Braid

[syntheticgerbil]

So will this version have extra content or any differences compared to the XBLA version?

[elmuerte]

(Sorry elmuerte )

Ah, damn you! God damn you all to hell!

[ThunderPeel2001]

Sorry, elmuerte... No wait a minute: It's here!

(And presumably on Steam, as well.)

Nifty trailer, too.

[elmuerte]

woohooo

[DanJW]

This game will unlock in approximately 6 hours

sweeeet!

But dammit I'm working tonight

[ThunderPeel2001]

There's a bunch of places to pick it up... but which one is the best (least DRM'd)?

[elmuerte]

playhouse only has online activation (and USD prices) and allows paypal

steam probably has the steam DRM

no idea what impulse has

braid is great, some puzzles pieces are quite hard to reach

[ThunderPeel2001]

It seems like the official website has crashed?! Guess America is awake

EDIT: Hmph. The site is back but still no official announcement of where to buy it...

So far there's:

Steam $14.99/£9.99GBP (+ has Steam achievements)

Greenhouse $14.95/£10.24GBP

Impulse $14.95/£10.22GBP (software must be installed first)

GamersGate $14.95/£13.45GBP(?!) (pretty lax on DRM -- they'll happily reset your install count, apparently)

I've checked out the demo and it's sweeeeeeeet to see the gorgeous artwork properly for once. I think it needs a 360 pad (or similar) to be enjoyed fully, though.

Edited April 11, 2009 by ThunderPeel2001

[LOPcagney]

Any idea why we can't buy on Steam yet?

[elmuerte]

I've checked out the demo and it's sweeeeeeeet to see the gorgeous artwork properly for once. I think it needs a 360 pad (or similar) to be enjoyed fully, though.

I'm enjoying it without a gamepad.

[David]

Any idea why we can't buy on Steam yet?

Product page now says it'll be ready in approximately 2 hours. I'll buy it!

[SignorSuperdouche]

Braid just stole my day

So far I've been enjoying the pants off of this game, but it is turning a bit - I'm sure half the levels in World 5 can't be soluble, they just can't be.

[Wurtsi]

A day late? Is it always like this with Steam releases?

[Horticulture Tycoon]

I've checked out the demo and it's sweeeeeeeet to see the gorgeous artwork properly for once.

What are you implying? I assume you simply mean you don't have a hi-def television, because Braid looked pretty damn gorgeous on my 360.

[elmuerte]

well... that was great.

I wonder if there are already some user created levels

[gdf]

Got this from Greenhouse last night. I, too, can now appreciate properly the artwork in lovely shiny HD because my TV is one of those shitty cheap ones that takes an HD signal but isn't actually quite high enough resolution. That was probably the main reason I held off for this.

I don't think Impulse has any DRM at all, but the Greenhouse one just gave me an activation code, which I popped in at the start of the demo.

Awesome game.

[elmuerte]

Impulse has various forms of DRM, from Steam-like "being logged in"-DRM, to Greenhouse's "activate once"-DRM, to no DRM at all.

[ThunderPeel2001]

Can anyone with the Steam version tell me what the "achievements" are?

Edit: Ah, they're the same as the 360.

Tip for new PC players: The Speedruns are actually puzzles in themselves. They're not necessarily about being superfast, but usually involve solving the puzzle in a different, more efficient, way. Damned clever.

[gdf]

Sweet fucking game. I love the music. On to chapter five now I think.

[Nachimir]

gdf, awesome isn't it? You can buy all the music from Magnatune. Jon Blow lists it here.

Tip for new PC players: The Speedruns are actually puzzles in themselves. They're not necessarily about being superfast, but usually involve solving the puzzle in a different, more efficient, way. Damned clever.

I got my best time down to around 46:30

I also saw an amazing speedrun somewhere on youtube, where a guy does it in around 32 minutes and says "I'm not satisfied, I'm pretty sure I could do it faster than that"

[DanJW]

I think I have sadly left my platforming days behind me. I like the game, but can only handle it in small doses.

I'm going to assume that the methods to get the inaccessible puzzle pieces will become evident as I play through the later worlds. For the sake of my sanity.

[gdf]

No, but the game's logic just starts to click into place more and more.

I wanted to finish it today, so I used a video guide to get a couple of the pieces. Some of the puzzles are slightly convoluted, and a handful appear to be completely down to trial and error, but overall they strike a good balance of fiendishness and resolvability - enough that the "GOT IT!" moments make you feel like the biggest fucking genius in the world.

I very much enjoyed it. The pretentiousness only makes it more endearing. Actually, I'm not sure if that's the word. They enhance the experience, but I never found it "cute" as such. In some respects it's the anti-Mario.

[elmuerte]

There were some puzzles I had some serious issues with, I simply left them open for a while and later completed them without much problems. This usually the case when you are just getting the hang of the new time feature. Although, there is one level in World 2 you can not complete until you did the next level. This is because you need a certain piece of the puzzle.

[DanJW]

I think one or two puzzles are just down to my platforming skill, or lack of. It's been a while since I played a proper platformer, so I don't know at what point my patience ran out for having to bounce along multiple enemy heads, some of which are in mid air, in order to reach something. I just don't find that stuff fun any more, and I feel kind of bad about it

[eljay]

I'm pretty sure you're actually approaching those puzzles from the wrong angle Dan, since the game isn't a "proper platformer". Any time you think you see a solution which requires you to have excellent platforming skill then there is a far more elegant solution that involves a new way of using the time mechanic of that world...