A must have for those who welcome a challenge and enjoy manipulating time and space to solve problems.
THE GOOD
-Extremely challenging puzzles
-Beautiful graphics and music
-Unique controls
-Deep story
THE BAD
-Too short
OVERVIEW
At first glance you would probably think that Braid is just a simple platformer from the Xbox Live Arcade. Now grant it Braid has plenty of platforming aspects but there is so much more to this little game. There are many challenging puzzles, time manipulation and an ambiguous story that is open to many interpretations. Braid is a story about a guy named Tim that sees the world "contrariwise" to everybody else. Tim is a man on a mission to find his princess. As you progress through the story you'll learn that Tim has made plenty of mistakes in his lifetime; some involving his beloved princess. Tim's objective is to progress through six worlds collecting puzzle pieces so that he can put them together and hopefully rescue his princess in the end.
GAMEPLAY
Braid is one of those few games that really puts an emphasis on using your brain and that's the best part. Solving these puzzles and trying to figure out the story will really make you feel like a genius, honestly! Now when I say that you'll be faced with challenging puzzles, I really mean that. Each of the six worlds requires you to gather puzzle pieces using different solutions. At first glance, the puzzle pieces may seem easy to obtain but you'll quickly realize that they can be downright mind boggling. Each world gives insight into Tim's life as well as adding a unique element to the platforming like the ability to control time and space. Once you collect all the puzzle pieces, you'll have to assembly a simple jigsaw puzzle which isn't nearly as difficult.
The controls for Braid are fun to use. You'll be able to run, jump and climb on things but the most interesting part of the game is the time travel aspect. By pressing the "X" button you'll be able to travel backwards and forwards through your past history. You can speed up or slow down the time traveling by using the RB and LB buttons. If you get stuck you'll even have the option to rewind to the beginning of the level.
The story mode doesn't put a time limit on how fast you have to solve the puzzles but if you really want a challenge, check out the time trial mode. Here you can either play certain levels or the entire game. The goal here is to try and gather the puzzle pieces within a certain amount of time. The goal for the entire game is to beat the time of 45 minutes. The time trial mode, just like the regular story mode, is fun and will put your problem solving skills to the test.
The only down fall with Braid is that the game is way too short. This game reminds me of a few old NES games where there wasn't much to them but the difficultly was really high. With only six worlds to traverse through and if you're clever enough, you'll be able to complete the game in under 5 hours. Once you finally reach the end you'll find yourself wanting more.
GRAPHICS & SOUND
Braid's artistic graphics are stunning. The foreground and characters are nicely done but it is the backgrounds that make the visuals incredible. The artsy backgrounds really paint a beautiful picture and enhance the gameplay.
The music is very enjoyable. Much like the background graphics, the soundtrack offers a whimsical-like feel that complements the overall feel of the game.
CONCLUSION
Braid is one of the best puzzle type games to be released in a long time. The amount of thinking involved greatly surpasses any puzzle game for this generation. I highly recommend this game to anyone who wants a challenge or has an interest in puzzle games; although the difficulty may not be for everyone. Because Tim sees things contrariwise, is his quest for the princess what really happens or what he wants to think is happening?