I have read in a few places that if you don't get stuck on a puzzle, it should only take a couple of hours.

I have no horse in the race so I don't care, but even if it is 3-4 hours, I don't think it is fairly priced. Plus the majority of reviews I have read said the replayibility is suspect.

I wonder whether the "2 hour" figure is based on just getting through the levels or collecting all the puzzle pieces. Personally, it seems like the game isn't really over until you have all the pieces, since I think the completed puzzle images fill in the story of the game. So far I've played roughly 45 minutes and I'm stumped on how to get a few of the pieces I've seen so far, and I still have a bunch of levels that I haven't played yet.

I also don't buy the "length = value" argument. The most popular counter-argument is Portal - only a few hours to beat, but an amazing game nonetheless. Lost Winds (WiiWare) is another good example. If Braid only takes me 3 hours to beat, but it's a complete experience and enjoyable the whole way through, I'll have gotten my $15 worth.

I believe in the length=value argument in anything other than GH/RB games. But I also think Portal is a poor example as it was a part of one of the best valued packages in videogame history, even though I am not a HL guy.

Portal was part of a 5 game package and has resale value. $15 XBLA/PSN/WW titles do not, so length vs. value plays a bigger role in determining a purchase.

Has there been any talk of DLC for Braid? Additional worlds or puzzles or anything beyond the initial experience? Obviously I wouldn't expect that to be free, so I'm not debating the length vs. value issue here. I'm just generally curious if I'll ever have the opportunity to get more downline.

From what I have read it is a conclusion based game at the end, so I am not sure how they would work in additional DLC when it may prove to be better to just release a full fledged sequel.

My biggest problem is the game is really interesting, I just wish they would have spent more time and money on it and released it as a full fledged game on disc at $30 or $40.

Although to be fair, it's sold separately on Steam and now individually boxed retail for PC, and i'm sure both have sold a decent amount outside of the Orange Box.

FWIW, I would've been happy paying $15 just for Portal.

I just feel that the overall experience of the game is more important than how long it takes to finish. After all, I've read some short stories that I enjoyed more than long novels, and certain short films that I enjoyed more than 3-hour epics. That's really all I was trying to get at. I know different people have different ideas of what constitutes value, but I'm fine with paying $15 for 2-3 hours of entertainment if it's well-made and engaging.

I like my 100+ hour JRPG epics and I love my 3-minute GW2 Deadlines.

If Braid is a complete work and as interesting as I read it to be, I have no problem.

I'm totally ready for the XBLA Portal: Still Alive as I never played the OB version because I have no interest in HL and didn't want to have a shitty gamerscore completion % (so lame!).

I do often wonder what people get out of the resale market specifically, like a % ROI. I mean, I don't sell anything so I really don't know. But can you honestly say that you'd buy Braid for $30 on a disc and hope to get more than $15 in resale to make it a better deal in this specific case? I just wonder what the break-even point is. Do you ever keep games you know you might never play again just in case or because you loved it so much?

Oh yea. Depending on how quick you finish a game you can be looking at paying less than a rental. And honestly, ANY return on a game you will never touch again is better than $0.

You're pretty big up on the Half.com, right? Obviously you aren't dealing with resale shops for this.

No way. Half.com all the way. I need to give amazon a shot one of these days. It's also unlikely that I pay full price for a game. I look for coupons/deals/use gift cards/reward zone certs etc. So that also helps in cost vs. resale.

Not that I want to increase my competition, but one of the biggest driving factors I've found is posting free 1st class upgrade shipping. In reality it only costs about $.20 cents more than media and the customer is looking at 2-3 day delivery vs. 5-14 days.

Wasn't somebody having a sale on xbl points this week?

Starts Sunday at Target. 25% off and will make Braid only $11.25

Sweet, thanks for the heads up! Time to stock up again.

The most I have ever lost was $15 over a month and a half period. 70% of the time I break even and sometimes I will make money back depending on the degree of the B&M sale and subsequent pricematch.

I do amazon if I can't craigslist it, but I have done some on Half as well. Half has a much better profit margin than Amazon as far as the costs.

Sounds about right to me. My friends think I'm crazy when I say I make money back on my games, but it does happen from time to time. My biggest hit was Lost. God the resale on that turd sank like a stone. I should have known it but the fanboy got the best of me and my dumbass had to get it release week. I put it up on half the SAME week it came out and used copies were already down to under $35. ouch.

I keep a spreadsheet of all my game transactions. I wasn't concerned about my spending, rather it was more of a curiosity. Over the last year and a half since I started keeping the spreadsheet, I'm actually ahead, despite the fact that my collection is now worth more than it was when I started. I've gained money and gained value.

1Up gave Braid a A+

http://www.1up.com/do/reviewPage?cId=3169204

Braid answers my life long question of "What would the adventures of mini-Conan O'Brien be like?"

I blasted through the first two worlds of Braid pretty quickly (why isn't there a world "one"?), getting all the puzzle pieces, and even if the 3 remaining worlds take me a lot longer, it can't be more than 4 hours total - add in that the game is practically non-re-playable to me, and I'm kinda bummed I spent $15 on it. It's not bad, just far, far too short with zero replay value. Even at $10, it'd be too short. I mean, compare this to a rental game, and you can see that it's kind of a rip-off.

The look of Braid is the only thing it had going for it. The gameplay didn't engage me enough to want to play more and the price was just too much. I wish they would release more arcade games bundled together on retail discs but with my luck they would throw one game I want on a 40.00 disc. Thankfully at the very least I could rent it.

I blew through the entire game last night in around 4 hours or so, maybe a little less. While I do wish it was a little longer, I was completely enthralled by the experience. A few levels left me stumped, only to return later with a fresh mind and outlook to solve the puzzle. Is it worth the $15 asking price? For some, yes. I have no regrets myself, despite the lack of replayability. I did a few of the speed runs and might head back at some point to tackle the entire game speed run for the final achievement, although I'll have to refresh my memory on some levels just prior to performing that, else I will certainly not make the 45 minute time limit

Played the demo. Braid might be one of the most overrated games ever.