Trine – fantasy platformer on the PS3, PC: $20

Trine / PS3 and PC (83 at Metacritic) is a very pretty 2d action platformer, in which the action shifts between a thief, a knight, and a wizard. In the single-player game, you flip between these characters. In the co-op mode, up to three players can join up and fight the good fight together. Each of the characters has a distinct set of abilities: the thief has a grappling hook which allows him to climb and swing, the knight can lift and throw things, the wizard has the ability to move objects remotely and to conjure up boxes. All of the characters have some fighting ability.

The big attractions here are a) the pretty and b) the balance of puzzles and good game play.

Here’s what the pretty looks like:

For the play, here’s a bit from IGN’s 8.0 review:

My favorite thing about Trine is that there is something new to discover around every corner. From beautiful vistas to interesting new game mechanics, the developers always seem to have another trick up their sleeve. There are just a couple aspects that seem phoned in. It could have used a greater variety of enemies, for one. … The play is relatively easy and fun — and since you can have up to three players in co-op, it’s a great game for a family playing together.

Trine won Gamespot’s Editor’s Choice award at E3 ‘09. A version for the Xbox Live Arcade is under development.