Haunting looks but captivating gaming

Limbo

For: Xbox 360 (Xbox Live Arcade, 1200 Microsoft Points)

From: Playdead

Classification: PG

Score: * * * *

Limbo isn't a puzzle game that holds your hand. It's not a game that lets you drop the difficulty level if you fail a puzzle for the fifth time. It's not a game that gives you a hint at the press of the button.

Limbo is a game of trial and error that will frustrate you and a game where you will die. Lots. It's a game that will make you wonder what to do next as you attempt a puzzle for the umpteenth time, but it's also a game that captures your attention with its hauntingly beautiful charm.

Limbo's world is one of bear traps, spike-laden pits and giant spiders.

A 2-D, side-scrolling monochromatic world devoid of colour, Limbo's hero is a small boy apparently searching for his lost sister. Limbo is populated with rotting corpses, broken machinery, fleeting glances of other children and mind- controlling grubs.

Our hero's eyes are blazing white dots in a black, white and grey world and he'll gently tilt his head skyward, indicating a clue at what to do next if you find yourself stuck - and you will find yourself stuck.

Two buttons and an analogue stick are all you need to navigate the boy around Limbo's world: a creepy forest, an abandoned city, a factory with bone-crushing cogs. Oh, you'll also need your brain to solve the puzzles that block your way.

You will die along the way - many, many times - but persevere, as while at first the solutions aren't abundantly clear and you've already died three times trying to solve a puzzle, stick with it and the solution will soon become obvious.

If there is a black mark against Limbo, it's the price. At most you'll get a handful of hours out of it and at 1200 Microsoft Points that seems a lot to pay for a game of such brevity, but you know what? It's totally worth it.

If buying games like Limbo means we get more independent developers creating games that require us to use our brains, then I'm all for it.

Limbo won't appeal to every gamer, but if you love games that challenge you, then this is the one for you.

- © Fairfax NZ News