Product Description

Single Player, HD (High Definition). Manipulate the flow of time. Rescue the Princess. Contemplate the world; save yourself. The full version of Braid allows you to visit all the worlds, and thus use all the time-manipulation powers. Perhaps you will find the Princess and rescue her. There are no refunds for this item. For more information, see www.xbox.com/live/accounts.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3295 in Video Games
• Brand: Number None
• Model: 1480657102
• Released on: 2009-01-08
• ESRB Rating: Everyone 10+
• Platform: Xbox 360
• Format: Download

Features

• The game doesn't force you to solve puzzles in order to proceed. If you can't figure something out, just play onward and return to that puzzle later.
• Enjoy 2D platforming action where you can never die and never lose. But you will always be challenged.
• Travel through worlds, solving thought inducing puzzles by manipulating time: rewinding, creating parallel universes, setting up pockets of dilated time.
• Experience Braid's painterly art style and lush organic soundtrack.
• A nonlinear fiction links the various worlds and provides real-world metaphors for your time manipulations, creating "what-if" universes where consequences can be explored.

Amazon.com Product Description

Braid is a celebrated single player puzzle-platformer for play on the Xbox 360 gaming system. Drawn in a dreamlike painterly style, in the world of Braid the player manipulates the flow of time in strange and unusual ways to traverse the dangerous levels and solve puzzles in order to rescue an abducted princess. Braid treats your time and attention as precious; there is no filler in this game. Every puzzle shows you something new and interesting about the game world and story, keeping you engaged from beginning to end. Originally only available only as a download through Xbox LIVE Arcade using Microsoft Points, Braid can now be yours via online game code. Players will still need both an Xbox 360 console connected to broadband Internet and an Xbox LIVE account game download for play. Story The backstory of Braid is a twist on the familiar platformer plot of a hero on a quest to rescue a princess from an unseen monster that has stolen her away. The game's hero is Tim. Bound to the princess, he is determined to find her, but a reoccurring theme of regret and an apparent need for reconciliation of mistakes made hint that things between them are not necessarily what they seem and that as in any relationship there are aspects of the bond between them that are hidden beneath the surface. The details of Tim's relationship to the princess are revealed in the gameplay text at the opening portal to each level and the puzzles solved throughout the game. Time-based Gameplay Although gameplay in Braid is organized along the lines of a standard platformer, with the player running jumping and climbing to avoid obstacles and enemies, the most important gameplay mechanic is the ability to reverse time at any moment, even after you have died. This makes gameplay simple in that you never have to replay a turn, just rewind the action, but also challenging in that in many instances the player must use these abilities to progress through certain parts of the game. Action takes place across several levels, organized into sections within rooms, each with a different time-based wrinkle in gameplay. These sections also contain a jigsaw puzzles integral to the story, the pieces of which are scattered throughout the level it is found in. Completion of puzzles opens up a final stage in each level, but the player can also proceed in the game and come back to puzzles as they choose. Make time for platforming with Braid. View larger. Key Game Features Forgiving yet Challenging Gameplay - Braid is a 2D platforming game where you can never die and never lose. Despite this, Braid is challenging—but the challenge is about solving puzzles, rather than forcing you to replay tricky jumps. Rich Puzzle Environment - Travel through a series of worlds searching for puzzle pieces, then solving puzzles by manipulating time: rewinding, creating parallel universes, setting up pockets of dilated time. The gameplay feels fresh and new; the puzzles are meant to inspire new ways of thinking. Aesthetic Design - A painterly art style and lush, organic soundtrack complement the unique gameplay. Nonlinear Story - A nonlinear fiction links the various worlds and provides real-world metaphors for your time manipulations; in turn, your time manipulations are projections of the real-world themes into playful "what-if" universes where consequences can be explored. Nonlinear Gameplay - The game doesn't force you to solve puzzles in order to proceed. If you can't figure something out, just play onward and return to that puzzle later. Screenshots: Traditional platforming action. View larger. Rich puzzle-solving. View larger. Time-based game mechanic. View larger. Aesthetic design. View larger.

Customer Reviews

Unlike any game I've ever played...in some ways
Some people use this game as the perfect example of how video games are art. I usually disagree with that statement, but having played Braid kind of opened my mind a little bit regarding the argument. Having played and beaten the game, you may think there is very little story or that it's a simple love story, however the story is so deep and layered that it is very difficult to uncover the entire story. Once you start trying to put the pieces of the story together, you realize their is much more going on than you thought. Much like a great film, there is a lot of interpretation in the story and requires thought of your own, instead of being simply presented the entire story. Their is also an epilogue which I thought was brilliant.

Regarding the gameplay, it has platformer elements but most of the game is puzzle solving using different methods of altering time. This can be really fun and challenging, but sometimes finding a way to obtain a puzzle piece can seem nearly impossible. Some puzzles remind me of a great magic trick where you think there is literally no way that it can be done, yet you find out it is possible and sometimes much simpler than you expect. In a way that is good, but overall I found many puzzles (especially some of the later ones) to be quite impossible to figure out on my own and became frustrated. I ended up resorting to watching videos of others online to figure out some of the puzzles (Shame on me). It is the level of difficulty to figuring out some of these puzzles that made me not fully enjoy the game at times and why I give the game 4 stars out of 5.

Overall, I do recommend this game to someone who is open-minded and is great at puzzle games and doesn't mind looking for the story. I personally did not like spending $15 on it and think $10 would've been more appropriate since once you figure out the puzzles there is not much replay value to it (unless you want to find the stars which are 10x more difficult to get than the hardest puzzles). Yet if you're patient (unlike me) and will try to figure out the puzzles on your own as well as the great story then this game will be well worth the money.

A work of art
Braid is one of the top three games available on Xbox Live Arcade. While it LOOKS like a platformer, it is actually a time bending puzzle game that will challenge and entertain you every step of the way. As an added bonus, the gameplay reveals a multi-layered story which can lead to some insightful, if not down right philosophical discussion, if you so choose. I highly recommend it.

Indie Game of the Year
What a little gem in the rough...

Braid is a fantastic game. It's near impossible to sum up how this puzzle platformer works, but with time manipulation, a compeling story and heart warming visual, it's as good as it gets.

Plus Amazon's direct code download was easy. It was very fast (had my code within minutes) and it was a better option than spending my existing XBL Points on my XBox. Anything that saves me getting another point card is great.

Everyone should play this game at some point in their gaming life.