When Wool released on Xbox Live Indie Games this week I tried out the demo right away because the art looks really nice and I like action puzzle games.  In the game you play as a sheep dog who is responsible for corralling the sheep in the level safely.  There are white sheep, black sheep and some obstacles like water to take into consideration.  The goal is to herd a set number of sheep as quickly as possible to get the highest score.  To do this you can bark, walk or sprint. Each of these will get the sheep to move in different ways. Wool game has single player as well as 4 player local co-op and verses matches.

After playing through the demo, twice, I remembered a game called FLOCK! that released last April on Xbox Live Arcade. It is a similar style of game but where you play as an alien trying to abduct the farm animals. At the time I was really disappointed with FLOCK! because, while it has great graphics, the controls are very sloppy and loose.

Wool’s controls are smooth and work great, and while it is a similar game play concept, I find it to be a much better game. FLOCK! has two player co-op but no verses modes.  Really, there are only a few thing that FLOCK! has over Wool. First, is that it has 50 levels and Wool has 30.  Second, Wool does not have any achievements being an Indie Game.  Finally, Wool does not support co-op or verses over Xbox Live.

Yet, Flock costs $15 and Wool is just $1. Even ignoring that price difference I think Wool is a better game.  I have so much more fun playing it, and while achievements and Live co-op would be nice it is hard to fault them for that when you’re only paying a dollar.

I’m including trailers for both games below so you can see them in action.

Wool Trailer

FLOCK! Trailer