SupermanSam6:
I have seen a lot about the new dashboard and can't wait 'til it comes, but I've also heard that it might not be coming to the ...
OXM SAYS:
The Xbox 360's new Dashboard will be a worldwide launch, so no need to worry about it not reaching the UK. Altho...MORE
Ezilylost13 says:
"Why don't I like Fallout 3? I just am not getting into it. I'm about 4 hours in and I'm supposed to be looking for a radio station. I am taking my time, doing some exploring and really trying to enjoy it. While I'm playing though, all I can think about is wanting to play something else."
Posted on: Aug 06, 2008
Braid
WORDS BY: Cameron Lewis
The instant you enter this rich realm of undulating watercolor backgrounds and melancholy music, you know you’re in for something out of the ordinary. Instead of messing with menus, you immediately take control of Tim, a squat and fluidly animated redhead in a jacket and tie. Bound to a layered, two-dimensional, side-scrolling canvas, Tim vanquishes monsters by jumping on their heads while seeking to save his princess — but he’s considerably more powerful than Super Mario’s mustachioed plumber.
You’ll gather keys to open doors, bounce off critters to access high places, and collect 60 hard-to-reach puzzle pieces, but Braid’s bread and butter is time manipulation. You start out able to rewind mistakes by holding down the X button, and then each world introduces a peculiar wrinkle. World 4 ties the forward and reverse progress of time to your left and right movements, lending gameplay a fitting clockwork flavor. Rewinding in World 5 splits off a parallel universe of shadow, where your reversed course occurs concurrently with your new actions, allowing you to, among other things, leap about in two places at once. Many challenges are further compounded by glowing objects that possess special temporal properties.
Such ideas might tax your brain, but Braid’s simple controls make them intuitively accessible, and the game exploits the possibilities to deliver some of the most cunningly inventive and deeply satisfying videogame puzzles ever. Every time you achieve what initially seemed impossible, you’ll feel a rewarding tingle of intellectual accomplishment, and not once will you find yourself cheated by some misplaced test of dexterity. The boss battles don’t fit in terribly well with the bulk of play, and you’ll have to exit and re-enter levels to reset a couple of puzzles, but the only real obstacle to Braid’s pleasurable impact is a player short on patience or tenacity.
The story consists of a sometimes-opaque progression of words, images, and puzzles that seem laden with hidden meaning, but whether you find its lessons insightful or pretentious, there’s no denying that the memorable finale is a tour de force of mirrored causality and mercilessly tweaked perceptions. That it appears inside such an intricately crafted whole just cements Braid’s status as an absorbing triumph of thoughtful design. The only downside? Microsoft’s foolish decision to charge $15 instead of the usual $10. We understand why that’ll keep many of you away, and while it is too expensive, Braid is absolutely a game you shouldn’t miss.
On Xbox Live Arcade
- Challenging, fulfilling concepts and exceptional puzzles.
- Singular art direction and a fantastic finale.
- Boss battles seem out-of-place; some puzzles need to be reset.
- Can we fast-forward time to play the developer’s next game?
Mon, 09/29/2008 - 04:42
Posted by TheChump1989
this game is pretty awesome from what i saw on the trial. ima buy it for sure
Sat, 08/16/2008 - 01:33
Posted by jorid
this game is simply the best on XBLA, hands down. totally worth the $15, it puts everything else out there to shame. cannot wait for the next one!
Thu, 08/14/2008 - 05:10
Posted by Gogolor
RE PaulOXM: There is no actual soundtrack album, but if you go to this link all of the songs are listed. All are available from iTunes (where I got them) and probably elsewhere as well.
http://braid-game.com/news/?p=260
Wed, 08/13/2008 - 06:50
Posted by Kekkimaru
(http://s7.invisionfree.com/Slagbroder)
Am I the only person who started playing it and immedeatly thought- "..Why am I playing a next-gen version of Super Mario Bros.?", granted I only played a bit of the demo, but that's what it felt like.
Sat, 08/09/2008 - 20:37
Posted by Mitch OXM
I'm with Paul -- this game took a while to win me over but hot diggity damn this is a killer game.
Sat, 08/09/2008 - 18:17
Posted by deltaXkila
I played the trial. It. Was. EXCELLENT! You should've given it a 9.5!
My GamerTag is deltaXkila. I have too many friends on Xbox Live. I have no life.
Sat, 08/09/2008 - 07:32
Posted by Daze Of War
Well I just beat the game and I found it to be a very good game. It had some challenging puzzles with cool ways to unlock. I would say some of the best puzzles to ever use a time power. I enjoyed the story and hope that people buy and enjoy this game so that we can see more innovated games like this. I would give it an 8.5 losing points for no replay value after the speed runs and I wish it was longer but over all it was a great satisfying play.
Fri, 08/08/2008 - 20:11
Posted by badboy2323
very unique game! finally something different on xbla other than a classic game.be thankful were finally getting some original and unique games rather than rehashed classic games!kudos to this game! i give it an 8 out of 10!
Fri, 08/08/2008 - 01:51
Posted by Daze Of War
I guess he just doesn't recognize a good game. I do agree that it isn't worth the 1200msp but I still bought it cause we need more games like this on the marketplace. I have enjoyed the game so far and recommend people trying it out. I think some people just get pissed by the price point and think everything should be either free or only 400msp since it's an arcade game. Hell he doesn't even complain about the game as much as he complains about MS ripping him and everybody off. This is the one thing that bothers me about a lot of people. They complain about getting ripped by MS when they haven't even spent any money to get ripped off. People need to stop whining about it and be lucky they even get to play.
Thu, 08/07/2008 - 22:28
Posted by Paul OXM
Wow Abacab, you're nuts, to put it bluntly. This is game is gorgeous, the gameplay is creative and inventive, and the music is haunting. I honestly hope they put out a soundtrack.
Thu, 08/07/2008 - 08:46
Posted by ABACAB72
I've played the demo, and I have to say that this is probably the biggest piece of dreck that I've ever played on 360. The art is terrible, the gameplay is boring as hell. There's nothing really impressive to me about this game at all. Not to mention that M$ totally lied to everyone about the price of the game. I'm not going to spend my points on this game, and if any of you have a brain, you wont either. We need to let M$ that we don't want to be ripped off anymore, let alone on games that don't deserve the steep price points that they are giving them. This game isn't even worth 400 points.
Thu, 08/07/2008 - 04:38
Posted by Daze Of War
Well I purchased the game and so far have had some fun with it. I'm still not sure it's worth the 1200 points but I always like to help out the little guys. We could always use more talent in the gaming world.
Thu, 08/07/2008 - 04:21
Posted by bahama mama
Daze get it it may be shoret but its all about the experince.
Trust me youll love it!
Thu, 08/07/2008 - 01:30
Posted by Daze Of War
I tried a little of this before work but haven't decided if I want to get it or not. I realize it got a great score but there is no replay value after beat it once and then beat the speed run. I'm not worried about the price just length. I'll post later if I got it or not.
Wed, 08/06/2008 - 20:42
Posted by bahama mama
THE BEST GAME ON LIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
THAT AND MARATHON DURANDAL NO MATTER WHAT ANYBODY SAYS!