issue 18 / volume 40

Indie Analysis:
A journey through time to erase a romantic crime

» ‘Braid’ review

Ryan Volkman
Contributor

C0000

| ave you ever broken

someone's heart, and
soon regretted it? Ever
made a mistake so bad that
you wished you could go
back in time to fix it? In the
video game world of Braid,
Tim is doing just that.

At first, this game seems
to bea pretty generic platform.
You control Tim’s movement
with the left stick on the
controller and, of course, the
A-button is jump. However,
within Braid, you also control
time. At any period during
a level, you can rewind time
by pressing the X-button on
the controller. Enemies who
were previously eliminated
will reappear, levers will
be deactivated—literally
everything will undo itself. At
each new level, new temporal
manipulations will be made
available to you, keeping the
experience timely.

Braid never overloads you
though. Instead of making
the powers cumulative, each
new level discards a previous
power to make room for a new
ability. If you could keep all of

: the powers, the game would be
: much too complicated.

Some of the puzzles are

optional puzzle that involves
waiting for hours on end fora

: platform to move, which moves
: so slowly that it appears to not
: move at all. I’m being literal
too—this puzzle will take

: actual hours.

Although complexity is

nice to have in a puzzle game,

: puzzles like these use elements
: that are never adequately

: explained. There are only a few,
: but they do taint the experience
: when you end up looking upa

: walkthrough online only to find
: a solution no one would think

: of.

Yet you will almost never

be frustrated with Braid. The

: time-reversal mechanic means
: that you can undo all of your

: mistakes and start over if you

: mess up. If you die, the game

: will just pause and allow you

: to mend your demise. There

: are times when a level’s time

: mechanic can interfere, but

: areas can be reset when you re-
: enter the level, so you're never
: doomed. Journeying through

: the game is worth it too, with

: its colourful backgrounds.

The graphics are quite

: wonderful to behold.
: Rather than having a three-

: dimensional environment, the
: game is portrayed with two-
dimensional artwork drawn
downright difficult! There’s one :
: It’s quite a breath of fresh air to
: see lush settings. All too often

beautifully by David Hellman.

in the video game industry

there is a desire to make

: settings dark and gritty. The art
: style in Braid feels downright

: COZY.

The story is intriguing in

its minimalism. There isn’t a

: linear plot. The game drops

: you into the middle of events.

: There are six chapters, yet you

: start at chapter two. Chapter

: one is the last level in the game,
: not the first one playable. The

: only text in the game is in

: thick books scattered around

: with enigmatic messages.

: These say what Tim is thinking
: or experiencing before each

: chapter starts and they are not

: necessarily literal messages. The
: rest is shown throughout the

: game with heavy symbolism.

Number None Inc.’s Braid

is available on Xbox 360 Live

: Arcade, PlayStation 3 and PC,
: and has been featured in the
: Humble Indie Bundle.

I would recommend this

game to anyone who has an

: appreciation for a relaxing

: puzzler while also having a love
: for atmospheric plots.

 

arts // 7

 

 

 

an ae

By learningworksforkids.com

 

Comic Corner: A valentine dressed 1n plaid

» ‘The Exile’ review

Brittney MacDonald
Senior Columnist

00000

: are leaders of the influential

: Clan MacKenzie, and he has a

: bounty on his head courtesy of
: the English.

T" Exile is a historical
romance set in Scotland
during the 18th century that is
based off the award-winning
Outlander series by Diana
Gabaldon. The graphic novel
takes a unique approach of

transitioning from literary work !
: happens to be able to doctor

: any wound an 18th century

: Highlander could wind up with.
: As the pair becomes closer,

: their secrets are brought out in
: the open—including one that

: Claire has been hiding that’s a

: doozy!

to narrative comic. A plot filled
with romance and humour
drives this intriguing and
exciting novel, making up for
the less than stellar artwork.
Written by series author
Gabaldon, The Exile switches
the perspective from leading
lady Claire Randall to her
roguish love interest Jamie

: Fraser. After some time spent
: away, Jamie returns to Scotland

with more than his share of
problems. He’s stuck in the
middle of a power struggle
between his two uncles, who

Enter Claire. She’s

: beautiful, mysterious, and half-
: naked most of the time. Plus,

she swears like a sailor and

The change in narration

: Exile to be read by fans of the

: original series without the plot
: feeling too repetitive. However,
: enough of the backstory is

: explained that newcomers will
: be able to read and understand
: the graphic novel even if they

: aren't familiar with the original

: book.

Illustrated by Hoang

: Nguyen, many of the panels

: appear muddy because of

: over-blending and sometimes
: the characters appear too

: stiff or out of proportion. The
: panel layout is also a problem
: because it lacks any dynamics
: and instead appears overly

: simplistic.

I'd recommend this book

: for any friend you're trying
: to get interested in reading
: graphic novels.

: between Claire and Jamie allows :

 

By moviepilot.com