Video Games, Science and Random Thoughts

Trine PS3 Review

A very polished game that’s short but sweet.

sssssTrine has finally come to the PSN,  despite its multiple delays over the last few months and it seems to have been worth the wait. With innovative gameplay, an intriguing storyline and beautiful graphics, it really sucks you into the whole adventure. However, this adventure is extremely short, and sadly, you’ll most likely finish it within an afternoon.

sssssSo what is the game about? Basically, you control a wizard that can conjure boxes, planks and floating platforms to help you solve puzzles and collect items; a thief, which can use a grapple-hook to traverse to hard-to-reach places and can also shoot arrows at enemies; and a warrior, whose main role is to fight enemies. All three of these characters have been put into the body of one person due to the power of the Trine, a mysterious object explained throughout the story, and you are able to switch between them with a single tap of a button. From here on in you’ll be solving puzzles in dark dungeons with no light, navigating underwater to get to new areas, or swinging through dungeons with fireballs flying past you and spike traps threatening to impale you.

An example of the lush gorgeous environments of Trine.

sssssThis idea plays out really well, as you’ll find yourself enjoying both the dialogue between characters, and the variety of ways you can solve a single puzzle. This can range from having the thief simply using her momentum to swing up to an area, having the wizard conjure up multiple boxes to reach this area, or in some instances, having the warrior simply break open an entrance into the area. There are plenty of puzzles in the games, and to collect all of the items will require players to think outside of the box. The only complaint here is that the warrior tends to be under-used, as the thief can be used to kill enemies just as efficiently, but has the added benefit of being agile and able to reach items and experience bottles with ease.

sssssThese experience bottles and items are used in turn as a levelling system for the characters, with items granting the characters health, reincarnation, the ability to breath underwater and many other useful abilities. The experience points on the other hand are used to boost skills which allow the wizard to make more items (3 boxes instead of 2), the thief to perform quicker and more powerful attacks, and the knight to also perform new and powerful attacks. While innovative, the system does suffer from the fact that some skills are unlocked in the last hour to half-hour of the game, limiting how many times you’ll actually use them, and that by about the 10th level (of 15) you’ll have unlocked everything you need to easily finish the game. However, it definitely adds to the experience and adds an RPG element to the standard 2-d platformer game.

A look at the status screen for your characters.

sssssGraphically, the game is gorgeous, as while the game is a 2-d platformer in essence, the game still manages to implement 3-d visuals beautifully. These visuals look polished and the small things such as bridges spiralling off into the background or stalagmites hanging down from the ceiling are nice touches. The cut-scenes between levels are also nice to look at, although as they are simply static images rather than animations, so they should be of the highest quality.

sssssOne of the (few) problems with Trine however is an issue with frame-rates. Often you’ll find the game slowing down when there are a lot of enemies on screen or if there is a lot of graphical detail going on. It’s definitely noticeable and takes you out of the game and back into the loungeroom looking at a tv screen. On top of this, the physics can also be a little funny, as sometimes things will get trapped in odd places, experience bottles will fall off into endless pits forcing you to restart the level, or monsters will fall into lava but will continue to shoot at you. While these bugs are minor, they can be quite frustrating if they happen at a crucial time or force you to restart the game if you’re trying to collect all of the experience bottles.

sssssThe biggest problem with Trine however is its length. The game features 15 levels which can be completed in 7-15 minutes on average, resulting in about 2-4 hours of playtime in total depending on whether you finish it as quickly as possible or want to explore Trine for all its worth. While you can go back through the levels to gain extra experience bottles and secret items, there really isn’t that much use as you’ll have all the items and experience needed to finish any puzzle by around the 10th level. Additionally, while an extra hard difficulty is unlocked when you first finish the game, there is little incentive to finish it a second time around unless you are a completionist.

One of the dungeon levels of Trine.

sssssThe trophies really help in this regard, prolonging the game and offering additional challenges to casual players. These include not dying on the hardest level on the hardest difficulty, collecting all items in the game or even creating a tower out of 12 items and standing on top of it without falling. These are fun trophies that are challenging but not too difficult, and really give the game an added boost of life.

sssssOverall, this game is short but innovative, offering interesting gameplay with beautiful graphics and an interesting storyline. Minor graphical problems aside, it’s definitely worth grabbing for its unique experience, though with the caveat that you’ll probably end up finishing it within the same day.

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Summary

Storyline: 9.0 - An interesting medieval-themed story that’ll suck you in

Gameplay: 8.5 – Fun and different from any other game, but after a while it does start to all feel the same

Graphics: 8.5 – Very polished and beautiful, but does suffer from a few  frame-drops and physics bugs

Sound: 9.0 – Some nice music and sound effects, though a bit more variety would be nicer

Replayability: 6.5 -  It’s very short, and there’s little reason to replay the game simply for the sake of it

Trophy Value: 9.0 – Interesting and fun, these trophies will help prolong the game’s experience and are challenging to boot

Overall: 8.5

Buy it, rent it, or skip it?: Buy it!