X3F Insight: Why should we care about Braid?
Posted Aug 9th 2008 2:00PM by Richard Mitchell
Filed under: Fan stuff
Braid has had quite the mixed reaction thus far. Critics universally adore the game. Gamers, on the other hand, are more divided. Some have taken the 1200 Microsoft Point plunge and never looked back. Others see the price as an impenetrable wall or, in some cases, as permission to let Microsoft charge more on future
XBLA titles. We decided to take it upon ourselves to make a case for
Braid, as it's really one of the best gaming experiences we've had in a while.
Read on to see why we should care about Braid.
Tags: arcade, braid, live-arcade, number-none, xbla, xbox-live-arcade
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Reader Comments (Page 3 of 6)
8-10-2008 @ 2:11AM
Arnon said...
Boo.. that sucks.. Oh well. This game is worth $15
8-09-2008 @ 3:32PM
Pete said...
This goes out to all the people all over the interwebs screaming that they won't pay $15 bucks for a Super Mario Bros. clone..... YOU'RE ****ING NUTS!!!
X3F, thanks so much for again highlighting this game.
I guarantee you that when this game moves over to the PC and starts getting the attention that Portal did, a lot of these naysayers will turn it around. As you guys put it, this is one of gaming's fine achievements. As I put it, this game is a timeless and instant classic that transcends both genres it takes from.
Forget achievement points and the empty sense of accomplishment you get from those. To anyone who's beaten world 2, tell me you didn't just stare at the screen and go "Wow!" after you finally figured out how to get that last puzzle piece.
You guys said it more adequately than I ever could. This is a great game that must be played. ....(so we can have another game from the developer... please)
Reply
8-09-2008 @ 3:37PM
Stewart Bananas said...
I was stuck on those last two puzzle pieces on World 2 and when I finally figured it out (by accident of course...) my mouth hit the floor.
The puzzles in this game are extremely clever and I really enjoyed my first play through.
8-09-2008 @ 4:01PM
Gloqwi said...
I think Braid is all right, but I can't see myself spending 1200 MS Points on it.
Reply
8-09-2008 @ 4:10PM
UNSCleric said...
I hope X3F is getting some form of pay for pushing Braid so hard.
Reply
8-09-2008 @ 4:12PM
ZEBRA NINER said...
Richard also forgot another group of people. People that just don't like it.
Reply
8-09-2008 @ 4:26PM
Pete said...
I don't have a problem with those people. I don't think anyone does. No one's trying to convince people who just don't like this type of game to buy it. It's the people who would have bought it and would have LOVED it - but won't because of a dollar amount equal to 2 slices of pizza and a soda - that most of us are getting on about.
As genius as I thought Portal was, that's not for everyone either. And that's totally cool. (I personally don't like Geometry Wars so... LOL)
8-09-2008 @ 4:52PM
Richard Mitchell said...
Absolutely. If you don't like, you don't like it. Nothing wrong with that.
8-09-2008 @ 4:17PM
Silent majority said...
The game is not that good. On top of that it's short. Not worth the praise or the money.
Reply
8-09-2008 @ 4:35PM
Pete said...
To be fair to Penny Arcade though, their model is much more akin to the Half-Life series. In that way, the price is more than fair. They're releasing a full retail game in 3 episodes and the quality thus far has been undeniable. No one's bitching about Half-Life episodes 1, 2 and 3. You can't really fault a model like that.
Yeah, it's on XBLA but it's not actually an "Arcade" game. A lot of people kind of forget that. The 400 - 800 price point - back when the 360 debut - was for the types of games you'd find in arcades. They were puzzlers, coin-op classics, fighting games... They weren't full RPGS and they sure as hell weren't 6 hour platform games. In a few cases, XBLA users come out on top.
Puzzle Quest - the actual original game I believe to be priced above 800msp came out for 1200msp. $15. It was basically the same game that came out for the DS (and PSP) with the PC version's graphics, achievements, and the ability to get DLC. yet it was still $15 cheaper than when it came out for the DS.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying the 800msp price point should disappear. I'm just saying that the bar has been raised so much, it's only natural for the price to raise a bit as well.
