Of all the games to hit the Wii U eShop around launch, Trine 2 is most definitely considered to be one of the prettiest but then so it should be as it's a port of an already existing downloadable game that was originally released the best part of a year ago so the developers definitely had time to polish their port. Obviously that's not to say that us Wii U owners aren't grateful, the game is still a much welcomed addition to the consoles digital library but just how good is it now that the initial hype has died down? Read on to find out if this either an amazing adventure worth owning or a merely a miserable case of misadventure misjudged by many.

For those unaware you assume the role of not one but three heroes which include a Wizard named Amadeus who can either conjure or manipulate objects at will, a formidable knight called Pontius who is the brawn and last but not least an agile thief by the name of Zoya, so as you can see they make quite a good team which is just as well because they will need to work together if they are to save their kingdom from certain ruin when it is threatened by an inevitable evil. While the plot may not be a particularly positive point it does at least serve as excuse for adventure which is surely no bad thing, if you've so inclined then you can learn extra details about the backstory during play as you will come across various pieces of art and literature littered across the land but hidden in chests for you to find which is sure to please certain players who like to carefully explore every inch of their surroundings.

Essentially though this has adventure written all over it, a physics based platformer would be the best description for Trine 2 as while you'll find yourself dispatching with a few enemies here and there, you will find just as many - if not more - instances of things getting in the way thus hindering your progress, this is where many relatively simple yet deceptively tricky puzzles come into play as you will be conjuring up many crates to form make-shift bridges, jumping many gaps plus hitting many switches. It's the simple joy of being able to switch between three unique characters knowing that one of them will hold the proverbial key to progression that makes this title uniquely intruiging because as a single-player game it handles things rather well, of course the multiplayer is also something of a selling point but I'll get to that shortly.

Mechanically everything most definitely 'works' as there will be many puzzles that are quite easilly solved with either a few button presses or the odd swish of a control stick, but when some of the tasks go a little beyond simplicity this is where things can tend to get a little muddled as it's somewhat frustrating when something doesn't quite work as it perhaps should. Depending on which controller you are using or how adept you are at playing titles such as this you may experience greater degrees of success - or not as the case may be - than others, using the gamepad obviously offers the added bonus of the touch-screen which works very well when used in conjunction with the TV or on it's own but you can also opt to use the pro controller which while not quite as streamlined is still a close second-best, with the Wii remote and nunchuck coming last in reasons I will underline in the multiplayer.

If you choose to take this game online, teaming up with two other players is a solid experience that will keep you coming back to play it a good few times as it's easy to get into. Thankfully voice chat has been added with a recent patch, especially given the team-work that's required. But should you be unlucky enough to not have a headset if you still manage to get a trio of players who know what they're doing it can still be a rather magical experience. When playing on the same console you might want to invest in a couple of pro controllers though or at the very least you'll want to dig out a classic controller for your third player because you really don't want to lumber anyone with Wii remotes because quite simply it's not worth the hassle, while it's good to see that the developer has included a lot of control options it's only really worth using the methods which are specifically made for the Wii U only, forget the remotes just this once.

Visually the game does look rather stunning indeed, you could even say that it's the games main selling point because not being content with producing a version that's already graphically superior to the original release on other formats, since the recent patch - which also added the pro controller support - the visuals have been tweaked even more, the result is quite possibly the best looking downloadable game on the console to date as every single location is absolutely abundant with life so you have many fantasy environments that are rendered in an ultra-realistic fasion that is quite unlike anything seen before thanks to the wonderful art direction. Naturally the audio is of a similarly high-standard meaning you'll be casting, hacking, slashing and shooting to your hearts content to the wonderful accompanying music which really helps to draw you in to what is a very enjoyable experience once you get lost in it.

You will likely find a lot to like about Trine 2 as it's very good at what it does, when it gets it right... in the event of things going wrong though prepare for a few moments of frustration which although they may be far apart it doesn't stop them from being any less jarring, of course the moment you then progress to the next part you're ready to be wowed yet again by the stunning visuals so it always seems to come full circle meaning you won't be frustrated for too long as the fun still outweighs the negative elements by far. It may not be perfect but for the most-part this is a game which definitely looks, sounds and plays the part, just don't be too surprised when it throws the odd spanner - or crate - into the works of what is otherwise a wonderful experience.