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Originally a sole student's project, The Misadventures of PB Winterbottom is a near perfect Xbox Live Arcade title. The visual presentation being reason enough for one to consider a purchase. Very rarely does ten dollars (800MSP) equate into such a beautiful and inspired masterpiece. Borrowing heavily from concepts found in 2008's title Braid; this still manages to be an original and unique experience. Puzzle fans are going to love this, and everyone else should certainly give it a try.

Winterbottom's most interesting feature is the art style. Being hand drawn is one thing, but existing entirely in black and white is absolutely unheard of! By removing color, Winterbottom literally stands out from every other single game on the Xbox. In a good sense though, stages never appear boring; and I always made sure to carefully inspect the lovely levels laid out before me. This is one of those rare examples that proves 2D gaming will never die.

To give the player a sense of purpose, a comical story exists that is genuinely funny; revolving completely around time travel and pies. Yes, pies. You take the role of PB Winterbottom, a hungry thief bent on eating all pies in his path. As ridiculous sounding as this is, it fits in perfectly with the theme. Storybook esque cut scenes are used to elaborate on the story's progression, partnering great art with cleverly written poems. While the game may seem short to more experienced players, the 75 levels offered are varied enough to ensure a legitimate amount of content. As I mentioned this game plays out very similar to “Braid,” though instead of rewinding time, we create clones. Record yourself, and then perform an action or movement. This then creates a copy of PB Winterbottom who promptly repeats exactly what you recorded. When you progress into harder levels, new elements are introduced; though the core concepts are always present. Overall Winterbottom is a wonderful playing game, nothing wrong here.

I never mentioned, but the audio in Winterbottom is nearly as impressive as the visuals! Many classic songs are remade into an epic hard hitting orchestrated sound. The best example being the game's opening level, which was moving even after multiple playthroughs. While songs eventually repeat, playing through the game at a standard pace makes this rather unnoticeable. This is one soundtrack I'm hoping to see a release of.

The Misadventures of PB Winterbottom is pure brilliance. Story, graphics, music, gameplay- all perfectly executed into a game that is just downright fun to play. After completion the only remaining options are timed bonus stages. This may strike many as a letdown in terms of content; however for 800MPS this is more than acceptable. PB Winterbottom is an arcade title you shouldn't miss!