8-09-2008 @ 4:42PM
Pete said...
Sorry, did not mean to put that comment there... Moderator please delete LOL >.
8-09-2008 @ 4:43PM
Gemini Ace said...
Puzzle Quest is not original. It's Bejeweled.
8-09-2008 @ 4:57PM
Ithilis said...
Wow. How ignorant. That's like saying that CoD4 isn't original, it's Wolfenstein.
8-09-2008 @ 4:18PM
Gemini Ace said...
All of the people stating that it's "just $5" are completely missing the point. It started with Penny Arcade releasing their game at 1600 points. The precedent was set. The days of 400 and 800 point XBLA games are behind us. Every game that comes out has been 800 points lately, and now they're creeping up to 1200 and 1600. I guarantee that Castle Crashers will be 1600. Do you really want to pay that much more for a game that you cannot sell, let someone borrow, or really do anything else with once you're done with it?
And Penny Arcade defending the price is just icing on the cake. Talk about a couple of hypocrites.
Reply
8-09-2008 @ 4:39PM
Pete said...
To be fair to Penny Arcade though, their model is much more akin to the Half-Life series. In that way, the price is more than fair. They're releasing a full retail game in 3 episodes and the quality thus far has been undeniable. No one's bitching about Half-Life episodes 1, 2 and 3. You can't really fault a model like that.
Yeah, it's on XBLA but it's not actually an "Arcade" game. A lot of people kind of forget that. The 400 - 800 price point - back when the 360 debut - was for the types of games you'd find in arcades. They were puzzlers, coin-op classics, fighting games... They weren't full RPGS and they sure as hell weren't 6 hour platform games. In a few cases, XBLA users come out on top.
Puzzle Quest - the actual original game I believe to be priced above 800msp came out for 1200msp. $15. It was basically the same game that came out for the DS (and PSP) with the PC version's graphics, achievements, and the ability to get DLC. yet it was still $15 cheaper than when it came out for the DS.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying the 800msp price point should disappear. I'm just saying that the bar has been raised so much, it's only natural for the price to raise a bit as well.
8-09-2008 @ 4:40PM
monkeymonkeymonkey said...
EXACTLY!
People are missing all the points your state.
WARNING!!! If enough people buy this game for 1200 points, guess how much future XBLA games will cost!
Seriously, the game is not worth $15. I love the demo, its very original. I just dont like buying things that have no resale or trade-in value. A $5 is fine for a download only game, $10 is pushing it. $15+, no way.
Just remember 1200+ pt XBLA game fanboys...you have been warned.
8-09-2008 @ 4:51PM
QuasarSquirrel said...
Hypocrite, I do not think this word means, what you think it means
8-09-2008 @ 4:54PM
Ithilis said...
First off, you don't understand the definition of 'hypocrite'. If they had criticized Braid for being too expensive, then yes, they'd be hypocrites. But instead, they support it, as you stated above.
Secondly, you say that the pricing precedent was set with PA, but what you recognize is that PA had a much higher budget and higher production values than most XBLA titles. Your argument would be valid if, say, we got a game almost identical to an existing XLBA title but cost much more.
And if you can't sell, borrow or do anything with XBLA titles once you're done with them, why are you interested in them at any price?
8-09-2008 @ 4:54PM
Gemini Ace said...
I think I know what it means. Either way, it's just funny how the makers of the most overpriced game on XBLA are defending another overpriced game.
8-09-2008 @ 4:59PM
Gemini Ace said...
Didn't realize I was posting on dictionary.com.
Anyway, the production cost/values of an XBLA game in no way matter when we're talking about the pricing. Sure, it probably cost a lot more to make a game like PA Adventures than it did to make, say, Battlezone. But, they're sitting there side by side on the XBLA.
Bottom line is Microsoft is going to keep pushing for higher prices, because eventually they want full retail games to be downloadable. I for one am not buying a game like Halo or Gears as a download.