BRAID IS HERE!!!
Posted by Sick Panda Wed, 06 Aug 2008 11:09:00 GMT
Hello, gentlemannz. Is me, Sick Panda, reporting live from doctor’s offices on laptop MacintoshBook Pro, donate by Chinese governments. Doctors tells me ever-thing gonna be okay, but I must stop barffing on them.
Anyway, I tell you right now Braid is here. On XBOX live arcade and mebbe soon on the PC computers too.
Eurogamer give ten out of ten review, say:
Also, XBOX World give ten out of ten review, too, and also say:
Also, Derek play preview of game and say is good game also, he say:
Is must be a pretty good game, then! Go play if you can. Sick Panda can no play. Okay, gentlemanns, thank you for your time and this is the very Sick Panda signing off until next time!!! (Thank you Mr. Yu for making link and quote.)
TIGdb: Entry for Braid
It’s a great day for indie gaming!
This post made my day. Poor panda!
Part of me wants to play Braid for the rest of the day, just staring at the beautiful pictures and listening to the nice music. And trying to figure out what exactly those little furry-type guys are. Then I remember I have a game to demake!
Get well soon, Panda! We miss you.
c
mon panda - now fix those forum thingies, you know you can do it - else theyll turn off the olympics.The olympian panda god of many faces and things like awesome and nice
I want my panda now!
That panda needs a monocle.
get well soon panda
Panda, this way for some sweeeeeeet luurve!
=*, even.
uhm, there were three asterisks there.
Sulking now.
As usual when any game ever has a multi-stage release it’s always done in such a way that I don’t get to play until later.
And despite the temptation I’m not going to buy a 360 just to play Braid.
Fix the f**ng forums or I’ll cut down more of your forests and turn you into a nice rug for my living room.
I took the initiative to invent the polar bear
Apparently there’s been a huge amount of hype for Braid, and I’ve been unaware of all of it. That said, however, it completely lives up to all the hype.
I thought I’d been playing it for an hour today. It had actually been 4 hours.
mmmmmmmm
It’s sad how the majority of commenters on CVG bitch about it costing 1,200msp, which, I gather, amounts to about 15 USD. Just sad.
I’m so looking forward to this, but I’ll have to wait for the PC release.
15USD is about £8. And 20 years ago £8 got you a full price ZX spectrum game. So I dont see how folks can complain about the price.
My only grumble is not having an xberx!
Yeah I hate those whiners as well.
Seriously, it’s a great game, and thinking how people shell out 60 USD for medicore crap, it’s a damn bargain
“It’s a great day for indie gaming!”
Not. If the PC version has XBOX360 system requierements like Goo did, I’m quitting indie game forever and sticking to commercial MMORPGs, the only other good way to spend 15$ every month for games.
I agree with Victo. If games don’t run on 15-year-old PCs, well, they’re just not indie.
Wait, that’s bollocks.
You don’t mean that it isn’t a great day for indie gaming, you mean that it isn’t a great day for you.
I took the initiative to invent the Braid
“No game deserves a ten.” “The guy behind Braid sounds like a douche.” “There’s no way this’ll deliver.” “$15!? I’m not sure I want to play it for free.”
These are all quotes from me before today.
I am a humbled idiot. Thank you Braid, for being so awesome!
..Dang! I’ve said this before but by god damn, I will say it again: I LOVE YOU, JONATHAN!1! <3 <3 <3
Bought it, and I’ve been playing all day. It’s more challenging than I would have thought. It feels great getting a tricky puzzle piece, or finishing a puzzle.
I’m almost finished it, unless there’s a big reveal at the end. I’ll be sad when it’s over!
And there it is: The new indie mascot:
SICK MONOCLE PANDA:
http://img514.imageshack.us/img514/5199/panda1th0.jpg
Eh it’s okay, certainly not a masterpiece. Too bland for that. Of course I mean everything but the visuals.
Any day when an indie game gets the highest rated score in mainstream game review magazines (such as the ones mentioned above, and also Edge) is a good day for indie gaming. Even if you don’t like the game and don’t like Jon Blow you can at least appreciate that this game is in the process of raising awareness of independent gaming.
Highest rated score of any game released that month, I should have said.
“You don’t mean that it isn’t a great day for indie gaming, you mean that it isn’t a great day for you.”
So I’m the only person here who thinks indie games and Xbox live don’t belong together? I bet Gish 2 will be Xbox-exclusive first as well …
BaronCid, you didn’t warn me of the monocular content of that picture well enough! I was somewhat ready for it but someone else walked into the room, looked at the picture, and orgasmed to DEATH.
