If you had an opportunity to play Trine when it first came out, then you understand that it was a fantastic action platformer game with puzzle elements, great multiplayer action and a compelling visual style that left you very pleased from all angles and senses. The action continues with Trine 2 as you take on the role of one (or all) of the Three Heroes in an all-new adventure that picks up a bit after the first title in the series comes to a close.
If you have not played the original Trine, you might be left with somewhat of a bewildering feeling as you're thrust into a narrative with three characters with whom you have not already established a rapport. You are basically told that the Trine is back, compelling the Three Heroes on another voyage, and are not given much more information beyond that. This is not such a big issue that you would not want to bother with this title. On the flip side, though, the original Trine is so good you'd almost be doing yourself a disservice by not experiencing the full story from the beginning.
For the uninitiated, the core gameplay of Trine 2 is a side-scrolling platformer/action game with a decent dose of puzzling thrown in for good measure. It can be played as a single-player campaign or cooperatively with up to two more players, either sitting on the couch with you or online via XBox Live. If you are playing alone you will control only one character at a time, and just the one character is on screen at a time. But you can switch between characters on the fly so if you need the strength of one particular hero, you will have their assets at your disposal with the touch of a button. To really get the full experience of Trine 2 though, I'd highly recommend you get some friends to join in on the action. As you can see from the below video, some of the neatest encounters and abilities happen when at least two characters are playing in tandem.As mentioned above, the Three Heroes of Trine 2 have differing skills and they complement one another quite nicely. Firstly you have Amadeus the Wizard. Not really one to go off on adventures, he is the least complicit of the group. He'd much rather be at home with his wife and kids. However, his conjuration spells, whereby he can create boxes (and planks too, if you unlock that ability) out of thin air are invaluable to the troupe. Pontius the Knight has a taste for the death-defying things of life, and is forever in search of his damsel in distress that he can rescue. If a gaggle of goblins comes your way, his sword and shield will come in quite handy. Not to mention the enormous hammer he's got on hand for smashing obstacles out of the group's way. Finally we have Zoya the Thief. Her bow and arrow attacks enable ranged combat and her grappling hook allows her to reach areas that her comrades cannot.
The visuals in this game are just fantastic. All areas of the color spectrum are employed, and with great effect. The animation is smooth, the frame-rate is solid and the particle effects are the icing on the cake. This is a game that I would never get tired of seeing. The environments are varied and each has an identity all its own. From an audio perspective, things are in great shape as well. The sound effects are humorous when they need to be, and not intrusive or annoying when they shouldn't be. The musical score of the game, penned by Ari Pulkkinen, really sets the tone just right for what the mood should be at any given moment. It is epic when encountering a massive boss that more than fills the screen, quiet and contemplative when dealing with a somber point, focused and energized when goblins ambush the team in the middle of the level with no warning... I think you get where I am going here.
So the main question should be does the gameplay still hold up? Was anything broken there, making this a Sophomore-slump for the Trine series? The answer, thankfully is that it is a great experience all-around. For me the best part of the game was when I encountered a puzzle. One of the nice things with Trine is that Atlus decided against having the player's hand be held the whole way through and basically having the puzzles be interactive cut-scenes. You have the ability in the options screen to disable hints entirely, or have your cohorts give you a hint after a certain amount of time passes during a puzzle without a solution. This keeps the game accessible to the "less-hardcore" gamers out there, while still appealing to those who want to grind it out and figure everything out for themselves. Admittedly, I'm not the best there is regarding puzzles so quite a few times I was stumped for a good bit before figuring it out. But that I didn't need a hint given to me felt like an accomplishment in and of itself.
When dealing with combat (with the exception of the boss battles), it is pretty standard-fare. There isn't much to say about it because it's kind of a lather-rinse-repeat element. Sometimes I would use Pontius to hack and slash my way to the next area and sometimes I would snipe the baddies as Zoya from a distance. Either way though it is not that the combat is bad; it just doesn't feel particularly outstanding either.
XBox Live Arcade games are in an interesting position. They are always much cheaper than their retail brethren, so it seems like a slam-dunk that they should be getting lots of sales. However, there is some kind of notion out there that if you can't get the game on a disc, then it is likely not worth the money. At 1200 points, or fifteen bucks for those playing around with real currency, I can tell you with absolute certainty that you can pick this game up without regret - it is a great bang-for-buck ratio happening right here. An engaging, well-written story with gameplay that is just as accessible to casuals as it is challenging for the hardcore, Trine 2 will give you an experience that will leave you with a look of satisfaction on your face all the way through.
