I love a good old fashioned adventure. I love walking down ancient pathways, encountering mythical creatures while sitting back viewing beautiful vistas, and climbing up crumbling ruins. Throw in an epic, stirring, string based soundtrack, some great storytelling and a couple of tear jerking moments then you've got me hooked by the cheek and you're pulling me to shore. Does Brothers: A tale of two sons do this?The answer is Yes…but not in the way I expected.
It all starts with a death in the family. Two Brothers left without a mother and then their father gets ill. The only way to save him is to collect some special magic sap from a tree in a far away land. The two sons leave the dying father, then the village and begin their epic quest. None of this by the way was told to me by words or a dramatic voice over. It was done with a mixture of gestures, sounds and garbled words to explain what is happening in the narrative. This works a treat and remind me of ICO on the PS2, it gives the game a charm and a brilliant purity that I thoroughly enjoyed throughout. The brothers would shrug, point or laugh that sometimes expressed more than a thousand words could or rambling voice actor could emotionally portray.
Controlling the brothers is at first very tricksy. One brother is controlled with the left analogue stick , while the other is controlled with the right one. This reminds me of when you used to rub your stomach and pat your head at the same time. It takes some getting used to and sometimes you will cry out in frustration even after you've played it for a few hours, but it's an interesting and innovative use of the controller that is fun to master.
The progress through the game is taking the brothers on a journey. You then encounter a series of puzzles, choices or predicaments to solve in a area in order to progress. The younger brother for example can squeeze through tight spaces of be thrown on to high up platforms, while the older brother can use his strength to pull switches to activate bridges, lifts or strange machines. Sometimes you have to split the brothers up on a quest and move them both along on two different journeys at the same time. This is when it gets really tricky to control and the camera angles sometimes will make you livid and you will want to bounce the controller off the walls. Keep going, stay calm and it will all be worth it. Some of the puzzles are amazing, like having to lift some sheep around to operate a bridge, or swing both brothers across a rope section that you need to use all your powers of concentration. It makes such a nice detour from the usual, press R1 shoot, B to crouch, that we are all are programmed to remember.
The epic journey itself takes you through a myriad of different locations from atmospheric villages, beautiful mountainsides to scary graveyards. Along the way you meet a brilliant mixture of creatures, characters and villains. Some helpful, some mad and some that you have to kill. I really enjoyed these encounters and they were all very different, intriguing and completely original. I don't want to spoil anything for you here in this review, but there are some really wonderful set pieces to enjoy.
Graphically brothers is very lush for a xbox live arcade game. A heady mixture of character animations and beautiful level design. The sound score is amazing, with sorrowful choral movements and exciting strings sections for the actions sequences. Both these elements really add to the journey and fell of the game with very high production values throughout.
The brothers relationship itself is very heartwarming as is their emotional journey as you travel through this well constructed land. The game developers are not afraid to pull out some pretty big tear jerking moments in the latter part and their dedication to doing this without a line of dialogue should be commended. It feels by the end that they have gone through a massive life changing experience and you as the player feel that you have really connected with the characters. The whole thing might take you around 5 hours to complete, but it will feel much longer. The achievements on offer are quite unique and for the first time ever (I don't normally repeat games) I found myself going back over chapters in order to try to complete them.
Conclusion
I would highly recommend this game if you like adventure games and like to to experience a emotional journey. For a tenner is damn good value for money and stands out for the rest of the crowd in this field. It's the originality I really enjoyed and even though the controls are hard to master at the start, it really does pay off if you preserve with it. You might even shed a tear. You might even play it one more time
