Portal and Braid

[billybreen]

I'm somewhat late to the party on Braid (XBLA exclusive for now) and hugely late with Portal (now on XBLA as Portal: Still Alive), but who here has enjoyed either or both? I started playing Braid yesterday based on strong reviews and boredom with Fable 2.

Enjoying Braid, which I've seen described as the Portal of 2008, reminded me that I never did get around to playing Portal. There are definite similarities in that both are mind-bending puzzle games dressed up in different guises (Braid as a platformer and Portal as a first-person "shooter").

I strongly recommend both. Many of the challenges they present are very rewarding to solve.

[DevilAlumna]

The cake is a lie!

[alteran]

I'm somewhat late to the party on Braid (XBLA exclusive for now) and hugely late with Portal (now on XBLA as Portal: Still Alive), but who here has enjoyed either or both? I started playing Braid yesterday based on strong reviews and boredom with Fable 2.

Enjoying Braid, which I've seen described as the Portal of 2008, reminded me that I never did get around to playing Portal. There are definite similarities in that both are mind-bending puzzle games dressed up in different guises (Braid as a platformer and Portal as a first-person "shooter").

I strongly recommend both. Many of the challenges they present are very rewarding to solve.

Don't know about about Braid, but I loved Portal.

The mental puzzles with the portals are really neat.

I loved the little touches-- the passive-aggressive AI personality was great. That song at the end she sings was priceless.

[DevilAlumna]

I loved the little touches-- the passive-aggressive AI personality was great. That song at the end she sings was priceless.

Said song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6ljFaKRTrI

Both of the games have really interesting puzzles, but my major left-brain weakness is 3D awareness, so I don't do games like this, but I did watch Mr. DA go through about half of Portal, and some games of Braid. Totally agree with you, Alteran, about Glados (the AI personality.) The way she kept talking about "we'll have cake for you!" "The cake is almost gone, better come in," and finally, "We ran out of cake. you missed it" had me laughing out loud.

[RelativeWays]

I bought Braid this summer and I got Portal with the Orange Box collection. Haven't played Portal yet but I've heard so much about it that I wonder if its charm and quirkiness will be a bit stale. Played some of Braid but my favorite XBLA game this year is Castle Crashers easily. Nothing like an old school beat 'em up to kill time. You're bored with Fable II, BillyBreen? I played that game pretty much non-stop until I finished the main quest. Took me about 40 hours since I did a lot of side quests. Who here has Left 4 Dead?

[Cavlaw]

Braid was a lot of fun. The "real" underlying story was really interesting, but I'm not sure it was worth the extra effort to get the "hidden" ending.

Haven't played Portal.

Made it through Fable II in about a week. I enjoyed it well enough, I guess, but it wasn't up to the standards of say, a Zelda game, let alone the lofty heights Peter Molyneux always claims his games will reach but never do.

[billybreen]

Made it through Fable II in about a week. I enjoyed it well enough, I guess, but it wasn't up to the standards of say, a Zelda game, let alone the lofty heights Peter Molyneux always claims his games will reach but never do.

That's my problem with it. I am a big fan of open world RPGs, and I'm still waiting for a current generation game (360 or PS3, Twilight Princess was strong) that meets my expectations.

It seems like there's a fairly limited set of side quests for any given character alignment. It's better than Assassin's Creed in that regard, but the fact that I can even make that comparison (I think there were exactly 4 things to do in AC) is a bad sign.

[Cavlaw]

Oh man, Assassin's Creed was terrible. One of my biggest purchasing blunders; I traded it in within a couple of days.

[2535Miles]

Oh man, Assassin's Creed was terrible. One of my biggest purchasing blunders; I traded it in within a couple of days.

You've never played Top Gun then. Easily the most disappointing flight simulator/combat game ever. They could've done so much.