Wow. That's pretty much all I could think at the end of Braid, as I sat and thought about the game I had just finished. And that's pretty much summed up Braid in a single word. Wow.
But let's stop there a second and rewind, shall we? I avoided Braid initially because of the 1,200 point ($15 or for me £10.20) price tag. Several things caused me to change my mind. Firstly, I recently got a job and therefore have more money, and secondly, I haven't seen a game get so many positive reviews since Portal (a game I found vastly overrated, but that's another story). The point is, after the disappointing Mirror's Edge, I wanted to kick back and play something simpler and more enjoyable. Braid got one of those right.
The thing with Braid is, appearances can be deceiving. What starts off looking like a simple 2D platformer about a missing princess turns out to be all the more complicated due to various time mechanics employed throughout each world. The only real time power you have is the ability to rewind time, but in each world, there are various different ways of using it. For example, world 3 has glowing objects that are unaffected by the passage of time in either direction, and world 4's time flow is controlled by whatever direction you move the main character in.
Fortunately, while I've made it sound awfully complicated, it's actually pretty intuitive. Each world starts with a level called The Pit, where you'll learn how to control each power before moving on to the real levels. And it's the real levels that complicate things. I haven't encountered such beautifully difficult puzzles since the Myst series. I mean difficult to the point where I threw my controller down in frustration upon realising I had no fingernails left. It never got to the point where I had to look on gameFAQs, but there are some real thinkers in there.
Graphically, the game is beautiful. Sort of like a 2D version of Cyrodiil that's been oil painted. The various characters and monsters all have character, and it's all so... charming. In fact, it's more charming than Stephen Fry inviting you to sit by his fire and join him in having crumpets and tea (if that means nothing to you, just imagine that it's very charming). The hero, Tim runs around bouncing on monsters and solving puzzles constantly smiling, with his brown hair bouncing in the wind. This, coupled with an amazing soundtrack and imaginative worlds creates a next gen 2D game. It's hard to explain without playing it really.
So to sum up, Braid is beautiful, difficult and fun. It's more than worth the 1,200 points and is a unique game experience. Also worth noting is that the ending sequence is fantastic and mindblowing, and luckily, the game has more direction than this review.
But let's stop there a second and rewind, shall we? I avoided Braid initially because of the 1,200 point ($15 or for me £10.20) price tag. Several things caused me to change my mind. Firstly, I recently got a job and therefore have more money, and secondly, I haven't seen a game get so many positive reviews since Portal (a game I found vastly overrated, but that's another story). The point is, after the disappointing Mirror's Edge, I wanted to kick back and play something simpler and more enjoyable. Braid got one of those right.
The thing with Braid is, appearances can be deceiving. What starts off looking like a simple 2D platformer about a missing princess turns out to be all the more complicated due to various time mechanics employed throughout each world. The only real time power you have is the ability to rewind time, but in each world, there are various different ways of using it. For example, world 3 has glowing objects that are unaffected by the passage of time in either direction, and world 4's time flow is controlled by whatever direction you move the main character in.
Fortunately, while I've made it sound awfully complicated, it's actually pretty intuitive. Each world starts with a level called The Pit, where you'll learn how to control each power before moving on to the real levels. And it's the real levels that complicate things. I haven't encountered such beautifully difficult puzzles since the Myst series. I mean difficult to the point where I threw my controller down in frustration upon realising I had no fingernails left. It never got to the point where I had to look on gameFAQs, but there are some real thinkers in there.
Graphically, the game is beautiful. Sort of like a 2D version of Cyrodiil that's been oil painted. The various characters and monsters all have character, and it's all so... charming. In fact, it's more charming than Stephen Fry inviting you to sit by his fire and join him in having crumpets and tea (if that means nothing to you, just imagine that it's very charming). The hero, Tim runs around bouncing on monsters and solving puzzles constantly smiling, with his brown hair bouncing in the wind. This, coupled with an amazing soundtrack and imaginative worlds creates a next gen 2D game. It's hard to explain without playing it really.
So to sum up, Braid is beautiful, difficult and fun. It's more than worth the 1,200 points and is a unique game experience. Also worth noting is that the ending sequence is fantastic and mindblowing, and luckily, the game has more direction than this review.
