Fez

3 cert, Polytron/Microsoft, Xbox Live ****

In any art form, extended gestations are often bad news. The long lead-in and subsequent anticlimax of such diverse offerings as Duke Nukem Forever, Michael Jackson’s Dangerous and The Godfather Part III led to overblown, lumbering monsters of indulgence and indecision.

Fez seems to have been around forever, from the first announcement in 2007 to its numerous pre-release awards to its eventual completion and proper release. But in this case it’s been worth the wait. Instead of a bloated blunder, Fez is a delightful and clever retro platform game, its modest appearance belying inventive gameplay.

On the surface, Fez is a side-scrolling platform and exploration game. You play an unassuming little character whose magical Turkish hat allows him to manipulate dimensions.

Like an interactive Escher painting, the world of Fez revolves around you. Change your perspective and objects don’t just appear closer to you; they actually are. Using this trick opens up the world and defines the gameplay, as your character collects fractions of a cube to save his village (its plot isn’t its main selling point).

As you climb different buildings and dimensions, you learn how to use your new tool. Changing perspective mid-jump can bring a safe ledge closer to you, and revolving around a building highlights hidden objects and routes. The game moves at your pace: you’re not running from anything, and lives are infinite. Instead, the challenge is in trying to time your jumps and sprints, and in solving the puzzles in order to get to hard-to-reach places.

As with many indie games, including the instant classic Limbo, the makers of Fez turn their limited resources to their own advantage. The graphics might seem basic (echoing arcade games from decades past), but the primary colour palette is appealing and bright. The animation of the main character is charming – he moves with the clumsy innocence of a classic kids’ cartoon character. And the music chimes and throbs nicely, like a lost Vangelis track.

So it’s (fez) hats off to all involved!