Trinity: Souls Of Zill O'll Review

By PSM3 Staff for PSM3 Magazine Subscribe now!

Honestly, what is it with fantasy RPG game names? Given the number of people connected with this title, you'd have thought they could come up with something that didn't sound like a propaganda film for Ukrainian car plant workers in Stalinist Russia.

Just Trinity would have sufficed. Anyway, this PS3 exclusive is from the studio behind Dynasty Warriors, and while it's not that good, at least they're doing something a bit different.

In what will be a massive shock to anyone who's ever played a Japanese-developed RPG, the hero - a half-elf called Areus - is an orphan who sets out to avenge the death of his parents.

The twist is that you're joined by two fellow adventurers - a burly fighting human and lithe female vampire - and can switch between them at any time.

Quests make up most of the game. Pop to the Adventurer's Guild or Tavern in the cities and towns that gradually open up as you progress and you'll find various types of mission available.

To be fair, there's at least some variety in these, with seven different options including hunts, rescues, recoveries, eliminations and - sigh - escorts.

However, they do generally boil down to kicking the bejesus out of anything that gets in your way in order to gain XP and gold. You'll be sent to all four corners of the game world, and the more you rise up the levels, the more labyrinthine the dungeons become.

NOTHING TO IT

We're not overly enamoured with the presentation. Some story sections are communicated via cut-scene, which jars with those that have static character illustrations and text like RPGs of old. You don't actually get to explore the main locations, either.

Instead, the available guilds, shops and so on are just a series of menus with fixed illustrations to guide you as to what's on offer.

Out in the world, when you're busy running around thumping things, the characters feel oddly disconnected from the environments. They're almost floating around the levels rather than solidly ensconced in them.

And the combat? Well, it's basically Dynasty Warriors. While there's a fairly good system of upgrades and you can have up to six physical and magical attacks to hand, it's essentially a lot of hacking and slashing mixed up with a few spells, no matter which character you're battling with.

For a game with 'soul' in its title, this is remarkably lacking in depth.

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