Book clubs are popular all over the world, you know the drill, people read a book for a month then gather to discuss it’s merits over coffee. Have you ever wondered why people never do they same with video games? No? Well some people in London did and Sprite Club was born. So, people play a video game for a month then gather (over Skype, this is the 21st century after all) to discuss it’s merits over a pint or two.

As part of that here is my first video game review for the club:

Braid

The first thing you notice when you play Braid is the the way it looks. The backdrops and design are stunning, the backgrounds look like some beautiful watercolour painting from the 17th century. Then you notice the character design, it’s dull and uninspired the main character is a man in a suit. You would have thought they could have thought of something better. The main enemies you encounter are balls of hay with eyes and legs, they actually cross the border to being downright ugly.

None of this matters though, the important thing with 2d platformers is how it plays. The game play in this is truly interesting: You can rewind and fast forward time whenever you want. With this time manipulation function you soon realise that it is not a platformer at all but a puzzle game. Some of the puzzles are mind bending brilliant. Often a puzzle can have you flummoxed for ages but when the penny drops it makes a very loud noise on the floor. The combination of relief and achievement is wonderful.

Saying this though my X Box died and the quickly procured replacement couldn’t load the save files from my hard disk. I couldn’t really feel any compulsion to start again. Which is a damning indictment of any game.

6/10 – Wonderful in flashes but ultimately lacking replay value for me.