressive. Everywhere you look could
be taken as a screen-shot and hung on your wall, such is the artistic
nature of the game. Of course, the whole game is not just this black
on white scenario, that would be stretching it too far. No, after the
first stage, shadows and definition are added, making the world a
much easier place to navigate. Before long other colours are added
such as blue water and golden footprints. These footprints mark the
way should you get lost, though it is actually quite hard to do so as
the levels are fairly linear. The titular swan pops up occasionally
to quack encouragement and let you know where you are supposed to be
gong.
Getting your hose out in public is encouraged in The Unfinished Swan
Also
adding colour to the environment are balloons on strings,. These vary
in colour, sometimes even invisible until hit with paint, and are The
Unfinished Swan's collectable items. Each level has a set amount to
find and accumulating them works like currency of sorts, allowing you
to buy items such as concept art and a water hose from the menu
screen's shop. Many of these are unlocked once you finish the game
anyway, rendering them pretty pointless, but it's a nice addition
none-the-less.
The
issue is that it doesn't feel very cohesive. One minute you are
throwing black paint around an invisible world, another hurling water
balloons at plant life. Later you will be moving light balls through
a dark forest and even throwing down two points to create 3d objects.
Each of these parts are certainly inventive and engaging, but they
are also short and not well joined. It often feels as though each
chapter was created by developers independently of one another and
put together to make a whole game. Movement in the
world also feels slightly ungainly, especially when you begin scaling
walls via the vines. It feels as if you are controlling a camera
rather than a solid character in the game world, adding an unwelcome
level of detachment. Monroe also moves incredibly slowly, meaning it
takes forever to walk short distances, though I think if he moved at
the speed of the protagonist in games like Quake or Doom, you would
probably be able to finish the game in under an hour. The puzzles on
offer here are not very challenging either, merely consisting of
hitting a few red switches or following some vines to reach a high
place. There is nothing in the entire game to make you stop and
scratch your head.
The world looks even more amazing when more colour is used
The
main problem with The Unfinished Swan is its length, or lack thereof.
I finished the game in about 2 hours. It is also a one trick pony, as
I came back to the game the following day in order to locate the
hidden balloons I had missed, and the magic had gone. I may come back
to it again one day in the future, maybe to show my future
grandchilden what 'crazy' games we got back in the day, while they
play Holographic Call of Duty 19. But I certainly have no burning
desire to play it again any time soon.
While
I applaud both the developers and Sony for trying something
different, The Unfinished Swan cannot escape the fact that it is a
short experience rich in artistic merit and experimentation, but
lacking any deep gameplay, challenge, or variety. It is certainly a
pleasant journey while it lasts, and the opening chapter is highly
original and daring. Unfortunately the game slips into standard first
person puzzles that have been done before and to a much higher
standard. At a lower price it would be worth buying just to see what
indie games can offer over the more commercial titles, but at the
higher end of the PSN price range (£9.99 / $15) you have to
seriously ask whether 2 hours of gameplay can justify this. I would,
unfortunately, have to say no.
After 2 decades of waiting, A sequel to Duck Hunt finally arrives
The
Unfinished Swan is a curious experiment in game design that initially
impresses, only to lose its way over the short duration. It's a nice
way to spend a couple of hours, but it is nowhere near as inventive
or magical as some would have you believe. Stick with the far more
engaging world offered in ThatGameCompany's epic 'Journey', or if you
fancy some head scratching first person puzzles, look no further than
the two Portal games. I am afraid I am too old for bed time stories.
The
Good
- Genuinely captivating opening chapter
- Crisp and minimal graphics with excellent paint effects
- Reasonable engaging while it lasts
The
Bad
- The story is wafer thin and the narrator is slightly irritating
- The other mechanics are nowhere near as memorable
- Very, very short
- Absolutely zero replay factor
- Expensive for what boils down to an extended tech demo
Developer
: Giant Sparrow
Available
On : PS3
Price
: £9.99
