Let me begin by saying that I believe I have done everything that one can do in Braid. I have collected all of the puzzle pieces. I've gotten the "Closure" achievement, and I have collect every last "extra". There may still be unfound stuff to do, but as of now, I've done everything. I have spent roughly 10 -12 hours on Braid. And I enjoyed every second of it.
Graphics: Braid is done in an art style not yet seen on an Xbox Live Arcade game. Braid was designed to be beautiful. A hand painted water color art style creates an atmosphere that you really would just like to lose yourself in. And there's a good chance that you will. The animations are simple, but that fact really just adds to the simple nature of this wonderful game.
Sound: Another of Braids strong suits is its choice in music. All of the songs chosen fit their respective levels perfectly. I believe that there are only 10 or so songs, but they never feel over used, and they never feel as though they don't fit. The sound effects are simple as well, with a simple boing when jumping on a rabbit, and a pop when a flaming ball is shot from a cannon. Speaking of rabbits, watch out, because they have quite the growl... and teeth.
Story: Braids story is one that is meant to be thought about. Its ambiguity lends itself well to interpretation. A quick search through any internet forum that is about Braid will show many interpretations, ranging from the literal "Man rescues princess" to detailed looks at the story books, and they're allusions to the nuclear bombs. While the in game story didn't quite grab me, I still found it to be interesting. Many will believe that it is pretentious, but I say that just because the story is open to interpretation, and is perhaps at times hard to understand, that does not mean that the story is pretentious.
Game play: Game play is where Braid is truly unique. We have all seen the rewind feature of Braid before. In Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time most prominently, and in Timeshift as well. And World 5's time element, which allows you to make a copy of yourself by rewinding, can be seen in the online game Chronotron. Even slowing down time in World 6, can be seen in games such as Max Payne or the Matrix. But none of the time elements actually feel as though they are being used in a gimmicky way. Each puzzle has a reason, there are no duplicates. You will see levels that look exactly the same in places as past levels, but due to the new use of time mechanics, they don't ever feel as though they shouldn't have been used twice. I haven't even mentioned World 4, which is really something that, as far as I know, has never been done before. As you move to the right, time will move forward. And as you move to the left, time will move back with you. Braid doesn't actually bring many new things to the table, but what it does bring to the table, new or not, is used intelligently. And as a final note, the final level will be one moment that sticks with me for the rest of my life.
In conclusion: Braid has been critically lauded. But, it has turned many people off of it, due to the price tag of 1200 points, and length. Like Portal, Braid is perfect in its length. It doesn't over stay its welcome, or present useless clones of earlier puzzles. Whether you enjoy the story or just the game play. Or even just the atmosphere. Braid is worth it. If you are one of the people on the fence, I recommend you purchase Braid. There are speed runs, which I haven't even given that much of a try, that will add upwards of 2 hours at least to the game.
I have played through Braid twice so far, in order to find one of the much coveted "extras" that I mentioned earlier, and I had just as much fun the second time as I did the first time. I don't quite understand why, because by all accounts, it should have just been a chore. But it wasn't, I found myself smiling and enjoying every minute of it. And I think you will too.
No game is perfect. And there will be people who disagree with me. But I am going to give Braid a 10. I have seen people give games like Madden and Halo a 10 (not that I have anything against Madden or Halo), and I feel Braid deserves the title more. It approaches perfection, and offers so much more in the way of innovation. If we as gamers ever want our medium to be taken seriously, we have to support games that are more than just sports or shooters. We have to support games that are art.
Braid is art.
BLG writes: "Do you know any famous games made by one person? Well, we’re here to educate you on some of the best one-man projects out there."
Nice list.
I’ll add 9th Dawn III to that list. Great game made by one person.
Always Sometimes Monster is made by two people technically, but let’s do an honorable mention.
I’d add HABROXIA 1 & 2 on here as well. Berry does pixel wonders with the Game Maker engine.
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Technically speaking Minecraft should have been on the list. But it's nice to see these single devs thrive.
Theyr is no game made by one man. Theyr is always a team of developers behind them.
However there is always someone who comes up with the idea of a game.
When i would give an example of one man with that idea for me its Hideo Kojima....
No there are certainly games made by 1 person, start to finish. Maybe after it launches and becomes a big enough success the 1 person will reach out for help maintaining it or updating, but games have been made by 1 person.