If you have not played the original Trine, you might be left with somewhat of a bewildering feeling as you're thrust into a narrative with three characters with whom you have not already established a rapport. You are basically told that the Trine is back, compelling the Three Heroes on another voyage, and are not given much more information beyond that. This is not such a big issue that you would not want to bother with this title. On the flip side, though, the original Trine is so good you'd almost be doing yourself a disservice by not experiencing the full story from the beginning.
For the uninitiated, the core gameplay of Trine 2 is a side-scrolling platformer/action game with a decent dose of puzzling thrown in for good measure. It can be played as a single-player campaign or cooperatively with up to two more players, either sitting on the couch with you or online via XBox Live. If you are playing alone you will control only one character at a time, and just the one character is on screen at a time. But you can switch between characters on the fly so if you need the strength of one particular hero, you will have their assets at your disposal with the touch of a button. To really get the full experience of Trine 2 though, I'd highly recommend you get some friends to join in on the action. As you can see from the below video, some of the neatest encounters and abilities happen when at least two characters are playing in tandem.As mentioned above, the Three Heroes of Trine 2 have differing skills and they complement one another quite nicely. Firstly you have Amadeus the Wizard. Not really one to go off on adventures, he is the least complicit of the group. He'd much rather be at home with his wife and kids. However, his conjuration spells, whereby he can create boxes (and planks too, if you unlock that ability) out of thin air are invaluable to the troupe. Pontius the Knight has a taste for the death-defying things of life, and is forever in search of his damsel in distress that he can rescue. If a gaggle of goblins comes your way, his sword and shield will come in quite handy. Not to mention the enormous hammer he's got on hand for smashing obstacles out of the group's way. Finally we have Zoya the Thief. Her bow and arrow attacks enable ranged combat and her grappling hook allows her to reach areas that her comrades cannot.
The visuals in this game are just fantastic. All areas of the color spectrum are employed, and with great effect. The animation is smooth, the frame-rate is solid and the particle effects are the icing on the cake. This is a game that I would never get tired of seeing. The environments are varied and each has an identity all its own. From an audio perspective, things are in great shape as well. The sound effects are humorous when they need to be, and not intrusive or annoying when they shouldn't be. The musical score of the game, penned by Ari Pulkkinen, really sets the tone just right for what the mood should be at any given moment. It is epic when encountering a massive boss that more than fills the screen, quiet and contemplative when dealing with a somber point, focused and energized when goblins ambush the team in the middle of the level with no warning... I think you get where I am going here.
So the main question should be does the gameplay still hold up? Was anything broken there, making this a Sophomore-slump for the Trine series? The answer, thankfully is that it is a great experience all-around. For me the best part of the game was when I encountered a puzzle. One of the nice things with Trine is that Atlus decided against having the player's hand be held the whole way through and basically having the puzzles be interactive cut-scenes. You have the ability in the options screen to disable hints entirely, or have your cohorts give you a hint after a certain amount of time passes during a puzzle without a solution. This keeps the game accessible to the "less-hardcore" gamers out there, while still appealing to those who want to grind it out and figure everything out for themselves. Admittedly, I'm not the best there is regarding puzzles so quite a few times I was stumped for a good bit before figuring it out. But that I didn't need a hint given to me felt like an accomplishment in and of itself.
When dealing with combat (with the exception of the boss battles), it is pretty standard-fare. There isn't much to say about it because it's kind of a lather-rinse-repeat element. Sometimes I would use Pontius to hack and slash my way to the next area and sometimes I would snipe the baddies as Zoya from a distance. Either way though it is not that the combat is bad; it just doesn't feel particularly outstanding either.
XBox Live Arcade games are in an interesting position. They are always much cheaper than their retail brethren, so it seems like a slam-dunk that they should be getting lots of sales. However, there is some kind of notion out there that if you can't get the game on a disc, then it is likely not worth the money. At 1200 points, or fifteen bucks for those playing around with real currency, I can tell you with absolute certainty that you can pick this game up without regret - it is a great bang-for-buck ratio happening right here. An engaging, well-written story with gameplay that is just as accessible to casuals as it is challenging for the hardcore, Trine 2 will give you an experience that will leave you with a look of satisfaction on your face all the way through.
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