Review: Trine 2 on Wii U

Hark back to a time of brave heroes, magic spells and dark forces with a fairytale adventure that’s as exciting as it is beautiful. Prepare to explore mystical forests and majestic castles, uncover hidden treasure and fight goblins, witches and even a mighty dragon in Trine 2: Director’s Cut

Pros:

• Simply amazing graphics. The game itself is 2D but with just jaw dropping 3D backdrops. From caves to beaches to the ice lands. Every level just looks incredible.
• Opening screen can be used to practice the controls/moves/mechanics of the game.
• you do get an opening tutorial section.
• Three characters to use. Thief, warrior and wizard. In solo you can control all three by swapping between them. In co op you get to pick a character and use just that one.
• Has three player online and offline co op. Online uses your NNID and is actually very stable and enjoyable.
• 2D platformer with puzzles to solve, Light combat with a RPG influenced level up system.
• Find and collect exp potions that, every 50 collected give you an upgrade point. you can use the point on any of the three characters and re assign them at any point with no penalties.
• The story is engrossing and has a lot of excellent voice overs. has a real old school Discworld esque atmosphere. The story has mystry, intrigue and humour.
• Controls are simple and you can use the game pad to make the wizards conjured blocks and planks. you can in essence use the game pad screen as a button or as a substiitute for the right stick. The bumper buttons are for swapping characters and the trigger buttons are attacks.
• Huge array of enemy types from orcs to skeletons to goblins. Mini bosses appear from time to time.
• Has off screen play as the game is mirrored onto the gamepad.
• Auto saves at regular intervals and you can have several save slots.
• Checkpoints are very common and hitting one, new or old will bring back any dead players and also replenish any health players have lost.
• Puzzles are devious as they are fun and offer multiple ways to solve them.
• File size is just over a gig and when you consider the looks and size of the game, Its a small price to pay.
• Hours of fun and the campaign can easily take 20 plus hours depending on skill to solve the puzzles.
• Collectibles are scattered around the levels and range from abstract art to delightful little poems. Poems give more of an insight to the story.
• You can replay levels from the main menu and each level has a breakdown of how many collectibles you have/need and any remaining exp containers.
• The music is just as good as the graphics, Even the sound effects are brilliant.
• Powerful physics engine at work. build a load of boxes up and do it right or they will fall over, manipulate the flow of water with items etc.

Cons:

• They have got rid of the mp/health containers. having them gave a bit more to the game and with MP in particular, it now doesnt really deplete.
• Jumping still feels laggy and quite airy. you notice it more on the jumping platform sections.
• Some of the bosses are dam right disgusting, The last boss in particular is wuite the headache starter.
• The game performs a lot better on the gamepad.
• the left bumper button isnt assigned to hot swapping characters like it is in every other version. its a weird ommision and feels wrong.

In Summary, Despite everything the game is just a brilliant chilled puzzle platformer. i cannot believe how well the graphics look. Aside from the shine you get from the other versions, The game looks every bit as good as the rest. Having full online support proves how much faith Frozenbyte have in the Wii U and the results are a stable playing enviroment. using the game pad for controls is just a gimmick but a gimmick that can work really well. Planning a solution is easier when you can literally draw the answer on screen. Off line play works well but solo is my favourite. i really like the whole style of the trine games from the story to the mechanics. Just for some reason Frozenbyte do not like doing a responsive jump button! It always feels slow and is constanlty causing mis jumps. That aside it is a peach of a game and one well worth checking out.