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Given all the hype surrounding the new XBLA title, Braid, I had to see what it was all about and judge for myself whether it was warranted. So much like the other hoards of people, I downloaded the game (1200 points) and started in on my quest. After a day and a half of nearly non-stop play, I have beaten the game and can say with a certainty, I understand the hype.

About a week ago I heard all about this little game on Xbox Live Arcade and then few days ago, while doing some research, I found out that it ranked tenth for Xbox 360 games of all time, beating out some strong competitors. Then there is the price. At 1200 points, roughly 15-16 dollars, it was better than some games I have purchased for sixty-plus dollars.

If I am being completely honest, when I first started I laughed - out loud, hard. I was shocked to see all this hype was about a game that played like an old fashioned Super Mario Bros (great game that it was), two dimensional, and for all the crying we gamers do about graphics, this was not, well, up-to-date. This was all at first, mind you. After playing the game for a few minutes I literally fell in love.

The rewind function was probably the best and worst button of any game, ever. I enjoyed the lack of "lives" in the game, since dying frequently is a definite, and the manipulation of time, which is the primary focus of the game, was simple genius. The first level or two start out in World 2 and are relatively easy. As I stated, very Super Mario Bros. - in one door, out the next and bounce on things, the whole nine. The levels give you a feel for the game and an overall understanding, or so you think. Every world has a new function as it relates to time manipulation. Some examples include a ring that slows things down significantly, your shadow repeating an action you do after you press rewind, time "anchors" and more.

There are portions of the game where I had to rewind and play at least 20 times so I could time a jump just right in order to bounce high enough to get the puzzle pieces necessary to get to the end level. Granted, some of those times may have been due largely in part to the increasing frustration which causes NuyoRican Flustered Gameplay Syndrome (NFGS = is a serious condition that cause a gamer to repeatedly scream profanities at the characters on the screen in hopes that they will listen. The worse the character does the louder and more profane the language becomes. It is often accompanied by sudden jerking hand movements in an attempt to help characters jump higher or tilted head movements in order see around non-existing corners. If you or someone you loves has NFGS, do not be alarmed. Symptoms rarely persist upon conclusion of the game.), a common occurrence in my home. Once I would negotiate a level, I would find another equally as challenging or worse. On a few instances, I came across a level (i.e. The Pit?) where there was no challenge or obstacle to tackle. This bothered me more than anything. As only true gamers can understand, this immediately causes a panic in anticipation of whatever lies ahead.

Since you get unlimited mulligans (golf term for do-over) in this game it quickly becomes a crutch that is overused. Pressing the X button happened so frequently that every so often I would press it unnecessarily and cause myself more heartache after rewinding off the platform I spent 30 minutes attempting to reach. Be forewarned.

There are squinched up looking creatures that squeal when you kill them and you can use them to super bounce while taking them out. There are cannons shooting out fireballs to kill and clouds to help. Of course, do to all the messing with time you are doing, they eventually begin to walk or move backwards and then these squinched Wookie-looking things can't be killed without some clever maneuvering and timing. There are also the rabid looking cat-bunnies that disguise themselves as flowers and attack when you approach. (Thank goodness for rewind.)

Some levels have items, puzzle pieces, platforms or keys that will glow with a certain color. The green glow means the item is not affected by time. You can rewind time, but it will not undo or redo any action with regards to that item. For example, there is a level with 3 doors and 2 keys. You have to choose correctly and open the first door, open the second door, rewind and then open the third door. The middle door is green so it will not close when you rewind time giving you the opportunity to open the third door with the key that was once broken. Sounds complex but it isn't. You just have to find the pattern.

The object of the game is to save the Princess (sound familiar) and in order to get to the final level, which is the first world, you have to collect a series of puzzle pieces and assemble all 5 puzzles before it is unlocked. The puzzle pieces are not always so easy to reach and it requires some thought to find the path. They are in plain sight but there are always hurdles you must conquer through the use of your control over time. Admittedly, I did not get them all the first time through and had to go back to two of the worlds to complete the game. The biggest challenge is completing this game without doing a walkthrough or "cheat." While it is tempting at times, I think gamers will lose the beauty of the game if they don't allow the game to frustrate.

The other very interesting aspect of the game for me was the, often poetic, storyline. It talks of a man who leaves a woman in search of a Princess. Before each world begins you pass a series of books and as they open, another portion of the story appears on the screen. At the end of the story, I was dumbfounded. My audible sound resembled "Huh?" as I read the last paragraph. I truly think I missed something and yet I still got the overall plot and stand by my opinion that someone wrote most of it with a broken heart.

There is good reason Metacritic has it at 92 (at last check) which is the highest ever for an Xbox Live Arcade game. According to recent reports, Braid sold over 55,000 copies via download in its first week. Jonathan Blow, the genius behind Braid, can be proud. Those are great numbers and given that this title is an independent release makes it all the more impressive.

Braid is definitely worth the time and (very little) money you will put into it. It is challenging, different, and a great deal of fun. It has a classic feel gamers can be comfortable with but adds a progressive element that will surprise people.

Now I am off to try and grab that last achievement. I must now speed run through the whole game and beat some unspecified time. Wish me luck!

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