Trine

A Wizard That looks like Gandalf, an athletic lady thief that doesn't look at all like Gandalf, and a metal-clad warrior with a big sword and a shield who looks more like Gimli than Aragorn. These are the three characters you get to control as you hop, skip and jump through level after level of 2D fantasy platforms. Or, rather, you'll actually only control one character at a time, being as the three mentioned above have been magically glued together by a strange, mystical object - the titular Trine.

The plot is a bit throwaway, so we won't dwell on it too much. Ancient objects, dungeons, undead roaming the land etc. That's it all covered. The core, crux and distended belly of the game is the jumping and. on the whole, Frozenbyte have done really well indeed in producing a solid puzzle/platformer.

Each character has special abilities, with more collected from conveniently placed chests as you progress. The warrior can lift heavy things and smash things with a sword, while the thief can fire her bow to kill distant skeletons and use a grappling hook-type thing to swing between wooden surfaces. Lastly, the wizard has the ability to conjure cubes, planks and other debris to aid progress.

Each level can be played in two distinct ways - either bomb through it just to get to the end or spend time appreciating the more difficult puzzles on offer, so as to collect as many of the green 'experience vials' as you can.

This will obviously mean you'll be less likely to struggle later on in the game, what with your superior levelled-up abilities and all. It does feel kind of silly just rushing through each level too, as you feel you're kind of missing the point of the game. However, taking your time will lead you fully into the sharpened stick of the game's major problem - repetition.

Despite the laudable attempts to inject , new abilities and strategies into the game and its puzzles, Frozenbyte flL haven't managed to mask the inherent repetitive nature of this type of puzzle game.

Also Trine lacks the charm of The Lost Vikings, which might have kept you interested. Don't get me wrong, it's a really good game, it just lacks that little something to keep levels intriguing. Trine deserves recognition for bringing the Lost Vikings template back to our PCs, but it isn't a classic.