This looks pretty sweet:

It also brings to mind one of the common sentiments I’ve had towards video games, which probably shows my age as much as anything else. Namely, this game looks fun and easy to play. As video games have become more and more complex, they’ve really moved away from that. There seems to still be a good market for it. The Nintendo Wii capitalizes on it somewhat. But so does the iPhone. Seven years or so ago, it seemed to be all about combos. Nowhere was this more evident than with the fighting games, which eventually became more about remember specific keystrokes than about dexterity and creativity. I’m not an avid gamer, but it seems that the focus has shifted at least a little away from that. I wonder if it’s because back in the day they could sell magazines with the keystrokes whereas now everything is out there for free on the Internet. But it probably has more to do with the facts that fighting games themselves have receded as game-designers have not had to choose between intricate fighting and storyline.


Category: Theater

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2 Responses to Hit Coffee Weekend: Braid

  1. web says:

    Braid is an interesting, if a tad odd, game. They hid a lot of “little extras” all around inside it. It’s actually – odd as it may seem – more of a puzzle game than anything.

    As for fighting games, I too miss the days when a combo was a combo because it flowed organically within the system (e.g. the move happened faster than the opponent’s recovery time, therefore a combo) rather than “because it’s on the combo list.” The Soul Calibur series has been the best game series to remain that way. There’s also the Guilty Gear/BlazBlue line, but unfortunately those substitute organic gameplay for “OMG everything happens so fast” gameplay.

  2. Transplanted Lawyer says:

    I got Braid about six months ago and really enjoyed it. I still haven’t solved all the puzzles because you have to think in a very non-linear fashion to solve them. It’s worth your money.

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