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This thread has been linked to the game 'Braid'.
Little Big Planet has been one of the most talked about games for this generation of consoles, but while it is still being tinkered with and tweaked, another side-scrolling platformer has (for a while, at least) stolen the limelight. That game is Braid, a release on XBLA that arrived with little fanfare but that has instantly gained a seat at the platform's top table of must-have downloads.
The game frequently pays homage to the patron saint of platform-trotting, Mario, with its first few levels including wry references to his problems with princesses' locations and barrel-tossing apes; however, Braid has its own distinct style that gives it a very distinct personality. Its basic controls, even more basic than Mario's, are an example of the game's simple charms. Whereas traditionally you must master pixel-perfect leaps and complex double- and triple-jumps in platformers, Braid rarely relies on positional precision, with just the one type of jump and deliberately inexact sideways movement.
Instead, the precision required concerns timing, which is where your only other action comes into play: when you hold down on X, time goes backwards. You don't need to line up every jump by the millimetre, because if you miss, you can try again almost instantly. This doesn't mean Braid is an easy game, though; although the treachery of the jumps is reduced by time-bending, first you have to figure out which jumps to make.
Despite its appearances, the mechanics of jumping on enemies and making grand leaps, the heart of the game is puzzle-solving. You seek out puzzle pieces as Mario does stars, with each world having enough pieces for you to complete a jigsaw. The first world gifts you the first few pieces, but soon you must understand Braid's rules to grab the rest. You may have to move a platform to herd an enemy near an otherwise unreachable ledge, or grab a key at the top of the level, only to rewind to when you were near the locked door at its beginning...but now you're still (or should that be then?) holding the key.
Indeed, completing the first world's jigsaw requires some ingenious lateral thinking, the kind that makes you not only bask in the glory of your own intelligence, but that of the game. It is here where you fall for Braid, for despite its horribly ugly character models and ridiculously overblown and pretentious story, the puzzles are just so incredibly fun. Soon you reach worlds where certain objects, or even enemies, are impervious to your Sky+ rewinding, or locations where your movements, forwards and backwards, send your enemies the same way in time. Confusing at first, but fiendishly fun after a death or two.
It's not without its faults. The models really are ghastly, the story rather inappropriately grandiose, and the price rather steep; it's a great game, but very short and once you know the tricks to solving each puzzle, there's not an awful lot of replay value. However, fawning comparisons to Portal are well-justified and despite last minute doubts, nobody that plays Braid will have any trouble gushingly recommending it to others.
4/5
==
edited for apostrophes
The game frequently pays homage to the patron saint of platform-trotting, Mario, with its first few levels including wry references to his problems with princesses' locations and barrel-tossing apes; however, Braid has its own distinct style that gives it a very distinct personality. Its basic controls, even more basic than Mario's, are an example of the game's simple charms. Whereas traditionally you must master pixel-perfect leaps and complex double- and triple-jumps in platformers, Braid rarely relies on positional precision, with just the one type of jump and deliberately inexact sideways movement.
Instead, the precision required concerns timing, which is where your only other action comes into play: when you hold down on X, time goes backwards. You don't need to line up every jump by the millimetre, because if you miss, you can try again almost instantly. This doesn't mean Braid is an easy game, though; although the treachery of the jumps is reduced by time-bending, first you have to figure out which jumps to make.
Despite its appearances, the mechanics of jumping on enemies and making grand leaps, the heart of the game is puzzle-solving. You seek out puzzle pieces as Mario does stars, with each world having enough pieces for you to complete a jigsaw. The first world gifts you the first few pieces, but soon you must understand Braid's rules to grab the rest. You may have to move a platform to herd an enemy near an otherwise unreachable ledge, or grab a key at the top of the level, only to rewind to when you were near the locked door at its beginning...but now you're still (or should that be then?) holding the key.
Indeed, completing the first world's jigsaw requires some ingenious lateral thinking, the kind that makes you not only bask in the glory of your own intelligence, but that of the game. It is here where you fall for Braid, for despite its horribly ugly character models and ridiculously overblown and pretentious story, the puzzles are just so incredibly fun. Soon you reach worlds where certain objects, or even enemies, are impervious to your Sky+ rewinding, or locations where your movements, forwards and backwards, send your enemies the same way in time. Confusing at first, but fiendishly fun after a death or two.
It's not without its faults. The models really are ghastly, the story rather inappropriately grandiose, and the price rather steep; it's a great game, but very short and once you know the tricks to solving each puzzle, there's not an awful lot of replay value. However, fawning comparisons to Portal are well-justified and despite last minute doubts, nobody that plays Braid will have any trouble gushingly recommending it to others.
4/5
==
edited for apostrophes
i've been reading some lengthy story discussion on other boards and the whole thing gets so preposterous that it's tainting my appreciation of the game; the puzzles are such good fun but the creator is such a ponce!
Nice Review.
