Show of hands: Who here had the tenacity and mental acumen to stick it out through all (or even most? any?) of Echochrome's mindbending block of puzzles? Not me. The game looked delightful in concept, but it was a little too abstract and unwieldy for me to actually puzzle my way through. When I want to feel inadequate, I've got Professor Layton, thank you very much.
Nevertheless, Echochrome is getting a new and perhaps more grounded sequel, Echochrono. You may have already seen this, but you'll forgive me for missing its existence amidst all the Gods of War and Uncharteds and PixelJunks Sony had on offer at E3 this year. Here's a trailer to give you an idea of the direction this sequel is going on both the PSP and PlayStation Network.
The good: This looks more focused and perhaps consequently more approachable than the last game. The bad: Shadow Tim was my least favorite (read: the hardest) part of Braid, and that specific mechanic looks like it makes up a good percentage of this one. I believe some diehard brain-training may be in order before Echochrono rolls out this Fall.
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