Usually, whenever we're offered free games as a pre-order bonus, there's some common theme between the reserved title and the aforementioned playable incentive. Perhaps the bonus game is the prequel to the upcoming release, or at least belongs in the same genre as the pre-ordered title. However, a recent deal on Steam seems to go against this convention --
if you pre-order the upcoming fantasy action-platformer
Trine on Steam's download service, you get the frantic top-down shooter
Shadowgrounds for free.
Okay, so they're both made by indie developer Frozenbyte, but still -- there's a wide chasm between the worlds of
Smash TV and ... well, we can't think of a pre-existing game to compare
Trine to.
Super Ultima-rio Bros?
{ Jun 28th 2009 at 12:00AM } 
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Powerlord @ Jun 28th 2009 12:22AM
er... wouldn't The Lost Vikings be the most appropriate game to compare Trine to? Granted, in The Lost Vikings, your characters all move independently, and the puzzles aren't really physics based, but the general idea is the same.
acme @ Jun 28th 2009 12:06AM
Trine is like lost vikings.
silverwolf761 @ Jun 28th 2009 12:32PM
good call
VOS @ Jun 28th 2009 1:00AM
Incredible looking game and love the concept but not releasing it on the 360 is a shame. The PS3 is a sinking ship (you won't see a PS4).
Rollins @ Jun 28th 2009 1:17AM
Atlus is publishing it for the 360.
Rollins @ Jun 28th 2009 1:17AM
Atlus is publishing it on the 360.
Rollins @ Jun 28th 2009 1:17AM
It's so true, the comment system felt it needed to post it twice!
MOT @ Jun 28th 2009 5:14AM
Ignorant troll must be ignored.
Levi @ Jun 28th 2009 2:16PM
everything's gotta be about the console war to you annoying kids.
Levi @ Jun 28th 2009 1:22AM
Get the demo on Steam. It's good. Use a 360 controller or get the latest custom drivers fir the Dual Shock 3 to play it with.
Yourself @ Jun 28th 2009 2:51AM
Personally I found the mouse/keyboard controls to work better... there's too much aiming/drawing to use a stick, and it's not like 2D motion really requires analog control.
Regardless, the demo was great and I absolutely cannot wait for this game. Big Lost Vikings fan and this brought me back - though it's probably considerably better.
Levi @ Jun 28th 2009 2:18PM
Well, I think it could really go either way. I think sidescrolling platforming is better suited for a controller, but there's a bit of stuff in there that could be better with a mouse. The only thing I found annoying with the DS3 was drawing the boxes. I thought the arrow shooting worked well with the analog stick. All in all, the game felt great with the DS3, and I'm sure a mouse and kb would be good too.
Now if I could only get my HDMI audio working on my laptop, I could enjoy the demo on my HDTV with my Dual Shock 3 as if it were a PS3 demo ^_^
Einhanderkiller @ Jun 29th 2009 1:25AM
I preferred the keyboard and mouse as well. Platforming is no problem with the keyboard. You could think of the WASD keys as essentially the same thing as a d-pad.
Ihavepants @ Jun 28th 2009 1:46AM
Love this game, but I'm having trouble finding out whether it's online co-op or just local... anyone know for sure?
Online co-op for this would push it to insane levels of awesome.
Dom @ Jun 28th 2009 2:12AM
Offline co-op, they might patch it up with online co-op if the sales are decent.
http://frozenbyte.com/board/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=1664
Ihavepants @ Jun 28th 2009 2:39AM
...well then people better buy up ;_;
eldee @ Jun 28th 2009 2:35AM
wow, this game looks great.. pre-ordered! now I get to check out this shadowgrounds business.
MOT @ Jun 28th 2009 5:16AM
I took advantage of this deal Friday night. Demo is sweet, cannot wait for the game. However, Shadowgrounds seems to suck. Enemies blend into the environment so you can't see them and they overwhelm and kill you quickly.
j.howlett @ Jun 28th 2009 6:41AM
guess i'll have to wait till it hits psn, which i hope is soon
The Baron @ Jun 28th 2009 8:10AM
That kinda makes perfect sense then.. same developer's previous game as a pre-order bonus.
Sly @ Jun 28th 2009 11:41AM
haha jakka, i've used that link on so many people. go ahead and click it guys, you'll LOVE it.
sinergy @ Jun 28th 2009 3:00PM
Nice little side scroller! The graphics and animation are top notch and the controls are very responsive.
ixiragnarokixi @ Jun 28th 2009 3:44PM
you can't think of a game to compare trine to?
Not only did the devs already say that they basically wanted to make a modern lost vikings...
but you run a videogame site and you haven't even HEARD of lost vikings?
I know it's not a huge deal, but common, you're a videogame site. You'd think you'd know or at least do a little research on the game.
The Baron @ Jun 28th 2009 8:35PM
Jakka man! at least warn the rest of us :(
I had to end process.. and then clicked restore previous session by accident and then had to do it again.