Braid is a MASTERPIECE

tommyb · Post by **tommyb** » Sat Oct 18, 2008 7:01 pm

I just wanted to express my utter love for this game, if you have an Xbox 360 and some extra cash, go to the arcade and buy it. It's a little pricey at 1,200 points, but its totally worth it.

Oh, and pick up Mega Man 9, as well.

Elixir · Post by **Elixir** » Sat Oct 18, 2008 8:06 pm

Braid's fun for what it is; basic mario clone, refreshing music, nice art style - which isn't really justified by the 1200 price tag. Like I've said before, the chances of someone understanding the theory behind Braid's story are about 1 in 100. That said, I sorta regret buying it as most of the levels from chapter 5 onwards are recycled from chapters 1-4, but introduce new time manipulation tactics along the way. The game has a nice atmosphere about it but the demo practically invites you to play half of the game for free.

I'm also disappointed in Megaman 9. Was it so difficult for them to release the game on the PS3 and 360 without it being filtered (2x Sai)? Even the Wii version lacks progressive scan support. For a company who thought it would be wise to release a game that replicates an NES title, they sure didn't add much support for people wanting to play it in it's pixel-perfect appearance, like Megaman 2 had. They could have always released it at a later date with better support; the filter options, monitor options, stretching options, letterbox options - none are present. Only a "legacy" mode which barely makes any change from the game today, letting you see Megaman flicker when there's too many things going on at once.

And even then I don't appreciate that. Why would you want to use this when it's a detriment to your gaming experience and only ends up making the game harder in the long run? Capcom shoved this in so people hung up on "nostalgia" can interpret the game as an NES or outdated title - which it isn't - and lacks the necessary options to be.

Strider77 · Post by **Strider77** » Sat Oct 18, 2008 8:21 pm

play something like Bionic Commando Rearmed instead of MM9...

JoshF · Post by **JoshF** » Sat Oct 18, 2008 11:09 pm

the chances of someone understanding the theory behind Braid's story are about 1 in 100

That's why it's so deeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep.

spineshark · Post by **spineshark** » Sun Oct 19, 2008 5:14 am

Braid proves that Jonathan Blow is both brilliant and stupid.

I know how that is!

tommyb · Post by **tommyb** » Mon Oct 20, 2008 2:19 am

Braid proves that Jonathon Blow can continue to tell the gaming industry to fuck off, and now has the right to do so.

Braid was a masterpiece, I don't care what anyone says. The puzzles are genius, and way harder than anything Portal would ever have to offer. The music is phenomenal, the texts are a wonderful read, the paint-like atmosphere of the visuals astounds me, as well.

The 1200 point price tag is a bit steep, but hey, don't buy it unless you play the demo first.

So, I bow to you, Jonathon Blow. Keep up the bringing people down for playing games like Bioshock, and this is a huge step-up since Wulfram

Zebra Airforce · Post by **Zebra Airforce** » Mon Oct 20, 2008 2:52 am

If anything Braid proves which gamers are really play games and which ones are just newgamesjournalist wannabes.

szycag · Post by **szycag** » Mon Oct 20, 2008 4:17 am

This isn't a masterpiece, but it was a successful experiment. Blow has a lot to learn about the differences between video games and film. Namely that player intervention requires reward or else it is just tedium. I see no reason to play it ever again now that I've beaten it. I liked how you had to kind of wire your brain a different way to solve a lot of the puzzles, but most of the time it gave me a huge headache- not something I'd want to do over and over again for better times, and the special stars are obviously just a huge joke at the expense of the completionist types.

Good "deep"

movies usually make me want to watch again because I'll pick up on things I missed, but here I have no desire to ever go through the game again. So in that sense I think it could have been much better at what it was trying to do.

tommyb · Post by **tommyb** » Mon Oct 20, 2008 5:46 am

szycag wrote:This isn't a masterpiece, but it was a successful experiment. Blow has a lot to learn about the differences between video games and film. Namely that player intervention requires reward or else it is just tedium. I see no reason to play it ever again now that I've beaten it. I liked how you had to kind of wire your brain a different way to solve a lot of the puzzles, but most of the time it gave me a huge headache- not something I'd want to do over and over again for better times, and the special stars are obviously just a huge joke at the expense of the completionist types.

Good "deep" movies usually make me want to watch again because I'll pick up on things I missed, but here I have no desire to ever go through the game again. So in that sense I think it could have been much better at what it was trying to do.

You know, you actually make some really valid points. Even though you say that player intervention requires reward, for me, and for many other people, I'm sure, just advancing in the story and unlocking some more of the text was reward enough for me. The story was beautifully written.

Ayanami · Post by **Ayanami** » Mon Oct 20, 2008 12:51 pm

Braid was fantastic. I can't believe people still bitch about the price.