Trine is fantastical eye-candy

I picked up Trine last night for $4.99 on Steam as part of the Holiday Sale.  I watched the videos prior to my purchase, but I didn't realize how stunning the visuals were until I started playing. For a side-scrolling platformer, Trine delivers amazing 3D backgrounds.  Also, the character models and enemies are well done.

On top of this, the game features top-notch physics game play as all manner of items can be moved and tossed around.  So far, this has given some great variety to the levels.  I often found multiple ways to complete a challenge.  However, with such open gameplay, I found myself often wondering if what I just did was what I was supposed to do or did I get lucky? Or did I miss something?  The game has kept me guessing, but thats a good thing.

I've embedded a video below of the game.  Sit back and enjoy the visuals!

Mirror's Edge is like Portal

Mirror's Edge is a racing puzzle game, not an action FPS.  The sooner that is understood, the sooner the game can be enjoyed.  Forget that there is gun-play, this game is all about getting from point A to B in the fastest time and most efficient manner.

The only game I can compare Mirror's Edge to is Portal. Both games are frustratingly hard and require copious amounts of trial and error.  The levels are NOT meant to be beaten the first time through.  At some points, both games almost demand the player goes to YouTube to find a walkthrough video.

Both games seem to make the complex simple and the simple complex. Many times while playing Mirror's Edge I would easily complete a complex running jump only to miss the next basic jump across a two foot gap. My guess is that so much trial and error goes into the tricky parts, that players unknowingly let up on the easy stuff. Still, sometimes I think the game just wanted to punish me for figuring something out.

After mastering a level, there is almost no challenge the second time through.  Re-playability is limited to those looking to beat their previous best.

Neither game features a UI. And with so many near misses and vertigo-inducing leaps in Mirror's Edge, a UI would have ruined the experience.

Like Portal, the story for Mirror's Edge serves little purpose other than giving a backdrop to the game and motivation for completing the levels. The story in Mirror's Edge isn't that bad and the world is fairly interesting (and beautifully rendered).

For characters, just as Portal features GLaDOS, Mirror's Edge features Merc (short for Mercury) as the overseeing director of activities. Fortunately, the leading lady, Faith, tends to speak up for herself in Mirror's Edge, where as Chell remained silent in Portal.

As a final nail in the comparison coffin, both games are far too short, ending promptly after a few hours of play. Mirror's Edge, well worth the $4.99 spent.

Dec 2009: What I'm Playing/What I'm Paying

Previous months: Nov 2009, Oct 2009, Sept 2009

I'm not embedding the spreadsheet this month because with the birth of a new year, I am planning a new approach to these posts. The "What I'm Playing/What I'm Paying" Google Spreadsheet is still there for the previous months.

Looking Back on 2009, Heartless' Predictions Reviewed

Its that magical time of year where I get to review my predictions for the previous year. Read my original predictions post here.  My commentary is after the jump:

In The Year 2010, Heartless' Predictions

Its nearly 2010 and without further hesitation, here are my predictions:

1. Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning will be sold or shut down by EA.

2. Star Wars: The Old Republic will NOT launch this year.

3. Already launched MMOGs, not named World of Warcraft, will have a rough year.

4. Newer, quality F2P games will storm the market and one will challenge WoW for the mainstream playerbase.

5. WoW will remain the king cash cow as the subscription model continues its dominance.


6. Digital distribution will start being taken seriously by market analysts as Steam proves the platform's power on the PC market.

7. Digital distribution will quietly replace boxed sales completely for PC games.

BONUS REAL LIFE PREDICTION: A political uprising will shock the world and the mainstream media will only find out about it after checking their Twitter accounts.  Three days later, they will realize it was simply a mis-spelled #hashtag and re-purposed Youtube videos.