Korea gets it right again
An obscure Korean-made platformer, this plays out like a mix of Commander Keen and Dangerous Dave, but in a humorous and cartoony style and which shows enough inventiveness to warrant being played by genre enthusiasts. The game starts out in bizarre fashion, with a dark and threatening story which describes how an evil vampire lord is resurrected and then seeks to take his vengeance on the world. This however is quickly abandoned in favour of a cutesy approach, with the player taking control of one of three animal characters, a dog, mouse or cat. You make your way through a variety of familiar, modern-day environments such as houses, bouncing and shooting your way through an endless array of platforms and enemies. Along the way, you can grab health bonuses and weapon powerups, while each level has a pretty strict time limit and ends with a mighty boss battle. There's nothing particularly original about Super Trio but it's nonetheless a decent enough addition to the platformer genre. Although it lacks inventiveness, everything is put together well enough to make you forget its shortcomings. The controls are tight and responsive, absolutely necessary in such a game, while the visuals are bright and appealing, with vibrant colours and attractive sprites and environments. Level design too is pretty slick, with some challenging and highly enjoyable levels to complete. Perhaps the only real disappointment is that the three characters don't actually differ from one another, a la Super Mario Bros 2, in terms other than visuals. However, the ability to team up with another player makes up for this and turns this into a fun and playable adventure.
