Braid is the 2-D side-scroller that I purchased from Xbox Live Arcade some time ago. I played it, I beat it and MY MIND WAS BLOWN. Like *WABOOOOOOOOOOM!* Sweet, sweet carnage!

It was so awesome, I thought I’d write an overview for those of you who haven’t played it because you should!
Hit the jump for my overview!

Braid is a 2-D side-scrolling puzzle game based on time manipulation. In the game, you play Conan O’Brien, Tim, our seemingly depressed, black-suited hero. Tim must solve puzzles in order to save his lady fair love, the kidnapped Princess. Hmm, sounds pretty familiar right? WRONG-O! This storyline is crazy twisted and is much more engaging & complex than the beloved Mario/Peach paradigm.

At the very beginning it’s learned that prior to the her kidnapping, Tim made an unfortunate mistake that caused the demise of his relationship with the Princess. “The Princess turned sharply away, her braid lashing at him with contempt.” Oooh no she DIDN’T just pull a HAIRFLIP! The entire game is titled after this meaningful moment and Tim’s ultimate goal is to reconcile their relationship. Reconcile?! Why would he want to reconcile after she WHIPPED him with her hair?! I wont spoil anything, but you are in for a treat!

There are six different worlds, each with multiple levels you must complete before reaching the ingenious final world. The levels require jumping from platform to platform, finding keys to unlock doors and piecing together puzzles from jigsaw pieces that you collect along the way. Sounds all very basic and traditional but, each world incorporates a different time-manipulating strategy in order to solve the puzzles.

Sounds pretty sweet but I have to say that one of the coolest things in this game is that when you die, you do not have to restart the level. Thank you Lord Vader! I could not imagine playing this game with a limited number of lives. There is no restarting the level over and over, nor is there an annoying Game Over, our tombstone of wasted time. Like the time I got stuck after a bad checkpoint on Ninja Gaiden Black for 3 months! STUPID BONE DINOSAUR!!!!!! Luckily, in Braid, when you die, you wont have to break your game, (THATS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN BAD DINOSAURS DONT DIE!) you just simply reverse time until you reach the point before your death. It’s like having your very own “whoopsie” button.

The game’s imaginative and artistic vision is refreshing, finally a 2-D game that doesn’t overwhelm itself in 8-bit graphics and sounds. The temperate music is unbelievably good. So good in fact I would buy its soundtrack, listen to it alone in my car… and cry. DON’T JUDGE ME! The animated scenery has a “Dreamworld Land” effect and the enemies look like ugly, demented, children’s toys – like some strange crossbreed of porcupines and sheep along with evil pink flower bunnies that are as annoying as Miley Cyrus throwing a “Party in the USA.” But both are acceptable. The puzzles are complex and confusing. (Especially World 6 Level 4. Watch out!) The levels might cause fits of severe “WHAT THE HECKK?” frustration, (Like a 9 year old trying to beat the Water Temple on Zelda for the first time. NO WALKTHROUGH YOU n00b!) but once you solve it, “Hey I’m an idiot! That wasn’t so hard!” Everything about this game is wonderful. However, it is truly the depth of the storyline that keeps your curiosity motivated to solving the puzzles and finding out what happens. Once you have, you will not regret playing this game.

BOTTOM LINE: 8.9 – Sweeet, sweet satisfaction!