Braid the Latest Xbox Live Arcade Game II

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At first, Braid may appear to be a platformer. The first world certainly is more about making jumps than it is about using your noggin. However, the remaining worlds offer complex challenges that rely almost completely on creative solutions to master. Platforming, in fact, is almost inconsequential thanks to Tim’s special power. In this fairy tale land, Tim can rewind time with the X button. Missing a jump or being hit by an enemy means little, since you can rewind at any time to reverse your fate. Again, that’s not because Braid doesn’t want to challenge you, it’s because this isn’t a game about the dexterity of your digits.

Many of the worlds offer variations on time manipulation. In one of the worlds, you can create a bubble that slows time. This is useful for slowing a cannon’s rate of fire or the progression of a descending gate. In another world, you create a doppelganger of Tim. Rewind time, and the doppelganger performs your future actions. This allows you to manipulate the doppelganger in some creative ways. If there’s a platform that elevates when you pull a level on the other side of the room, you can use the doppelganger as an assistant. Run from the platform to the lever and pull the lever. Now, rewind time until you are back standing on the platform. Your doppelganger appears and follows your previous course of action, running to the lever and pulling it, thus raising the platform you’re on.