Despite the strong competition, one game has managed to rise to the top to become not only our favorite downloadable title of the month, but perhaps the best such game yet released. Braid, a cunning homage to Super Mario Bros. with a dazzlingly daring narrative, is available only on Xbox Live Arcade. It ought not to be missed.
PICK OF THE MONTH
Braid Xbox Live Arcade
Score: 5.0 (out of five)
Few games ever try to make any sort of meaningful statement about the human condition (and fewer still actually succeed), but Braid -- one part deviously difficult time-bending platform game, and two parts allegorical love story -- does a marvellous job of interactively illustrating the futility of searching for perfection in a relationship.
Between levels that intentionally recall Mario hunting for his princess in the classic Super Mario Bros., we are treated to brief bits of beautifully written prose that act as metaphors for events that take place in the game. Our hero wishes for the ability to turn back time as he does in several of the game's levels, and to be able to reconstruct the shattered pieces of his relationship like the jigsaw paintings he builds in each game world. Simply put, Braid is a masterful hybrid of storytelling and gameplay.
The Last GuyPlayStation Network
Score: 4.25 (out of five)
It seems possible that in designing The Last Guy, which is about a lone hero scouring a zombie-ravaged world for survivors, the game's architects began by sketching things out at the 10,000-foot level... and then decided that perhaps the game should actually take place at that height.
That is to say, you control a little speck of a protagonist as he runs through Google Maps-style environments, stopping briefly by building entrances to let cowering refugees file out and join your entourage before guiding them back to an extraction zone. All the while you're avoiding a variety of undead enemies prowling the streets for a little snack.
Each level has a time limit and a target number of survivors, and players can compare their best results to those of others around the world.
Bionic Commando: Rearmed
Xbox Live Arcade
Score: 4.5 (out of five)
A select group of adult gamers who grew up in the 1980s fondly remember Capcom's Bionic Commando, a side-scrolling adventure game the star of which had a cybernetic arm that gave him the ability to grapple and swing from ledges.
In bringing this cult classic into the modern era, the Japanese publisher has spruced up the graphics a little and added plenty of fun extras, including challenge missions that test players' ability to quickly and efficiently wield the bionic arm, 3-D computer hacking puzzles, and a bit of adult humor.
The result is a game that's immediately recognizable by its long-time fans, but which offers enough eye candy and extra features to let it compete with -- and even outshine -- contemporary fare.
Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People: Episode One – Homestar RuinerWiiWare
Score: 4.0 (out of five)
The first entry in a new episodic series based on the web cartoon Homestar Runner, Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People: Episode One - Homestar Ruiner is a clever and droll point-and-click game. It's perfectly suited for Nintendo's console thanks to the Wii Remote's ability to effectively double as mouse-like interface.
Rife with hilarious -- if somewhat wordy, as you may have guessed by the title -- jokes, antihero Strong Bad awkwardly interacts with a broad range of odd looking characters whom he hates but -- one suspects -- still wants to be friends with.
There are a few game-like things to do as well, such as collect items and use them where appropriate, but the real draw here is the near-constant humor.
New entries in the franchise are slated to pop up on the Wii Shop Channel once per month.
Ratchet and Clank Future: Quest for Booty
PlayStation Network
Score: 4 (out of five)
An interesting stopgap for salivating fans of the PlayStation-exclusive Ratchet and Clank games, Quest for Booty picks up where the last game in the series, Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction, left off, pitting our lovable orange-furred lombax against legions of pirates under the control of the notorious Captain Slag.
It looks and plays just like its predecessor, but, at just under four hours in length, is considerably shorter. This briefer duration makes the process of upgrading weapons and gadgets -- always the primary attraction of these games -- a little less satisfying.
Still, a sub-par Ratchet and Clank game is a little like a sub-par Stephen Spielberg blockbuster; it's still better than the vast majority of competing entertainments.
Fable II: Pub GamesXbox Live Arcade
Score: 3.5 (out of five)
A sly bit of business, this collection of gambling games is a promotional prelude to one of Microsoft's most anticipated exclusives this fall, the role-playing game Fable II, designed by game architect extraordinaire Peter Molyneux. It's also a sure-fire money maker.
Hordes of ravenous fans will surely take the bait on the game's promise to let players earn in advance some virtual moolah that can be ported to and used in Fable II when it is released next month.
But the joke will be on them.
The three games of chance in Pub Games, though well made and fun to play, offer odds roughly similar to those found in Las Vegas casinos. In other words, the probability of anyone heading into Fable II a virtual millionaire are remote at best.
Still, it's fun to try. Some advice: stick with Fortune's Tower, a quick card game that offers small payouts but the best chance of winning.
Wild West Guns
WiiWare
Score: 3.5 (out of five)
Itching for an opportunity to use your little-used Wii Zapper peripheral? Wild West Guns provides that chance with a neat little selection of point-and-shoot mini-games that range from popping sombreros to plugging gunslingers.
All told, it's a little short -- even players inexperienced with pistolas will see everything the game has to offer in under two hours.
However, various achievement goals and a surprisingly addictive two-player mode should let you get your 1,000 Wii Points ($10) worth.
And, obviously, the Wii Zapper is optional. Indeed, some players (read: the author) will find that they have even more success pointing an unencumbered remote at the screen and blasting away.
Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2Xbox Live Arcade
Score: 4 (out of five)
The game that brought Asteroids-like arcade action back into vogue gets a sequel in this fun -- if awkwardly named -- shooter.
Players experienced with Retro Evolved 2's predecessor will find the simple, psychedelic graphics to be familiar, but they may be surprised at some of the changes made to the game's design.
For starters, weapon upgrades are no more (though this isn't as much of an issue as you might think, thanks to the ship's satisfyingly powerful default guns).
A more important differentiator is that multipliers are now created by picking up little balls of energy dropped by defeated enemies. That means players accustomed to staying in one place for as long as possible have to scoot around a little more if they want to boost their score -- and movement in these games is always dangerous.
Challenging times are ahead for space blaster aficionados.
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