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How Metascores Are Calculated
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Altered Beast
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed games. |
[Xbox Live Arcade] Braid is a puzzle-platformer, drawn in a painterly style, where the player manipulates the flow of time in strange and unusual ways. From a house in the city, journey to a series of worlds and solve puzzles to rescue an abducted princess. In each world, you have a different power to affect the way time behaves, and it is time's strangeness that creates the puzzles. The time behaviors include: the ability to rewind, objects that are immune to being rewound, time that is tied to space, parallel realities, time dilation, and perhaps more. Braid treats your time and attention as precious; there is no filler in this game. Every puzzle shows you something new and interesting about the game world. Braid is a 2-D platform game where you can never die and never lose. Despite this, Braid is challengingâbut the challenge is about solving puzzles, rather than forcing you to replay tricky jumps. Travel through a series of worlds searching for puzzle pieces, then solving puzzles by manipulating time: rewinding, creating parallel universes, setting up pockets of dilated time. The gameplay feels fresh and new; the puzzles are meant to inspire new ways of thinking. [Microsoft]
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more... 100
Eurogamer
Braid is beautiful, entertaining and inspiring. It stretches both intellect and emotion, and these elements dovetail beautifully rather than chaffing against each other. Still wondering if games can be art? Here's your answer.
 100
Xbox World 360 Magazine UK
Amazing ideas, achievement, logic, pride, beauty, and a game so good it makes every other Xbox World five-star game look a little silly. In a world without Mario and Valve and the Bethesda hit factory Braid is indeed the best game ever made; in this world, it's among the best games of the generation, and is unquestionably and immediately the best game ever to have been released on Xbox Live Arcade.
100
1UP
Excellent but intellectually limited as a puzzle-platformer, Braid is made truly divine with emotional depth and a bittersweet humanity -- a monumentally relevant game that speaks highly of its creators and their potential audience's tolerance for new ideas. To say nothing of an absolutely brilliant, emotionally devastating "ending" that proves that time isn't really that malleable after all.
100
Gamervision
Braid is a game cut from the same cloth as "BioShock" and "Portal," erasing videogame norms and reimagining the way we look at the medium. It does things with gaming that are usually reserved for novels and films, while also adding elements that would be impossible in any other form. It’s is a game that makes you think about your own life as much as it does about gaming.
100
Gaming Nexus
Braid is an absolute masterpiece, from beginning to end.
100
DarkZero
The fact is, Braid is art. There, I said it. Not only can it be appreciated aesthetically, but it was clearly created with the intention of the finished product being a work of art.
100
Giant Bomb
I was initially pretty skeptical about Braid, and it took me some time to get past the game's severe melancholy. I eventually found the game's story and the way it plays against the gameplay to be academically interesting, and the game's final payoff is terrific, but it's the ingenuity of the mechanics that makes Braid so engaging.
100
Console Gameworld
Braid is one of the best, if not the best, games I have ever played.
100
The Onion (A.V. Club)
This isn't a game about time, it's about memories, and how they can be repeated and eventually rewritten.
100
Xbox World Australia
Braid is a beautiful game and an amazing experience, and whether or not you think games can be considered works of art – or if it even matters – you simply owe it to yourself to play Braid.
100
Gaming Age
The story of Braid is definitely open for interpretation, and there's subtext aplenty for players who want to debate what the story could possibly mean. It's definitely ahead of the curve for most videogame plots, but it's not integral to actually enjoying the game either.
100
GameShark
Beautifully crafted and wonderfully realized, it is a shining example of the intersection between art and technology, love and loss, desire and despondence. It is, in one word, beautiful.
100
Level7.nu
Braid is an innovative hybrid of puzzles and platforming that uses manipulation of time in a great way. It's all too rare to see a unique and equally fantastic game like this and it's worth every penny. It's beautiful, captivating and filled to the brim with pure fun. That is why it only deserves the highest of grades.
100
LEVEL (Czech Republic)
A visual aural and spiritual delight – that’s Braid's explicit answer to all skeptics who proclaim games can only evolve in technical issues. Tens of completely different puzzles action-based or logical all connected to time-tampering created small but still one of the best games of all times. [Sept 2008]
100
AceGamez
A game that's every bit as original as Super Mario Galaxy and Portal, Braid is a short-lived gem.
100
Play Magazine
Every single genre of games could learn a thing or two from Braid’s design, and I can’t think of any type of gamer who would scoff at the title. Braid is my ruler for measuring quality in other games. Nothing anyone could say would change my mind: all the pieces fit.
99
GameFocus
Story is excellent.
97
Destructoid
As the first full-length art game ever made, and one of the most ingenious puzzle-based games ever devised, you owe it to yourself to buy Braid. It's worth fifteen dollars. It's worth fifty dollars. It's got too much new and intelligent and thoughtful stuff to be ignored simply because of a few hundred extra MS Points.
96
Console Monster
Braid is a stunning title which provides an experience which flows fluently from start to end. The simple concept, the complex puzzles, the beautiful presentation or the magical story.
95
GameSpot
A moving story, serene visuals, and brilliant puzzles make Braid an adventure that you absolutely should experience.
95
MEGamers
It has unique printed all over it from the start to finish. Every time you face an “impossible” puzzle, keep trying until you solve it and see how good it feels. Now this is gaming at its best.
95
Gameplanet
An amazing title which further solidifies Xbox Live Arcade's position as a fantastic platform for gamers and developers alike. Highly recommended.
95
GamerNode
Braid is the only true gaming classic on XBLA. It's a masterpiece--an "art" game and a fun-to-play puzzle/platformer. There aren't enough nice things to say about it.
