Braid

There's a lot of noise going on about Braid. Dubbed one of the finest XBLA games out so far, it's currently pulling a meta-score of 91 placing it at the all-time number 10, just above Mass Effect, garnering 100% scores from such internet luminaries as Eurogamer and 1up.

The demo grants you a good half a dozen levels spread over the first three (well, four really, you'll see) worlds. Each world exhibits a unique gameplay mechanic, usually based around time manipulation, wrapped around a platformer which gives it a very individual puzzle-game feel. Veterans of Portal will immediately feel at home with the kind of thinking (if not the play) required to get along in the game.

Traversing levels and worlds to rescue your 'Princess' is relatively easy. However once you start attempting to collect the jigsaw pieces from the levels it all ramps up a degree of difficulty. Some screens will have you gazing bovine-like at the TV wondering what you've missed, in order to let you get to that platform up there, or how to pick up that key to unlock that door. Then just when it's all too much, you'll see what you've been looking for, and your jaw will hit your chest as your brain leaks slowly out of your ears and you laugh and cry simultaneously.

At 1200 points, it's a pricey little prospect but once I completed the demo I knew I had to have it.

Do yourself a favour, set aside an hour this weekend, download the demo and make yourself complete Cloud Bridge and The Hunt. It's worth it. (And please, no gameFAQs.)