Game Reviews

When Xbox Live Arcade is at its best, it brings us games that would probably never have seen the light of day if forced to only be released in a box and placed on a shelf. Quirky, artsy games have finally found a place to call home on a major video-game console, and the people behind XBLA deserve some thanks for that. Otherwise, we may have never had the chance to play The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom; a quirky, artsy—and diabolically difficult—platform/puzzler from 2K’s casual label, 2K Play.

The titular character of this game, Mr. Winterbottom himself, isn’t your ordinary pie thief. In addition to sporting a mustache for the ages and a whimsical stovepipe hat to warm the heart of the most jaded Frenchman, Mr. WB has the frightening ability to clone himself. His clones can be sent off to do actions that you’ve recorded by holding down the Right Trigger. Clones, like you, can only run, jump, float and hit things, but by using a combination of those actions between yourself and your phantom selves, you can press buttons, hit switches and launch other Winterbottoms in the air. It sounds so simple, yet the devilish designs of the levels make it anything but.

Do not doubt that The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom is one of the most difficult games that you will have ever played. Unlike pure platformers, where most frustration is born out of not hitting the jump button at the exact right moment, in this game you have to contend with the spatial and timing difficulties only once you have actually figured out how to actually get to all the necessary pies in each level. It’s a bit like playing Sonic the Hedgehog inside an M.C. Escher drawing. But that puzzle-solving element is what keeps the game from getting too frustrating—or at least prevents the specific brand of controller-throwing anger that other platformer games can cause. It’s not necessarily your thumbs that are letting you down, but rather your brain. This constant challenge to your mental abilities is what will keep you focused on beating The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom. Rarely did I feel like the game was being unfair to me, but rather that it was truly challenging my cognitive (dis)abilities. As far as solving challenges go, the ones on display in this game will make you feel mentally superior when they are conquered. Who doesn’t like feeling mentally superior?