One of the most beautiful Mac games just got even prettier

Didn’t manage to catch the original Trine? Then we strongly urge you to dive into the sequel--it’s essentially more of the same quality platform puzzling as before, only with an extra layer of awesome.

First of all, this is not an adventure that takes itself too seriously. It’s not played entirely for laughs but instead takes a fairy tale approach to its storytelling, with a soothing narrator’s voice introducing you to salient plot points. The story involves three heroes on a quest to save the kingdom from the nasty goblin hordes, and features a princess and a castle--classic stuff, if slightly predictable.

The thief’s arrows are working well, but maybe the knight’s brute force would be better.

As with the original game, what hits you first is the visual splendor of the scenery. This is a truly stunning game, each environment filled with detail, bursting with life and color, and given a shimmering magic by some breathtaking lighting effects.

The gameplay is top notch too. Each of the three characters has distinct abilities, and you can switch between them at will in order to use those abilities to solve puzzles. The knight, with his sword, shield, and hammer, is useful for combat and breaking through obstructions. The thief can use ranged attacks and employ a grappling hook to reach high platforms. And the wizard can conjure and move objects in order to overcome hazards. So in a typical scenario, you might use the thief to take out distant enemies with her bow so that there’s not a constant rain of attacks coming in, then switch to the knight to slash your way through ground-based enemies. All that remains is for the wizard to conjure up a box and place it next to a cliff wall so that he can hop up and onto the next section of the level. The puzzles are intelligently designed to allow you to use these abilities to overcome problems in creative ways--there’s no one solution.

Wizards can create mechanical boxes out of thin air, which is pretty useful. You can also level them up later on.

In addition, up to three friends can play the game cooperatively on a local network or online, which adds a whole new layer of fun to the proceedings. And in a particularly smart move, the emphasis has been placed on the puzzles: the challenge here comes from having to work things out rather than having to worry so much about dying.

The bottom line. As a spectacle alone, Trine 2 is easily worth your attention. That there’s also a solidly designed, charmingly written game attached is a bonus. The inclusion of the highly entertaining cooperative play is the icing on the cake.  We can’t recommend it enough.