Typically, before E3, I’ll watch a trailer and read some impressions of a game and, as a result always overhype my expectations so that I’m either (a) unsatisfied with what I’ve seen or, (b)puzzled that it didn’t blow me away. Trine, a game for which I hadn’t seen a trailer since early winter, managed to defy my expectations by default; I had no idea it was even going to be there. As it turns out, Atlus picked up the publishing rights (for 360 only) and plans on distributing the game over Live Arcade in the fall.
And it’s unfortunate that we’re going to have to wait that long, because Trine was one of the best games I played at the show. A 2.5D aesthetic border s an action/platformer hybrid with a distinct twist; three classes are at your disposal, and you’re free to switch between them anytime. The Wizard has no direct attack, but can “draw” cube with his cursor, which can be dropped on enemies or use for additional platformers. Additionally, he can also interact with his environment, which typically meant holding platformers in place, or pulling things out of the way. The thief had a grappling hook that made for easy platforming swinging, as well as arrows for distance attacks. The knight was the combat focused character, with a sword for offense and a shield for defense (for the demo the classes only had a few basic powers, but we were assured more would be on the way as you gained experience and leveled up).
The tools out characters were given were relatively simple, but the tasks we were given required full use of our powers (and brains). As a wizard, I had to hold a windmill in place so the thief could climb up, and then she would balance the see-saw plank out until I made my way up. Or there would be fireballs coming out of both sides of the screen, and the knight would have the use the shield while the wizard made a box to block off the other fireball. Enemies spawned on occasion, but combat wasn’t the focus of our level. Finding ways to get from point A to point B, and the ridiculous lengths that we had to go through in between, was Trine’s draw.
You could play Trine alone and switch between classes yourself, or you could play with two friends and stick to a specific class. The later is actually the hardest mode to play, since you can’t do minor-cheats (such as switch between classes at convenient moments), but it has the added benefit of humanity and, yeah, the whole other brain to help solving problems advantage. Regardless, we were assured that, even if you were playing by yourself, every puzzle would be passable with any arrangement of characters. Given that we often spent a copious amount of time trying to figure out one puzzle with three characters that should be quite an achievement. The Lost Viking’s comparisons were accurate; Trine is definitely one to watch out for this fall.
