Braid is an innovative little take on classic platformer games -- and indeed many of the elements are obvious nods to Mario, Donkey Kong, etc (there's even a level titled "Elevator Action"). Rather than reveling in its 8bit roots, like say, Retro Game Challenge, Braid takes those elements and updates them with gorgeous art, an enticing soundtrack, and an enigmatic storyline that meditates on why our hero is chasing after this princess anyway.
But the biggest addition is a focus on the notion of time in platformer play. Each of the six different 'worlds' plays with a different aspect of time control. In one, for example, the whole world is in lock step with the player's motion -- as you move right, time flows forward and as you retreat left, time reverses. It puts quite a complex spin on the normal "jump here and here to solve this puzzle" play.
I played Braid on the Mac, but it's also available for the PC and Xbox 360.
FuzzyCo grade: A