He really is one sick monocle panda.
I kinda agree with Victo here. It’s good that indie games are getting mainstream attention? It’s sad that indie games can’t get mainstream attention without the developers selling their souls to Microsoft.
I think when releasing to Xbox Live, you should release the PC version on the same day. But I bet some sort of contract with Microsoft forbids that.
This does not please me.
“I think when releasing to Xbox Live, you should release the PC version on the same day. But I bet some sort of contract with Microsoft forbids that.”
Or the game has been developed only for xbox because it’s a bigger market, and will require a monster PC to run it’s half-assed “ported” version …
It’s pretty nice. I wasn’t pumped for this like everyone else, and I don’t think it’s a super indie masterpiece, but it’s fun.
I only played the demo, so unless it gets MUCH better in later levels I’ll save the money for Castle Crashers.
Actually Victo, Gish 2 will be a Jaguar exclusive for the first 8 months.
“So I’m the only person here who thinks indie games and Xbox live don’t belong together?”
Why do you feel that you’re entitled to play an indie game first because you own a PC?
I am all for distribution models that allow independent game developers to support themselves financially from their efforts. As well, the console downloadable services garner developers a measure of exposure that is still not often seen for indie PC titles.
Braid exceeded my expectations, I wasn’t expecting the environment to be so textured. There certainly is an elegance / efficiency to the design as well.
I give five stars
It’s a good game, I got it but I’m disappointed by how short it is. It’s not worth $15.
“In a world without Mario and Valve and the Bethesda hit factory Braid is indeed the best game ever made”
I know what they’re trying to say here, but… uhh… Bethesda? Really? Valve and Nintendo almost always turn out awesome products, but I would say the best of Bethesda’s stuff is merely good. Certainly not “best games ever made” material. There are so many better companies/series/games to use as an example there, that line just bugs me.
That said, I’m looking forward to a PC release of Braid!
Kongming:
Throughout the article, they use a weird parallel-universe type theme. Odd to read, even odder to get quotes from.
I’m with Fish here. I’ve only played through the demo, but it hasn’t exactly blown me away. It does do some very clever things with time travel, though. My biggest problems with the game are the following:
The sound effects sound like they were placeholders that were left in the final game.
I find the controls very loose and lack the precision that this game often requires which has caused me a fair bit of frustration.
Really though, the biggest problem is that I just don’t find it that interesting. It’s a 2D platform puzzle game with a cool mechanic. Like Lost Vikings! I guess all the hype made me expect something much more when there really isn’t. Like Fish says, it feels a bit bland.
Gosh darn beautiful, though.
It’s also good to see an indie game doing so well in the press, but all that hype may also hurt it…
The main thing is that when you solve the puzzles in the later worlds, your mind WILL BLOW, literally, you will feel crazy.
You can drink alcohol if you want to feel crazy, or dress up in clothes made out of wood. That’d feel darn crazy.
I played the trial today and while it’s neat and unique, there just isn’t a lot here. Invariably this game is going to receive comparisons to Portal, and while they are both high quality, I think that Portal is the better game. Neither game is very replayable but Portal has the advantage of extra mods/levels/etc. which extend the experience. Portal also contains a high degree of humor and I think that really adds to the experience. The four or five hours Braid simply isn’t enough to warrant $15, especially amidst other high-profile releases like Castle Crashers and Geometry Wars 2.
“Invariably this game is going to receive comparisons to Portal”
What? Why?
Also, 4 or 5 hours for Braid is pretty quick. I reckon it’ll take me 5-7 hours, or even more if I get completely stuck on one of the puzzle pieces I have left.
My offer for a forum is still valid if you are interested Derek…. lol
I’m a little confused. This reminds me a bit of a much lower scale GTA4 hype-like thing. GTA4 was getting this amazing unparalleled attention from all media, was hyped to something like being the best thing ever made in the last 50 years, all the reviewers agree - but actually quite a lot many players are disappointed, think it’s “good” or only “okay”, but nothing really special.
I’m not rating Braid here, I don’t even have an Xbox, but it seems similiar: Press: “Awesome, one of the best games”, players: “Hm, ah, well…”
I haven’t got a chance to play it yet :(, but I intend to purchase it as soon as I get home. The GTA4 comparison might be valid, but a lot of players loved GTA4, it wasn’t just critics. This is true for many games. People that enjoy the game play it, have fun and don’t feel the need to discuss it. People that don’t enjoy the game are a very vocal minority.
