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  Trine: PC Demo Impressions

  Navneet Prakash, Jun 27, 2009 1000 hrs IST

  The game is exclusive to the PS3 and will be available in the first week of July

  

Some of my most memorable gaming experiences have come in the pre-pre HD era. 2D side-scrollers like Contra, Mario, Sonic, Strider and Double Dragon made gaming on 8 bit consoles so much fun. Luckily some developers' still believe in old school gaming, and Capcom's Bionic Commando Rearmed is a fine example. It sold quite a few copies and was well accepted by critics. A game called Trine caught my attention a few months back, this Action/Puzzle title showed a lot of promise with its unique take on co-op gaming.

Trine is an action title that combines platforming and puzzle elements to create a rather unique game. In single player mode you control three different characters; Knight, Wizard and Thief. Each character is special and equipped with distinctive abilities. The knight is a powerful fighter, and the thief is agile and can latch on to solid objects, whereas the wizard can create solid objects out of thin air. The idea is to use all the three characters together to overcome various obstacles that the game offers.

As mentioned before in single player mode, you need to switch characters, whereas in co-op, up to three players can play together. I spent a little more than 20 min with the game but I'm already mighty impressed; it's fun to play and challenging at the same time.

 

You will be constantly fighting undead enemies, who give you health and experience. The knight is best at fighting the undead followed by the thief. The wizard on the other hand is better off solving puzzles. Listed below are some important features of the game:

1) Physics play a very important role in the game, especially when it comes to solving puzzles.

2)  The wizard can create solid objects and then levitate/move them. This is a useful ability when one needs to open trap doors, or jump to a high structure.

3)  The thief's ability to latch on to solid objects is really useful to scale high structures as well as jump over long distances.

4) The knight has a very practical block ability that works wonders against the undead enemy. He works best against the undead; his fast attack moves combined with the block ability enable you to clear a roomful of enemies very easily.

 

Overall the demo was a lot of fun. I faced some interesting scenarios that were easily overcome using all the three characters. Visually the game is stunning, with clean vibrant textures and really good character animation. The plot sounds very simple but is good enough to hold the game together. I couldn't experience co-op play in the demo, which was unfortunate, as I can already sense a great co-op game in Trine. The PC and PS3 game will be available in the first week of July, but you can try the game by clicking on this link. You can also visit the homepage and check out gameplay videos by clicking here.

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