Trine
Playing this gorgeous side-scroller is as close to being inside a magical fantasy
land as is possible without being a kid again.
Flickering candles light your way; voluptuous flowers open on to dark chasms and waterfalls;
ornate swinging lamps hover above seemingly inaccessible balconies; macabre machinery to be puzzled out - all this and skeletons too.
The Trine is a magical force that unites three people and binds them in a quest to save their land.
They are not altogether a happy threesome - a thief, a wizard and a knight.
The thief wants to dump these two bozos but together, their combined skills make for a happy game.
The thief, a gorgeous and nimble woman is the most useful character, with her long range arrows and grappling skills.
The knight provides sheer strength and a defensive shield.
The wizard can summon and levitate boxes and planks for getting to inaccessible spaces.
If one gets killed, you try to make it with two to the next check point.
If you are careless enough to get all three killed - it's back to the last checkpoint.
BTW what would it have cost them to have put in a few more checkpoints?
The Trine challenges the player to think creatively to overcome obstacles,
but you don't have to play it alone.
The game will take up to 3 players on the PC provided you have the controllers.
I am still searching for where I put mine.
Meanwhile, I am working with the strange system of keyboard for movement and mouse for action.
Anyway, the game will eventually be released on the PS3.
With that platform it should be easy to play as two characters, the thief and the knight,
and leave the Wizard as a pick-up character because his actions do not need to be quick.
Go for the game - stay around for the beauty
Reviewed by: Editor - 10/09
Ages: Everyone 10+
Fun Factor: Each new scene amazes
Female Factor: The thief is the strongest and most versatile character.
Player Friendly: A bare bones manual on the disk and too few checkpoints makes the game harder than it need be.