So after another hectic session with Geometry Wars 2, I decided to jump into Braid (360). I checked out the demo and I was floored by the presentation. I decided to buy the full game cuz this game is just so darn beautiful. Yes, I'm a sucker for eye candy. :P

The game features extremely smooth animations (especially for the main character) and the backgrounds are absolutely gorgeous. Don't judge the game by the screenshots alone, just imagine all those graphics fully animated and full of life. Not only are the graphics beautiful, but the music is equally amazing. It's hard for me to describe what the music sounds like but it's really nice and relaxing. There are also a few familiar tracks which I won't spoil for ya. If you want a taste of what I'm talking about, check out the demo. Everything is well represented there.

For the gameplay, this is definitely a real brain teaser. The combination of platformer and puzzles will remind people of games like Flashback and Abe's Odyssey. You have to figure out how to fetch puzzle pieces which are in parts of the level which look impossible to get. The combination of that PLUS time elements really adds to the difficulty. Btw, you can never die cuz the game allows you to rewind time Prince of Persia-style. But even that requires you to know how far to rewind before you end up being stuck in Groundhog Day deaths. I haven't solved any levels yet but I did get achievements for going through the entire level for each world. It's cool that you can skip certain teasers and actually reach the end of the level without being forced to solve the puzzles. It's pretty open and will allow you time to figure out the puzzles without pressure. Cool.

Btw, the game has A LOT of homages and parodies to the Super Mario Bros. games. Many enemies and levels look like direct adaptations or weird mutations of the enemies in Nintendo's franchise. I found it quite humorous. I'm particularly tickled by the level "Jumpman" with a cameo from a famous ape.

Anyways, I'll play more later this week. It's a really cool game and a must-play for people who like platformer/puzzles. There are lots of unique gameplay mechanics that I haven't seen before. This is another XBLA winner.