BRAID
On PC /XBLA| Out 2008
Beautiful, non?Billed as "an action-puzzle game about manipulating the flow of time",Braidfirst appeared way back in 2006 as an entry in the Independent Games Festival, and was due for a launch in early 2007. No doubt translating artist David Hellman'sincredible visions into the actual game has been a sticking point, though this footage looks fantastic:
Time will act differently in every single world you travel to, and it'll be fascinating to discover how this turns out. It's this kind of unconventional core idea that drives the majority of the games we've gathered here, where developers try to do utter justice to one brilliant idea rather than attempting to please everyone with half-measures. The price is obviously a selling point too (boomtish!), and we'd confidently predict Braid to cost $20 or £10.
LOST WINDS
On WiiWare | Out Now
LostWinds "puts the power of the wind in the palm of your hand," apparently. What that translates to is a wonderfully interesting platformer echoing Touch Kirby or Yoshi's Touch & Go, as you swirl and whip the Wiimote around to control gusts and eddies of air, powering main character Toku's leaps and bounds, or defeating enemies for him.
Priced at an almost absurdly reasonable 1000 Wii Points (roughly $10 or £7) LostWinds still looks better - and makes far more interesting use of the Wiimote - than the vast number of full-blown Wii games. LostWinds proves that WiiWare could be one of the console's very best features.
WORLD OF GOO
On PC | Out 2008
Puzzle games are the birthplace of many an attractive indie game, andWorld of Goois no exception. You're looking at a physics-based contruction puzzle game that reminds us a lot of the excellentArmadillo Run. Cost wise, you can get on board with a pre-order immediately (giving access to Chapter 1) for $20 or approx £10. For now, though, try this trailer:
