Hey! I’m getting a day closer to remembering that it’s Multiwinia MONDAY… This week’s Multiwinia Monday preview features my favorite mode from the preview, King Of The Hill. As will be usual be sure to head on over and check out the rest of the details.

I should have posted this, say, on Monday but it got buried in my inbox and I made a note today to remember to get this on the site. Introversion is releasing the excellent Multiwinia on September 19th on PC via their own store, Steam or some other major retailers. As I told you in our preview of the title it will also be a part of the XBLA Darwinia+ release which still does not have an official release date.

To celebrate the release they’ll be showcasing a host of new info on everything to do with the game every Monday. The highlight of Multiwinia Monday will be a video walkthrough explaining each of the game’s 6 play modes. Check out the first video below and learn all about Domination. You can see the rest of the new content here at Introversion’s site.

I’ve got a bit of a gripe. Judging by what I’ve read on the web this past week, it seems as though Braid is nothing short of the second coming. Bloggers and reviewers across the board can’t wait to get their tongues in the asshole of developer Jonathan Blow, offering up an appreciative rimmer for all his hard work. I know I’m not going to win any friends by saying this but I’m going to say it anyways: I don’t get it. I don’t like Braid, and I really don’t understand why anyone would.

If you’ve been a regular reader around here you know that I’ve been a proponent of small games for some time now. And yes, I’m quite excited that an indie title like this is getting the attention that some smaller titles deserve. But I just don’t understand why. It’s a platformer that essentially borrows the time mechanics from Prince of Persia and evolves them into puzzle solving mechanics. Sure it has a cool visual and audio polish, but the whole thing comes across as more smarmy than it does brilliant. Does anyone out there remember Good Will Hunting? Braid is kind of like that dickbag in the bar that was talking down to Ben Affleck until Matt Damon stepped in and put him in his place. I like my games like I like my Matt Damon. Nobody likes a smarmy dickbag, Braid. That’s you. You’re the smarmy dickbag.

And before people start trying to tell me that the game is too highbrow for me, let’s not forget that the text between levels comes across like a 14 year old girl writing in her room on a Friday night while her friends get put on the rotisserie behind the bowling alley for pot and bragging rights. It’s not good. It’s fucking terrible actually. We get it, you’re tormented.

Does it play alright? Sure. But despite what you’re reading out there I’m not the only one to feel that this game isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. A smattering of comments from our staff and readers;

Faith:I downloaded Braid and I found it more frustrating than anything. I can’t collect all the puzzle pieces on the first level on the trial version. Unless I’m not able to and I just missed that point.

Kevin: I was able to finish the first two worlds but I needed some help. Dan flew through the game. He “gets” it, I don’t.

Katana: There were some puzzles that didn’t seem to have any logical solution, so that’s a definite negative point for a platformer. So cool, but not totally my cup of tea, and definitely not something I feel would be worth $15 of my money.

Xerxes3rd: I had high hopes for Braid, and while the art style seemed interesting at first, it got old quickly. It didn’t seem to click with me, I guess. I also felt that the movement controls could be slightly tighter. It’s not a bad game, but it won’t be getting my money.

Katana, Faith and Kevin all had the same complaint: the puzzles are too hard/illogical. And that’s really my big beef with it as well. You can put in a cool soundtrack, a slick look, some classic gaming references, and a neat play mechanic all you want. If the game goes past fun and right up to frustrating in the first ten minutes, it’s just not a good game. How this is the highest-rated XBLA game on MetaCritic I’ll never know. N+ runs circles around it.

Jim vs. Everyone else on the internet, Round 1. Go!

Microsoft spit in our faces today and proved their words earlier this week to be complete and utter bullshit, announcing Braid would be hitting this Wednesday for 1200 points despite a press statement released earlier this week stating the complete opposite. I’m starting to ramble — let’s get everyone caught up.

Five days ago, word broke that the official Japanese Xbox site was listing upcoming Live arcade releases Braid and Castle Crashers at 1200 and 1800 points respectively. This created one hell of a backlash in the 360 community (our site included). In an effort to do some damage control, Microsoft spoke with ShackNews that same afternoon to inform them that the price on the Japanese site “are incorrect for both domestic and international markets.”

Now five days later Braid’s price is officially announced as…. you guessed it, 1200 points.

I’m ashamed of Microsoft for trying to bullshit their way through the bad press and stick us with their originally intended high price regardless, but I’m even more ashamed of their inability to justify it. At least tell us WHY your earlier statement was wrong.

We’re all ears Microsoft, balls in your court — but we’re not buying shit until you get your story straight.

We’ve been looking forward to Castle Crashers for a long time. Like - a long time. And now that it’s finally been priced? It can go fuck up a tree.

1800 points. The most expensive Live Arcade game ever.

‘Nuff said.

[via Xbox 360 Fanboy]

The original Geometry Wars was the Halo of Live Arcade. A must own title that was accessible to everyone, offered at a reasonable price, and addictive as shit. Some people would argue it’s what proved Live Arcade as a viable platform. Whatever the case it’s been more than two years since it’s initial release and twin stick shooter fans have been itching for a sequel. Sure we’ve had games like Super Stardust HD and Everyday Shooter to tide us over, but what about a follow up to the granddaddy of them all? Well it’s finally happened — Geometry Wars 2 is finally here.

GW2 takes the gameplay of the original XBLA release, tweaks it slightly, and adds in a mountain of new gameplay modes and options. It should probably be noted right out of the gate that all of this extra content comes at an extra price — GW2 weighs in a 800 points compared to GW’s 400. So is it worth double the pointage? If I could only use two words to answer that question, it would be these: FUCK YES.

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OK, so I’ve got some potentially good news and I’ve got some potentially bad news for you, what do you want to know first?

The good news? OK!

Valve’s Doug Lombardi was interviewed in OXM UK recently and mentioned the desire to bring some of their older titles like the original Half-Life and Counter-Strike to the 360 as downloads now that Portal is on its way.

“We’ll certainly consider [bringing old games like Counter-Strike to XBLA],” Lombardi told OXM UK. “If you look at what we’ve done on Steam, we try to make all our games available and we’re always reviewing the prices to keep them current. We’d love to do that, but this is our first step at doing that beyond the PC.”

Ready for the bad news? When he was asked about the PC Team Fortress 2 updates coming to the 360 he mentioned that they’re still trying to work out pricing. Now, I don’t think you should read that as “We’re going to charge you for the stuff PC users get free” but we all know how Microsoft is by now.

[OXM UK via Shacknews]