The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom (XBLA) Review

• Game: The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom
• Developer: The Odd Gentlemen
• Price: 800MS Points ($10.00)
• Release Date: 2/17/2010

The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom is a new independent game exclusively for Xbox LIVE Arcade [as of right now]. Winterbottom follows the escapades of a mischievous, time-bending pie thief. Winterbottom is the warped brain-child of developer, The Odd Gentlemen. It was originally created as a USC student project and now it is one of the first downloadable games published by 2K Games.

You play as P.B. Winterbottom in his attempt to capture the elusive Chronoberry Pie, as well as every other pie that gets in his way. Sounds easy enough, right? It would be, but these pies float and move, often out of reach, and sometimes fade in and out of reality. P.B. has an insatiable hunger for his sweet treats and a few tricks up his sleeve. P.B. can clone himself as many times as each puzzle allows, and reversing time will come in handy if you want to make this quaint old chap happy.

By holding the right trigger, you will be able to record your actions for a set amount of time. Let go and a clone appears, repeating the recorded actions on a loop. Didn't time it quite right? Press ‘Y’ and poof, the clone disappears. Be careful though, pressing ‘Y’ only dissipates the last made clone. If you made three clones and the first one needs to go, you'll have to redo all of them. You can record the clones doing any number of actions to help you out, like swinging the umbrella – which is your only melee action – and then standing in front of the clone as he whacks you up into the air. You can stand on a clone's head for some extra height and they will also have to fetch pies in time essential puzzles.

Winterbottom definitely stands out as fresh and fun, but don't get too confident thinking that it's all as easy as, well, pie. There are definitely some stumpers in the game, but it never gets too frustrating. You just need to take a breather and come back; it is not like P.B. is going to give up his pie pursuit while you are gone. The reward in solving that difficult puzzle makes it all worthwhile. The charming black and white graphics are done exceptionally well, with flicker lighting that reminds one of an old film. It works for this game in a way that makes you feel like it's all so simple, but you may find it takes a bit more thought than that and the music fits perfectly with the old-timey feel.

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