[Review] Trine 2 (PS3)

A relatively unknown game, Trine had caught the eyes of both critics and players who cameacross it. Ultimately, it failed to be published by Atllus on the Xbox LiveArcade and never quite reached the masses. With its sequel, Trine 2 being published by Atlus, thegame received some much needed hype to usher it into gamers’ eyes. With arelease that came just before Christmas, it seems to make the perfect unexpected,yet pleasing Christmas gift.

Trine 2 starts offsometime after the first, with the Trine summoning the wizard, knight, andthief to go on a quest once again. Along the way, they will traverse to avariety of beautifully rendered and fantastically designed locales – spiderweb-filled caverns, lush green forests filled with goblins and giant creatures –that are the stuff kids’ imaginations are made of. Gamers who have followed thefirst game will be happy to know that the trio’s characteristics and game’ssense of humor is intact, periodically highlighting the thief’s mischievousnature or the wizard’s age.

The bulk of the game includes puzzles and platformingaction, but what makes Trine 2 shineis the multitude of ways that players can solve a puzzle. On my thirdplaythrough of a level, I still found another way of getting across an abyssfilled with enemy fire. I could have either been ballsy and dodged every singleprojectile, summoned the wizard’s magical boxes as shields, or simply swungacross using the thief’s grappling hook. Though the game’s intermittentcheckpoints will heal and restore any lost members of the team, the open endednature of a puzzle ensure that with determination and an open mind, gamers canzoom through the game with minimal back tracking.

When another player is thrown into the mix, the puzzlesbecome infinitely easier. Unreachable ledges become a short magical box’s liftaway and overwhelming odds from packs of goblins become easily outmatched. Thebattles themselves could have a variety of solutions too; the whole cast is capableof holding their own. Other than the occasional bossfight, the battles feel insignificantand are only a slight impediment to reaching puzzles, which make up the bulk ofthe game both in play time and challenge. The game’s tech tree, which containsmany new skills that are essential to solving future puzzles, can actually bemodified on the fly to suit any situation’s needs.

Fortunately, unlike DungeonSiege 3, multiplayer saves carry over to players’ own games with Trine 2 allowing players to saveprogress from any multiplayer game they join. It no longer feels like purealtruistic charity when helping others complete a level. It can be a bitfrustrating when playing with others because the game doesn’t include a micoption, often making for countless fumbles during puzzles and confusion. Thankfully,there’s an offline multiplayer option that includes all the benefits of onlinemultiplayer without any of the confusion.

Fans of the first Trinewould have undoubtedly already picked this title up. Those who have only heardof it and are on the fence should do the same. The game’s design that leads tomultiple outcomes for any puzzle, whether it be in single or multiplayer, leadsto countless replay value. The gameplay coupled with the game’s both varied andgorgeous environments, gamers aren’t only in for a visual treat, but a journeyinto a fantasy world that they only dreamed of as kids. 

Available on: Mac, PC, PS3, Xbox 360; Publisher: Atlus; Developer: Frozenbyte; Players: 1 - 3; Released: December 20, 2011; ESRB: Everyone; Official Site

Note: A promotional code was provided to Denkiphile for review purposes by the publisher.

[Quick Questions] King of Fighters XIII

When gamers think of Atlus, they're likely to think of their trademark RPG franchises like the Shin Megami Tensei series. However, they took a chance and published somewhat niche fighting game The King of Fighters XIII in the US. Without a doubt, hardcore fighting gamers must have been worried about how the project would be handled. We couldn't help but want to ask the publisher how the game would turn out, given Atlus' seemingly inexperienced record with fighting games, so we decided to ask them some Quick Questions. Those who are on the edge about whether Atlus would have done The King of Fighters XIII right will definitely want to read on.

Denkiphile: HasAtlus or the development team reached out to the competitive player base forany assistance? If so, what type?

Rob Stone, QualityAssurance: We would like to have as much involvement with the competitiveKOF players as we can during the short period when we're localizing this game.Many players have already provided us with valuable feedback about bugs in theconsole builds that were shown as location tests, as well as feedback regardingbalance changes between the arcade and console versions.

Aram Jabbari, PRManager:  We’ve been in constantcontact with a number of prominent people within the many strong, thriving KOFcommunities around the world.  We’vegiven key folks extensive play time with early builds and taken extensive noteson their feedback.  We’re quite seriouswhen we talk about working as hard as possible to make this the best KOF gameof all time.

DP: Will there betournament-friendly features included? Such as the ability to change buttonsstraight from the character select screen or easier button configuration (i.e.pressing buttons to assign them ala BlazBlue or browsing through eachindividual button and changing their functions ala Street Fighter 4)?

AJ: Offline(in Versus mode), players can reassign buttons at the character select screenby having the 1st Player side press the Circle button (PS3) or the B button(360).  As you say, it makes the processof switching different players in and out of the same system/setup a loteasier!

DP: Recently, SNKPlaymore has said that the game will be rebalanced due to the new characters.Will the game include an option to play as either the arcade or consoleversion?