I don’t think there’s a contract with Microsoft that says it can’t be released simultaneously, because a lot of Xbox downloadable games were released on the PC first. I do think it’s smart to release it for the 360 first. Larger automatic audience, less piracy, etc. I don’t mind waiting a few months for it.
The graphics are nice but the game is… well, boring. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is much better and you can pick that up now for $15 brand new (with a case and manual). I think $15 is way too much, 800 points maybe, but 1200? That’s ridiculous. I’m sure Microsoft put their foot down and made sure that the 1200 points was firm and wasn’t going to change their mind. They even tried pushing for Bionic Commando Rearmed to be 1200 points but the developers said “no way” they had promised it at $10 bucks and $10 bucks is what it’s going to be. This isn’t a knock against the developer of Braid, but 800 points would have been much more reasonable. The Trial mode didn’t even display much use of the time manipulation feature. I’m extremely disappointed and wish I could get some of my points back.
Staggered releases are OK by me. Lazy porting/horrible optimisation that makes the game irrationally hard to run is not. If my computer can’t run Braid I’m going to be really pissed off.
Also, that Xbox World review is kind of hilarious when they claim Fallout 3 is one of the best games ever and it’s not even out.
Sick panda is sick.
This game is fantastic. I was a little irresponsible today and skipped out on some fairly important things to play it. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a game with such well-balanced, self-reinforcing elements. The story, the art direction, the music, and the gameplay all tie together.
All that and it’s fun. I’m going to go sit in the corner and pretend like my current game designs aren’t about blowing things up and burning things down.
Cave Story ripoff
I hope it comes to PC VEEEEEERRRY sooon… Please?
The game is fun but getting all pieces is tedious. =/
It’s funny. How they rage about 4 hours of gameplay for something that costs 15$ but are all orgasmic about something that has 3 hours of gameplay and costs 50$ (aka call of duty 4).
Ohh, I just can’t wait for a PC release!
I can’t understand how some can be so indifferent to this game, give me one other game with puzzles of the same quality. I’m with Raigan (and the rest of the world) here, solving some of those puzzles gave me a la petite mort. Braid has set new standards for all of us.
“Staggered releases are OK by me. Lazy porting/horrible optimisation that makes the game irrationally hard to run is not. If my computer can’t run Braid I’m going to be really pissed off.”
I really doubt that will happen, I’m not sure why you’re even expecting that it will. I’ve known people who have played a preview version of the game on regular generic 2-year-old computers just fine. Most PC games have options to turn special effects down in order to get it to run on older computers, so I’d expect it to work on most anything.
Well, I have an X-Box 360, but I don’t have an X-Box Live account, nor do I care to have one. Anyway, I’m incredibly suspicious of Braid. Whenever a game is hyped this much, and gets such positive reviews, followed by people saying “Yeah, this game’s awesome!” I just start to get really suspicious. coughgtaivhalo2ssbbcough
Actually it’s not that good. It’s not bad, but it’s not a game to get hyped up about. I find the Super Mario series is still more fun. I definitely liked the artistic style of Braid but after playing the Trial and becoming very bored I couldn’t justify dishing out $15 bucks for it. Sorry but I’ll save my points for BC:R or Castle Crashers. The reviewers must be delusional or something.
I bought Braid immediately so I have no idea what the trial is like, but the stuff I’ve seen so far… sheesh. It’s great. Best game so far this year.
Halo 2 was a fun online game actually … The soundtrack was epic too, excluding the Breaking Benjamin song …
You don’t need an xbox live account to download Braid!
Everyone should play at least the first 20 seconds of it. That was my favorite part of the trial though I was pleasantly surprised thrice more before it was over.
““Invariably this game is going to receive comparisons to Portal”
What? Why?”
They’re both short, unique, level-by-level puzzle games.
@Victo: Yeah, except the Plasma Sword was hilariously over-powered. Plus, the singleplayer mode sucked.
@Splinter: Well, I still don’t care to play it, or even try the demo.
It’s a fantastic game, but at heart it’s an old-school puzzler, which means it inherits all the problems that old-school puzzlers had. Which are mainly to do with play patterns: once you’ve traversed every world, you can no longer turn on the Xbox and “have a game of Braid” because all you can do is go back to the same puzzles and cross your fingers that you think of an answer this time. Some of them yield to experimentation, but some don’t.
Also, I think it’s quite a shame that after World 2 shows how much fun it can be when you don’t have to backtrack, that he then proceeded to throw backtracking into the later worlds.
