I should say straight away this is post is not being written to tell Jim he's wrong for his opinion about Braid. Far from it. Since it's one person's opinion it's not really possible to call it right or wrong. We all have our opinions that fall different from others (sometimes putting us in the extreme minority). For example, I think Diablo sucked. I don't get it. I know Kevin dies a little inside each time I say that but I can't help how I feel about it.

But this isn't about Diablo, it's about Braid.

Personally I totally enjoyed the graphics and music. The whole thing quite honestly rang as beautiful to me... truly like a painting come to life. The music was haunting and melodious, even when being reversed. Combined together gave the game a warm, inviting feel that made you feel at home. Gameplay wise obviously heavily borrows from old school games, namely Mario. In fact there's one level called Jumpman pretty much replicates Donkey Kong's 1st level, complete with stone gorilla at the top of the board. What can I say, made me laugh.

I'm struggling to see the validity to the claim that the puzzles are illogical, I know I said this in the comments section of the last post but these puzzles reminded me of an old adventure game. Everything in play was used for a reason and nothing really is just there for show. The hard part is figuring out how to use the stuff provided to solve the riddle. I had serious issues with 2 of the puzzle pieces, and had solutions that was I call illogical and I found out how to complete quite by accident.

The writing does come across a bit heavy-handed at times, but culminates in a decent final stage that really makes you reflect a bit in what you've been told up until that point, and who's point-of-view it came from. I really don't want to get to involved but it's a story that can easily be left up to interpretation, which to me doesn't mean pretentious at all, it's a step forward in game plots that move past the most simplistic "they bad, go kill them" type stories. It's non-linear and even moreso told in snippets... so you're left to fill in some of the blanks yourself.

The game mechanics in relation to time control are totally different in every world, and just when you're getting the system down pat gives you something new to work with. What it means is that the strategy you used in world 2 won't do you any good in world 6. It keeps the game fresh and keeps you learning the whole way through the game. I enjoyed this style because it gave the entire game a consistent learning curve.

I had a long talk about what the storyline means (to me at least) but I don't want to spoil it for anyone still playing.

I personally enjoy when a piece of art leaves a certain amount of interpretation up to the viewer or user. It let's people put their own spin on it and can often reveal things about the person as well as the art. I wouldn't give it any sort of perfect rating... but I seriously enjoyed the game from beginning to end, and while I won't disagree with anyone for not liking it... it's just a shame.

Comments (4)

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written by Jim Squires, August 13, 2008

So what, now you think you're better than me?

Glad you could enjoy it sir, despite my issues with it. To each his own. Just a heads up though, having not finished the game your "hint" totally spoiled it. I know it didn't out and out explain it, but if you know the man you know exactly what you're talking about.

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written by Dan Zuccarelli, August 13, 2008

Trust me when I say that hint doesn't spoil it outright. It's actually more of my take and something that may or may not be gleamed from reading the text. But just in case you're right to err on the side of caution I'll delete it

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written by Peachey, August 13, 2008

There's no doubt that some of the puzzles frustrated me to no end, but eventually the solution came to me from actual sluething rather than accidentally. Despite the frustration factor, persistance was really the key here, and actually thoroughly reflecting on the rules of each level was a necessary component. In other words, the game actually forced me to THINK.

I could really go on and on about Braid, but the overarching point is the fusion of many small ideas coming together so well. Not to mention the obvious references, as you state, to Super Mario - it's like the game is paying homage to and riffing on so many different ideas both gaming and otherwise that it's practically bursting at the seams.

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written by TheBBPS.com (50% American, 50%, September 01, 2008

[...] dig Gears of War but games like Castle Crashers, Braid, Eden and The Last Guy seem to hold my interest more these days. I’m cool with [...]

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