Time Trial And Punishment

Braid has an achievement for completing the whole game in 45 minutes. This achievement has EATEN MY SOUL.

The game also has mini time trial challenges which are quite addictive but the big one is a work of pure evil. I can't remember the last time an achievement consumed me quite to this extent. (That's a complete lie. It was Geometry Wars Evolved 2's Wax Off, about a week ago. (I haven't talked about Geometry Wars 2 yet have I? It's amazing. Buy it. (But buy Braid first.)))

The only game I ever tried to time trial before was Prince of Persia: The Sands Of Time, and I got bored round about the baths. It was the horrid combat that turned me off I think. Braid, though, is such a tightly-designed game that time-trialling it is an absolute pleasure. I'm just concerned that my memories of the game will be tainted by the horrific ordeal of constantly falling just short of the 45 minute mark. The endgame runs at a fixed pace and contains a long section where all you can do is watch. I'm confident this section will give me a heart attack before too long.

First attempt: 57:46:03