Goombd Played! - Trine 2

Following in the footsteps of its 2009 predecessor, Trine 2 is absolutely gorgeous. It carries the great combinations of beautiful art and smart puzzle design the original Trine an amazing indie game and takes some core ideas even further.

The magical artifact called the Trine calls upon the trio of heroes yet again. The wizard, an expert in conjuring items out of thin air, was busy taking care of his new family, while the bulky, sword and hammer wielding knight killed evil weeds and the acrobatic thief looked for the next big heist. Called off for a new adventure, they each employ their unique set of skills in their new quest to save a kingdom. Their only catch, which quickly becomes your problem - you can only control one of these guys at once.

That is if you're playing Trine 2 by yourself. This is the first time in the series where you're able to invite a friend onto your couch or online lobby to join you, each controlling a different character. Playing solo is possible and fun on its own but Trine 2's big draw is the new cooperative mode. The puzzle design is brilliantly designed in a way that allows you to figure everything out on your own but can also be broken up by a group of players putting their brains together.

Much like the first Trine, Trine 2's story is presented in a fairy tale book style. Each colorful level brings its own flavor, hitting your eyes with vibrant visuals in just about every corner. Even caves are beautifully drawn in this game. This is probably one of the few instances where you'll be happy to be in a dank place for so long, only to find your character drawfed by a gigantic sunset.

There's a lot to look forward to in Trine 2 if you're familiar with the original game. Likely, you probably got annoyed by the character development tree in the original or how magic drained a meter with every spell. One of these matters are done away with, in a sense. The magic meter, of one, is gone, while the development tree is made much simpler to deal with. A new skill point is earned with every 50 experience points you collect. It can be spent in new abilities for one of the three characters. This time, though, you're able to freely "respec" the tree at any time, so even when you don't have enough points to max everyone out, you can activate the right abilities at the right time and switch everything out on the fly.

These special abilities play a big part in game. Some puzzles require simple deduction and probably only one of your characters while others deal with complex timing that demands quick reactions and multiple abilities working in tandem. That's the fun aspect of Trine 2 that constantly dares you to be creative and think outside the box or even better, not to over-analyze a situation and simply look at what is dealt to you.

Trine 2 is a blast. While not the longest of journeys you'll embark in anytime soon, it's one hell of a ride. It's gorgeous, smart and mostly importantly, it doesn't hold you by the hand. This is one the best sequels out there and it can easily fall into anyone's 'favorites' list like it did with me. If you're into puzzle games with charm, personality and a little something extra, you should look no further. Trine 2 is just that. |8

Goombd! Played - Spelunker HD

It was weird playing Spelunker as a kid. The little guy I controlled felt like a super weak version of Super Mario. Geez, he could hardly take a fall! Thanks to that, my 6 year old patience level just gave up on the guy and I moved on to bigger and better games. 20-some odd years later, Tozai Games brought back Spelunker in somewhat glorious HD and I decided to give the explorer another chance.

I find it extremely easy to fault Spelunker HD with not trying to break out of the original game's mold, but that would be too easy and boring to do in a write-up. Instead, I gave the game a chance to challenge me and heck, it sure did. Not exactly in the traditional challenging way most games do nowadays but with how weak the main character is. There's a steep level of challenge with just keeping the poor guy alive. The smallest misstep kills him instantly as well as microscopic pebbles falling from the ceiling or... ok, let's just cut it out. He dies thanks to just about anything.

Even so, Spelunker HD still manages to bring a certain level of nostalgic charm. That's not thanks to the high definition makeover given to the original's blocky 8-bit graphics. The new looks work well in stills but they just feel weird in motion. The character animation throws me off during jumps and just frustrates me to no end.

But let's just talk about how the game actually plays. Spelunker is all about how far you can make underground at a time. Air is limited and the little spelunker is constantly harassed by ghosts, bats and even fellow explorers who want to get to the treasures before you. Thankfully, I was able to discover a way to somewhat save my progress the further I made down the levels through the nifty save state feature but that only took me so far. Lives ran out and I kept dying. That's how difficult and demanding Spelunker is. It's a fun but very punishing game if you're not careful.

Bringing friends along might improve your odds. Sadly, I was unable to try that out for long since there's practically no one playing online and none of my friends actually own the game. If you do manage to drag a few friends along, you can have up to four simultaneous spelunkers running on screen at once and I'm sure that can be very fun and chaotic. I did find myself enjoying the sole time I was able to find a soul to play with randomly online.

Spelunker HD is a tough, challenging and extremely frustrating game that can be rewarding if you give it the patience and dedication it demands. It's extremely rewarding every time you make it to a new area further down along the earth. If you're the sort of guy who enjoys this feeling, Spelunker HD might just be your cup of tea. |7