And the Xbox issue.. I agree that it could be a concern if console manufacturers continue cherry-picking indie games onto consoles (thus risking slumming the PC market and throttling the number that can exist) but in this case there’s apparantly going to be a PC version and MS are doing XNA, so I’m not too worried here. The PC version had better be moddable, though.
why do people always assume the people who don’t like a game is the “vocal minority”. i hear this everytime, but has anyone got proof that there are more people who liked the that didn’t post than people who didn’t like the and also didn’t post. (hope that made sense)
So what are you suggesting, john? That for any game with a visibly enthusiastic response there is a silent and dissatisfied majority? I mean, looking at the comments and reviews isn’t the best way to gauge actual popularity, but at least it’s evidence instead of baseless supposition.
It’s great to see the indie community showing love for another Indie game, but lets be honest here guys, Braid isn’t THAT GOOD. I truly believe people want it to be good but feel that a negative review by the indie community means negativity towards indie games, period. Which isn’t the case. I just think we should be honest. Sure, Braid has a unique and very flavorful artistic style, but the game itself is bland. Some people have stated that it’s too little bang for the buck and I’d sorta have to agree, but I also understand why people wanted it to be the next big game, hell so did I. Unfortunately it’s just not that memorable. I’m sure there will be people that enjoy it but I’m also certain that many people will find that aside from it’s graphical “cuteness” there’s really not much too it.
I love this game, but as people have said, it’s way too short, and while the puzzles are ingenious they don’t exactly stay fresh on repeated plays. Everyone should play through it at least once because it really is phenomenal, but I agree that the price they’re asking is just a tad too high.
Do you people have any soul? =/
John: I like to think its a vocal minority. If its the majority then everyone hates gaming and we should stop making games.
“And despite the temptation I’m not going to buy a 360 just to play Braid.”
I did this. Back in May. Hellllll yea the wait was worth it.
Wait, what? I just read the comments.
People are actually complaining about the price and the shortness? Damn I thought that Penny Arcade strip this morning was the jokes. What the crap people I paid like $500 to play Braid (granted I am counting extra controllers and 6 blockbuster games used to fill time in there) … and that was instead of food. And just cos I liked ALILBTDII.
It’s funny, I can perfectly understand the people who say this is too short or boring or whatever, because one of our friends came over to try it and JUST RAN THROUGH THE ENTIRE GAME WITHOUT GETTING THE PUZZLE PIECES.
Yes, if you play it this way, Braid is in no ways remarkable and is pretty boring, albeit with good style.
I can’t believe that anyone who dislikes this game has beaten the “x=t” world or the alternate-timelines/shadow world. Those puzzles were AMAZING!
I hadn’t paid much attention to Braid until an article popped up on Gamasutra with a discussion on the artwork. That was enough to trigger my downloading the demo, and that was enough to make me buy the game.
This is going to be a love/hate game for one simple reason: it’s art. Like Ico (and/or Shadow of a Colossus) or Darwinia, there’s something in the game which is more than the sum of its parts - at least for those attuned to such things. Everyone else will just call it pretentious crap with retro-styled gameplay and a badly written emo-fluenced story (I have to admit, I winced at the princess “whipping her braid at him”).
It’s not perfect, but it is clearly a labour of love. I’ve completed the first world and I suspect a chunk of the weekend will go on the rest…
this game is brilliant. This is nothing more to say about it. Anything said before or after is either wrong or needless.
Other things that cost $15:
A pitcher of beer.
A cheap bottle of wine.
A pocketbook.
A quarter of a tank of gas (in Canada).
An entrée at a decent restaurant.
I’ll admit I haven’t played Braid, but if it’s at least as enjoyable as any of the above, I would say it’s worth $15. Please try to have some perspective.
Am I the only one pissed off that this game looks like butt in SD?
Well, I mean, it’s still very pretty, but huge amounts of detail are lost; the hint signs in the first level are illegible, you have to squint to spot the green glow of a time-fixed object, the puzzles don’t look like anything except when you’re actually working on them, and a whole lot of other minor visual cues are just really hard to make out. I wouldn’t know that Tim was wearing a tie if I hadn’t seen the development pictures.
And apparently the damn thing is widescreen only, which means if I want to be able to see the sides of the display I have to shrink everything and make it even harder to see.
Am I wrong to be upset about this? For expecting someone to have paid attention after the problems with King Kong and Dead Rising? Or are there really so few SD console gamers that designers think they don’t need to care?
butt in SD? A super-deformed butt?