Trajectile

Genre: Unlimited Pattern Puzzle

Players: 1

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Review:

Trajectile is a Puzzle Game released on the Nintendo DSi via the DSiWare service in 2010 and then grandfathered into the Nintendo 3DS eShop when that system was released. This game has players carefully aiming missiles at bricks above, trying to clear out specific targets within a limited number of turns.

The presentation here is decent, using simple 2D visuals against a black background that give this game an old-school Arcade look, with the game being backed by a decent synthesized soundtrack. It’s nothing extraordinary, but it’s appealing in a minimalist sorta’ way, I suppose.

The gameplay plays somewhat similarly to numerous mobile games that tend to use a series of balls instead of a missile, and unfortunately I don’t think this game comes away looking great by comparison.

Firstly, aiming is strangely difficult, as the line determining the angle the missiles will fire at doesn’t aim relative to the missile’s location, but apparently to the center of the screen, which feels somewhat unintuitive. Also, the game oddly forces players to wait a moment before they can release the touchscreen to fire the missiles, something that can make for accidentally having to restart the aiming process after it resets. However, probably my biggest complaint regarding this game is that the difficulty level feels far too high, and players who don’t make absolutely ideal use of each shot will find themselves losing time and again.

Puzzle game fans may still get some enjoyment out of Trajectile, but personally I feel like most will be better off sticking with one of the countless mobile games that have similar gameplay. Not only do many of those games have better controls, and feature more compelling and far less exacting gameplay, but odds are good you can find one that’s free. I recommend you do that instead.

tl;dr – Trajectile is a Puzzle Game that has players carefully aiming missiles at blocks above, trying to eliminate specific targets. This game plays a lot like a popular sort of mobile game, except with worse controls, and a frustratingly high difficulty level. My recommendation? Stick with the mobile games.

Grade: C-

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