New Aussie Braid Preview @ IGN

The Australian section of IGN have posted a brand new preview of the upcoming Indie game Braid for XBLA - and it's very positive!

Oh, and who wouldn't love a game with so many nods to classic Mario games? We've already mentioned the fruitless striving for the princess through multiple worlds, but Mario fans will also notice the green pipes with chomping plants, the fact that you can headbop enemies (which is integral for many of the movement puzzles), not to mention the influence of the original Donkey Kong on several of the level designs.

Hell, there's even a puzzle screen called 'Jumpman' with an array of platforms to traverse and a gorilla and barrel motif at the top, where enemies are being fired into the level. Mind you, Mario isn't the only reference – you receive an item later in the game on a level called 'There and Back Again'. I'm sure you can work out what that item is… but not what it does.

Read the entire article here

Source: IGN

New Braid Preview - "More Fun Than Calculus!"

Freelancer Chris Dahlen has gotten his hands on a near complete copy of the PC version of Braid, and has a lot of praise for it:

On one level - the one where I’ve made the least progress - you see a kind of branching effect. Say that you run from one end of the platform to the other, but as soon as you get there, you change your mind and rewind back to the start. After you rewind, you’re back at the beginning of the platform - but then a “ghost” version appears and retraces your last footsteps, while the present you can go off and do something else. Metaphorically, it’s like you’re watching two ways that your life could play out.

In fact, I guess it’s like Sliding Doors. The hard part is figuring out how to use this new ability to solve a series of jumping / lever / locked door puzzles, and how to picture yourself going in two separate directions at the same time - and that’s where this felt like calculus. Yes, I get the concept of calculating the slope at a specific point on a curve, but when I actually have to use it on a final exam problem, it makes a small spot on the left hemisphere of my brain go “groan.” That same flabby brain slice acts up when I play Braid.

Braid is really shaping up to hopefully be one of the breakout hits of the XBLA, hopefully we'll see more soon. Read all of the impressions below.

Source: Save The Robot - "Braid: More Fun Than Calculus!", thanks to Kotaku for bringing up the link.

Giant Bomb Previews Braid

Jeff Gerstmann over at the new website Giant Bomb was able to have a look at a PC version of Braid, and hense write a preview:

If you really want to strip it all down to its barest surface, Braid is an homage to Super Mario Bros. You jump on top of creatures to kill them, big plants pop in and out of pipes, there’s a castle with a flagpole at the end of the world, and so on. Of course, if that were all the game did, it wouldn’t be anything special. In fact, it’d probably be actionable. Braid’s big difference is that you have control over time itself. That lets you rewind your mistakes to prevent death, its first useful feature.

Read the whole preview below. Jeff also discussed the game in the latest podcast, which you can grab here.

Source: Giant Bomb: If I could turn back time...

New Braid preview on this weeks 1UP Show

The 1UP Show previews the upcoming XBLA game Braid this week as they chat with its creator Jonathon Blow. Give it a watch, it's looking very nice.

Source: Gamevideos

GDC '08 - New video of Braid!

Despite being at GDC it doesn't seem like Braid was mentioned anywhere outside of Microsoft PR - well Gamespot did have a quick look at the game, and it's looking pretty sexy!



Braid is from the mind of Jonathan Blow - sporting a Super Mario Bros. like platforming with a whimsical graphic style. One of the major features of the game is that the player can turn back time - similar to The Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time but with no apparent limitations to the amount one can use. Initially shown at the IGF back in '06, Braid has been a long time coming.

A new feature shown off in the new demo was the "Speed Run" mode - or Time Attack. Players will be able to play for time, and fans can try and beat the top scores on the Leaderboard!

Supposedly it's slated for Spring in the US, so we should see it pop up in the coming months.

Source: Gamespot Go Go Break Steady Preview,