Unless of course you are being insanely nit-picky and trying to claim "the engine they used was made by Unity" or "the assets they put in were made by someone else"
Microsoft is offering three additional free games for all Xbox Live Gold subscribers in addition to the regular lineup of games this month.
I enjoyed Joe Danger back in the day, it's pretty fun. What's amazing is how Hello Games went from a few of these rather simple games to the ultra-ambitious No Man's Sky!
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I would love a sequel to JD - although I do realize that Hello Games have kinda grown beyond that scope of game.
And still the contradiction of getting something for "free" from a service you pay for continues.
But isn’t the service for online multiplayer? So, technically it’s “free games” included with your online subscription? I mean, what was the point of Xbox Live? To get free games?
Only, after they tried doubling the price of another online service, some similar nonsense, isn't Xbox online multiplayer suppose to be free?
"isn't Xbox online multiplayer suppose to be free?" No, it was always been a paid premium on console. The free games was not related to the rumored price hike. They were giving them away long before that.
If there was a service for free online multiplayer on console, it was PSN. Until the PS4 came out.
How would you have worded it then? I’d say ‘subscribers claiming free games’ is about as clear as it gets.
"As part of", "In addition to", "As an extra bonus". Anything better than, "Get this with no strings attached or requirements" which is what "free" implies.
That’s like saying ‘buy one get one free’ doesn’t apply because it’s not technically ‘free’. Stop trying to find a problem with something when there isn’t one.
** "Get this with no strings attached or requirements" which is what "free" implies.**
No, it actually doesn't, it's just like when you get a free refill of soda after you purchased your first cup.
I think we are well enough into these console gens to stop bringing up this tired argument
You always had to pay for Xbox Live to
play online multiplayer… this was the case way back during the original Xbox when it was released.
I don’t understand what you’re hung up about when plenty of subscription services give free things as a perk or benefit to a user who subscribes to a service.
Hell, Nintendo Power gave me a “Free” Strategy Guide of my choosing for paying for their magazine subscription way back in the day.
You’re getting the games that you’d need to pay for regardless of the subscription for free, bottom-line. The service you’re paying for is the online multiplayer service Xbox Live. You aren’t paying for Xbox Live and paying for the game you were handed out for free, you’re still just paying for the online service and nothing more. Hence, why the game in itself is free for Xbox Live subscribers.
It was originally just for online access. It had updated and began monthly game releases to compete with PS Plus. Monthly games have been a part of Live for many years. It is more recently that the releases are getting worse and worse.
Its been a majoritively dismissed point as DLC, MTs and now subscriptions became things. Failed protest against policies meant ultimately to strip consumers of ownership rights over media in general.
Still, may as well keep pointing it out.
@Godmars290
I guess people are just missing the point. And, now we got people thinking Live is still just an online sub and games are a generous inclusion like it's not a feature of the paid service lol.
Live officially on Microsofts site lists, "Free games every month. Now that’s Gold.
Get 2 free games a month, including backward compatible Xbox 360 games".
But, many are starting to say that Live payment is still just for the online access. Which, if that's what they're believing then I'm worried about why they'd pay just for online access. Paying for it back in the day was already a ripoff since they didn't even host dedicated servers to ensure the best quality connection. You'd pay for it just to host it on the internet provider that you also pay for lol.
I do think it's great to offer extra games on top of the existing ones. However, Live has repeatedly offered very lacking games, has listed the same games more than once, and even listed the same game two months in a row one time. They need to have a solid consistent history of delivering quality monthly releases.
And still the contradiction of bringing up a decade old tired complaint knowing we’ve all moved in but you. We all agree it would better if the author was accurate but this argument is so old now, move on.
https://www.xbox.com/ja-jp/...
I've just redeemed knights quest needs GP/gold membership etc
Alex writes "Twinfinite is celebrating the best indie games of all time with a ranked list of 25 essential gaming experiences everyone should play."
Dont put useless games on the top 10 games list.
If I come across a game that doesn't deserve a ten, I'll be sure to not give it such a high score.
It would be fine if it didnt put it on the higest rated games list. I mean once there was some rpg no one had ever heard of until some weaboo rated it a 10 and it was put on the #1 spot. Not to mention wii fanboys were taing Brawl `10 for a while so it didnt get off the top spot.
Braid is not the best game of all time. But I felt it was worth a ten. I never even thought about the top ten list. But then again, Brawl doesn't deserve to be #1 either. Maybe this will compell someone to write an honest review about Braid that gets voted through.
I agree though, it's not the best game ever.