A poor man's Braid: Clover on Xbox Live

We know, you can't always judge a book by its cover -- a game by its screens. But "Braid clone" was the first thing that came to mind when we saw Clover, a forthcoming Xbox Live Arcade, no, "Community Games" title. And let's face it, the Community Games channel is still the playpen for the bastard children of Xbox Live. It's like a pet shop window: you glance at it, feel an inkling of "Should I?" and then proceed on down the street to the Arcade.

But a closer look at that doggie in the window, Clover, reveals a game worth considering. Developed by indie outlet Binary Tweed Ltd., Clover is, in the words of its British maker, "a plot-driven platformer in the style of classic titles such as Fantastic Dizzy that sees the player solve logical puzzles by collecting items, talking to a diverse cast of characters and exploring artistically realised environments." It follows Binary Tweed's motto -- "New games that are a bit like old games, but better" -- by injecting modern trends like autosave and the dissolution of lives and health into the game's traditional framework. Still, Clover promises to be very much about death, as the orphaned player must deal with the sudden demise of the in-game mother and the larger political themes at play. A heady romp for a mere 400 ($5) when Clover releases in Q1 2009 (that's soon!).