It reminded me of Jet Set Willy more than anything else. It had the same quirky feel and movement, just with modern graphics and a creative storyline that sounds like it was written by an over-imaginative English Lit student.
It reminded me of Jet Set Willy more than anything else. It had the same quirky feel and movement, just with modern graphics and a creative storyline that sounds like it was written by an over-imaginative English Lit student.
Little Big Planet has been one of the most talked about games for this generation of consoles, but while it is still being tinkered with and tweaked, another side-scrolling platformer has (for a while, at least) stolen the limelight. That game is Braid, a release on XBLA that arrived with little fanfare but that has instantly gained a seat at the platform's top table of must-have downloads.
The game frequently pays homage to the patron saint of platform-trotting, Mario, with its first few levels including wry references to his problems with princesses' locations and barrel-tossing apes; however, Braid has its own distinct style that gives it a very distinct personality. Its basic controls, even more basic than Mario's, are an example of the game's simple charms. Whereas traditionally you must master pixel-perfect leaps and complex double- and triple-jumps in platformers, Braid rarely relies on positional precision, with just the one type of jump and deliberately inexact sideways movement.
Instead, the precision required concerns timing, which is where your only other action comes into play: when you hold down on X, time goes backwards. You don't need to line up every jump by the millimetre, because if you miss, you can try again almost instantly. This doesn't mean Braid is an easy game, though; although the treachery of the jumps is reduced by time-bending, first you have to figure out which jumps to make.
Despite its appearances, the mechanics of jumping on enemies and making grand leaps, the heart of the game is puzzle-solving. You seek out puzzle pieces as Mario does stars, with each world having enough pieces for you to complete a jigsaw. The first world gifts you the first few pieces, but soon you must understand Braid's rules to grab the rest. You may have to move a platform to herd an enemy near an otherwise unreachable ledge, or grab a key at the top of the level, only to rewind to when you were near the locked door at its beginning...but now you're still (or should that be then?) holding the key.
Indeed, completing the first world's jigsaw requires some ingenious lateral thinking, the kind that makes you not only bask in the glory of your own intelligence, but that of the game. It is here where you fall for Braid, for despite its horribly ugly character models and ridiculously overblown and pretentious story, the puzzles are just so incredibly fun. Soon you reach worlds where certain objects, or even enemies, are impervious to your Sky+ rewinding, or locations where your movements, forwards and backwards, send your enemies the same way in time. Confusing at first, but fiendishly fun after a death or two.
It's not without its faults. The models really are ghastly, the story rather inappropriately grandiose, and the price rather steep; it's a great game, but very short and once you know the tricks to solving each puzzle, there's not an awful lot of replay value. However, fawning comparisons to Portal are well-justified and despite last minute doubts, nobody that plays Braid will have any trouble gushingly recommending it to others.
4/5
==
edited for apostrophes
The game frequently pays homage to the patron saint of platform-trotting, Mario, with its first few levels including wry references to his problems with princesses' locations and barrel-tossing apes; however, Braid has its own distinct style that gives it a very distinct personality. Its basic controls, even more basic than Mario's, are an example of the game's simple charms. Whereas traditionally you must master pixel-perfect leaps and complex double- and triple-jumps in platformers, Braid rarely relies on positional precision, with just the one type of jump and deliberately inexact sideways movement.
Instead, the precision required concerns timing, which is where your only other action comes into play: when you hold down on X, time goes backwards. You don't need to line up every jump by the millimetre, because if you miss, you can try again almost instantly. This doesn't mean Braid is an easy game, though; although the treachery of the jumps is reduced by time-bending, first you have to figure out which jumps to make.
Despite its appearances, the mechanics of jumping on enemies and making grand leaps, the heart of the game is puzzle-solving. You seek out puzzle pieces as Mario does stars, with each world having enough pieces for you to complete a jigsaw. The first world gifts you the first few pieces, but soon you must understand Braid's rules to grab the rest. You may have to move a platform to herd an enemy near an otherwise unreachable ledge, or grab a key at the top of the level, only to rewind to when you were near the locked door at its beginning...but now you're still (or should that be then?) holding the key.
Indeed, completing the first world's jigsaw requires some ingenious lateral thinking, the kind that makes you not only bask in the glory of your own intelligence, but that of the game. It is here where you fall for Braid, for despite its horribly ugly character models and ridiculously overblown and pretentious story, the puzzles are just so incredibly fun. Soon you reach worlds where certain objects, or even enemies, are impervious to your Sky+ rewinding, or locations where your movements, forwards and backwards, send your enemies the same way in time. Confusing at first, but fiendishly fun after a death or two.
It's not without its faults. The models really are ghastly, the story rather inappropriately grandiose, and the price rather steep; it's a great game, but very short and once you know the tricks to solving each puzzle, there's not an awful lot of replay value. However, fawning comparisons to Portal are well-justified and despite last minute doubts, nobody that plays Braid will have any trouble gushingly recommending it to others.
4/5
==
edited for apostrophes