95
GameZone
And while it might be visually unassuming, Braid offers players an experience (and a message about life) that few games have ever dared to offer.
94
Talk Xbox
Braid is a wonderful game. It costs a little more than your average XBLA title, true, and you’ll probably beat it in 4-5 hours or so, but those 4-5 hours will be extremely well-spent.
94
Play.tm
Braid is the most gorgeous slice of chocolate cake you can possible imagine wrapped in a silk cloth and tied with a pink ribbon. It's a paradoxical experience of simplistic charm and over-bearing sensory and logical complexity. No one in the gaming world should miss out on playing this game, to do so would be a tragedy.
94
ZTGameDomain
Braid is the kind of game that will likely change the face of downloadable entertainment.
94
Cheat Code Central
Braid is stellar and a true accomplishment. It not only represents the potential for more creative and innovative titles to reach the masses via downloadable service, but it stands as a game you won't forget.
93
NZGamer
The graphics are an amazing painterly mixture of abstract and cartoonish styles – it actually looks like a living painting you’re waltzing through. The music is of an equally high quality, switching between string compositions and folk music.
93
Games Master UK
Braid sums up everything we love about gaming. A near-perfect experience. [Oct 2008, p.76]
92
3DJuegos
Braid is one of those games that no one should miss. Innovative, impressive and really funny, this is one of the most brilliant games on Xbox Live Arcade.
91
Game Revolution
Whether Braid is art or just an extremely well-designed game, it is one of the best games of the year.
91
Team Xbox
It combines fun gameplay with an absolutely exquisite appearance - not going too far to one side or the other that it dilutes form over function, or vice versa.
90
Official Xbox Magazine
Braid is absolutely a game you shouldn’t miss.
90
Edge Magazine
A beautiful and brilliantly demanding game that barely contains its dense population of ideas. [Sept 2008, p.89]
90
VideoGamer
It's a game like nothing you've ever played before and something we can't recommend highly enough.
90
GamePro
Its sad, slightly twisted tale probably isn't everyone's cup of tea either. But how often do players get a chance to be immersed in an engrossing story in a downloadable title, especially one that looks like a painting and has haunting music straight out of an art museum?
90
Gamer.nl
Braid is unique. It's a brilliant little puzzler that takes you on a great, confusing and challenging adventure. The music will still sound in your head for days after playing. Backwards. Get this game, you’ll love it.
90
GameDaily
It looks gorgeous, with wonderfully drawn levels and a captivating soundtrack. It ends sooner than expected, but the ride Braid takes you on is worth it.
90
Gaming Target
Jonathan Blow has clearly proven himself as a videogame craftsman. Like Rez and Portal before it, Braid is a game you should own if you're into videogames -- period.
90
Totally360
This is a title that everyone must experience.
90
PTGamers
Don't be fooled by Braid's retro look. This game is simple in execution, but complex and clever in puzzles. It requires concentration, coordination and environment reading capacity. This is art in videogame form!
90
Wired
Braid is so much more than just another XBLA release. What you're paying for is a groundbreaking title that offers several hours of pure game enjoyment. Buy this game now, and experience some of the best this medium has to offer.
90
Official Xbox Magazine UK
Unique, charming, frustrating, innovative. [Oct 2008, p.94]
90
Planet Xbox 360
Brilliant.
90
Thunderbolt
Braid in many ways is this year’s "Portal"; not in the obvious sense but in the way it has burst onto the scene snatching most hearts that have given it the time of day, with nothing but plucky charm.
90
PALGN
Braid is the unique gaming experience that the critical press always cries out for and tells us to get so that more can be made.
90
MS Xbox World
Braid is to date the best overall game I’ve played from the Xbox Live Arcade. I say this not only because the puzzles are fresh and creative, but the story has a meaning that actually invokes emotions the way a good book or movie can.
90
games(TM)
The visual flair and meticulous puzzles will delight any gamer willing to lose themselves in Braid’s considerable challenge, but its true worth is grounded in something far more abstract. [Oct 2008, p.127]
88
IGN
Imaginative, innovative, and engrossing, Braid is a spectacular achievement. If only the experience lasted a little longer and there weren't as many puzzles with singular solutions.
87
Jolt Online Gaming UK
A true original, and one we’d be surprised to see surpassed in terms of quality on Xbox Live this year.
87
Gamer 2.0
When it comes down to it, Braid's very much one of those artsy games with an impactful story that can be something for people to talk about for a long time, which certainly lasts more than the game requires to beat it.
85
Worth Playing
It's not perfect, but for every bad lock puzzle and oddly written narrative, the "a-ha" moment of solving a tricky puzzle makes up for it.
83
WonderwallWeb
An innovative and unique game, it’s not a clone of Pacman, Tetris or Space Invaders and for that reason alone it stands out from the crowd.
80
Hardcore Gamer Magazine
Braid: is excellent and gorgeous, a little over-hyped, but maddeningly fun overall. [Fall 2008, p.55]
80
Video Game Talk
Die-hard fanatics of platformers should download the demo of Braid and check it out before pulling the 1200 point trigger. The rest of the gaming population needs to wait for Microsoft to reduce the price or find some Marketplace points on sale before purchasing Braid.
80
X360 Magazine UK
You can't put a price on innovation. [Issue#34, p.116]
Cheesey HPU gave it a10: Randy D gave it a10: Josh L gave it a10: peter s gave it a10: Tj the gamer gave it an8: Hagen M gave it a10: Dylan R. gave it a4: |
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