- Joined
- Jul 3, 1997
- Messages
- 7,061
A couple of months ago I came across BRAID for the XBox360 (Xbox Live Arcade) in its demo format. I downloaded it, played with it a bit and then moved on to other things. Then the usual end-of-year Gaming Awards started appearing recently and this little title ($15 on XBLA for the full version) started showing up on many "best of" lists. I was a bit surprised because while "cute" it hadn't really drawn me in the first time around with the Demo.
Out of curiosity I downlloaded the full version of this game and....
AMAZING!
Perhaps not the most graphic intensive game ever created (although it does have an artistic charm of its own), nor the most vast game universe ever created (although there's more than meets the eye!) but BRAID is possibly the most inventive game ever created, all things considered. While it borrows heavily from other games (and pays homage to Super Mario, et. al.) this game is defintely more than just the sum of its parts. It is positively ingenious. Parts are very easy and parts are quite challenging. And it does something with time travel that is not only inherent to the completion of the task but is realized better than any previous attempt in my opinion.
So if you passed on this (or as I did, glossed over it the first time) do yourself a favor and check it out. If you get frustrated by its unorthodox approach to game play avail yourself of one of the many walkthroughs on line (a nice concise one - although it doesn't cover everything is here). The "official" BRAID web site pleads with you not to use a walkthrough and that's probably fine for you young turks, but old farts like myself use it to get through the day.
Seriously, in a year with SO many great titles on so many platforms BRAID is an amazing surprise against such formidable competition. It is so worth the $15 admission fee that it's almost a no-brainer. A real gem. 10 out of 10.
Out of curiosity I downlloaded the full version of this game and....
AMAZING!
Perhaps not the most graphic intensive game ever created (although it does have an artistic charm of its own), nor the most vast game universe ever created (although there's more than meets the eye!) but BRAID is possibly the most inventive game ever created, all things considered. While it borrows heavily from other games (and pays homage to Super Mario, et. al.) this game is defintely more than just the sum of its parts. It is positively ingenious. Parts are very easy and parts are quite challenging. And it does something with time travel that is not only inherent to the completion of the task but is realized better than any previous attempt in my opinion.
So if you passed on this (or as I did, glossed over it the first time) do yourself a favor and check it out. If you get frustrated by its unorthodox approach to game play avail yourself of one of the many walkthroughs on line (a nice concise one - although it doesn't cover everything is here). The "official" BRAID web site pleads with you not to use a walkthrough and that's probably fine for you young turks, but old farts like myself use it to get through the day.
Seriously, in a year with SO many great titles on so many platforms BRAID is an amazing surprise against such formidable competition. It is so worth the $15 admission fee that it's almost a no-brainer. A real gem. 10 out of 10.