RS:  Youwon’t have the option to choose between the arcade and console versions of acharacter. Thankfully, so far all of the feedback regarding balance changes hasbeen positive. There won’t be any extreme changes to any of the characters, soit’s unlikely fans of the arcade build will have to completely re-learn thegame.

DP: Will theupcoming replay mode be compatible with both online and offline matches?

AJ:  The Replay mode is online only.

DP: We're reallyexcited for the 4-CD compilation preorder bonus for King of Fighters XIII. Willit be a collection of tracks from throughout the years or more of a collectionof remixes?

AJ:  The 4 CDs feature over 100 tracks fromthe 15+ year KOF series history.  None ofthe tracks are remixed or altered after the fact; they’re exactly what KOF fansremember from their favorite classics!

DP: You guys havealready stated a good deal on why Atlus has chosen to publish King of FightersXIII in the states, but this game an exception to the rule or are we seeing agenre that Atlus USA will branch out onto? What's the likelihood of seeing morefighting games picked up by Atlus?

AJ:  Our involvement with THE KING OF FIGHTERSXIII is a fairly simple matter: we recognized that it is a fantastic fightinggame, with major improvements in every important area over its predecessor,particularly in terms of game modes, fighter count, and network play.  We’re always excited and proud to be able topublish a great game here in North America, and as soon as we’d had a chance tospend some time with KOF XIII, we knew what we had on our hands and couldn’twait to get it into the hands of fans here.

DP: Do you haveany final words for Atlus faithful out there or fighting game fans?

Clayton S. Chan,Editor:  KOF fans are among the mosthardcore and dedicated in the world. I hope that you enjoy all the hard work Iput into making the characters come to life for you. As far as fighting game fansin general, I would humbly request that you please stop kicking my ass at everyfighting game in existence.

[Review] Rock of Ages (PC)

Rock of Ages is a game featuring a popular character in Greek myth, Sysiphus, who, in case you don't remember your Greek mythology, must roll a stone up a mountain for all of eternity in the land of the dead as punishment for his hubris in life. The narrative begins where Sysiphus, tired of his eternal punishment, decides to use his extensive rock-rolling experience to escape the underworld, enabling him to roll his rock in other places in history, meeting other popular historical/mythological figures with a similar interest in rocks. The player traverses a world which accurately documents the historical development of five popular eras, each distinguished by the art of the age.

The game is divided between defending your castle and Marble Madness-like navigation. The player is given a period of time between rolling their rock to cultivate a delicate garden of a variety of fortifications, ranging from tall and stoic towers that no rock may ascend to fierce mammal-beasts with a particular predatory predilection to stones. Wind turbines, trebuchets, and exploding barrels are all crops that a player may grow to slow the progress of the opponent's stone marble. Once an amount of time has elapsed, the player is then given the option to begin the marble madness, in which the player controls a surprisingly nimble stone rock across a winding and trap-ridden path to the gates of the enemy castle, where the enemy hides. Victory is achieved by exploding the gates and subsequently crushing the living torso of your enemy under the weight of your rolling stone. Failure is achieved by your opponent doing the same to your own gate and living torso.

The game has a tremendous sense of humour. Cutscenes in between levels offer a rather maniacally cobbled setting which matches well with the general feel of the game. The player is given very little tutelage on the proper strategy for defending their walls, so the time spent navigating an often wide and unmanageable battlefield tends to be time wasted planting cows in the shape of a smiley face, which the enemy will adroitly leap over with all the grace of a hippo in a tutu. This is not a problem though, as the player quickly learns through trial and error how to take advantages of the opponent's platforming habits and how to take advantage of the play field to leap and fly over enemy obstacles. So in between cobbling together a marginally organized defense and simultaneously navigating your stone marble over barrels, elephants, and ramping gaps, the player may sometimes feel as though organization and control are lost causes, which is perhaps the most important lesson to learning and enjoying the game.

In addition to the multitude of variously and creatively designed battle maps, there are boss battles against huge and imposing creatures of myth and legend, such as a dragon, or Michelangelo's statue of David. These boss levels are exciting at first, but as soon as the player realizes that they can't actually lose, the boss battles become merely a tedious activity. Without the gravity of danger to moisten the brow of the player, molesting the tender weak points of the boss is simply a matter of time, which the boss battles tend to take a generous amount of due to the sudden shift in game format. Your stone marble is not exactly the most nimble of creatures, so the tedium enhanced by torpor can turn boss battles from an initially exciting concept to a boring and grating chore.

Luckily, boss battles are rare and accessible only with the accumulation of keys gathered during gameplay, which tends to be a neat way of validating a player's increase in skill. The game overall remains fun and manic enough to obfuscate any glaring mechanical flaws, which is evident by my laughing more than half the time I played the game.

Available on: PC, Xbox 360; Publisher: Atlus Games; Developer: ACE Team; Players: 1-2; Released: September 7, 2011 (PC); ESRB: Everyone; Official Site