**This review was originally published on September 16 2009 at www.gamefocus.ca You can view the original review here**

Trine is a side scrolling “physics-based action game” by Frozenbyte.  In Trine your objective is to work your way from one end of the stage to the other using all the tricks and abilities available to you via your three playable characters.  Each one has different talents which we will explore later on.  To succeed in the game you will need to come up with clever solutions to tricky situations.

Gameplay

In Trine you play 3 characters – the Warrior, Thief and Wizard.  The objective of the game is to navigate the levels using the various abilities of the three characters to make it through.  The Warrior is your fighter, use him to hack and slash through the various enemies you will encounter along the way.  The Warrior isn’t ALL fighting though; you come equipped with a shield, to protect you from falling objects and various calamities that you may face.  The Thief uses her grappling hook to swing over large gaps or obstacles or get over tricky spots.  The Thief is also equipped with a bow and arrow.  While less effective at dispatching the baddies, the bow and arrow can come in useful when you may be separated by distance from a group of enemies.  The Wizard, while having no REAL offensive abilities, can use his telekinetic powers to move objects, he can also conjure up boxes and planks to use to climb up to areas you may not be able to jump or grapple to.  The added side benefit to creating boxes is the humor in creating one and dropping on an enemies head (the ol’ box on head trick never fails)

The real gimmick to the gameplay in Trine is your ability to switch playable characters on the fly.  Ready for some roleplaying?

Imagine being trapped in a cavern.  You were lured down there by an experience vial that was just dying to be picked up.  Initially, there appears to be no way out.  As you contemplate your fate – you hear skeletons approaching!  At the same time you see above you, a branch.  What do you do?  Here in lies the pleasure of playing Trine.  You have options!  Switch to your Thief; use the grappling hook to swing yourself up on to the nearest ledge where you can dispatch the skeletons from a distance.  Let those skeletons come to you, why should you be afraid!?  Switch to your Warrior and dispatch them quickly and easily – then switch to the Thief to grapple out.

As in life there is generally many ways out of a tricky puzzle or situation in the game.  Some obstacles are clearly designed with one of the characters in mind (ie Using the Wizard to move a giant rock fist on a track so it smashes a wall, creating a passageway to progress)  But in general the paths to success are plenty and they are all fun.  You will try to find different ways to tackle problems.  You will also have fun with trial and error, simply doing things to see how they work and coming up with original ideas to the same problems – even when the easy solution is obvious.

There are a few drawbacks to gameplay worth noting.  Some of the physics of the game don’t seem quite right.  You can appear, for example, to be balanced in the middle of a seesaw type beam yet it still insists on moving to one side or another, making controlling wheels and beams and sometimes a chore and other times downright frustrating.  Some of the situations you run into are a little complex, yet the Wizard has a limited energy bar which does not regenerate – meaning if you NEED your Wizard to get out of a situation and you run out of energy while trying to accomplish this, you are forced to restart from the last checkpoint.

Graphics and Sound

The graphical quality of Trine is second to none.  Lush backdrops, excellently designed and details levels, make Trine a visual treat.  There are multiple options in the graphics menu to suit your computers capability and at its peak Trine is simply a stunning game.  The visuals are the star of the show in Trine and you will play it for the graphics more than any other reason.

The narration of the story of Trine is a great addition to the game and the voice actor used brought a level of lore and story to the game that simply would not have been there otherwise.  I feel this addition adds value to the game significantly.

Value

There is definitely some moderate replay value in Trine.  As I mentioned previously, you may find yourself re-doing certain areas of the game that you would like to explore more, or see if you can come up with a different way to solve the puzzle.  It should be noted that Trine is available on Steam for $29.99 but will be downloadable on the Playstation Network for PS3 soon for $19.99 – no idea why the PC version costs $10 more.

Conclusion

We have come a long way with side scrollers since the days of Super Mario Brothers and Contra.  Trine is a visual treat; the puzzles are a challenge and the solutions plenty.  While the game is a little overpriced on PC, it will be available on the PSN in the coming weeks at $19.99.  If you own a Playstation 3 it would be a great addition to your downloadable games collection!