Trapt is actually an extension of Tecmo's old school Deception series. It's a game where, instead of running about and blowing people's heads off with machine guns, you must carefully place traps about a mansion and spring them at exactly the right time. The game's far from perfect and it can be quite repetitive, but there's no denying its addictive and voyeuristic nature.

In the game you play as Princess Allura, a young and innocent girl who's been accused of her father King Olaf's murder by her witch of a mother. Barely escaping the guards' clutches, Allura finds seclusion in an old mansion, but unfortunately for her, total morons wander in from time to time, and in order to protect herself, and at the ordering of this mysterious being known as the Fiend, she's forced to murder them in the most devious of ways. The game contains numerous set pieces or traps that can be placed throughout the mansion's rooms, and the object is to get an enemy into position, spring the trap, and then delight in their demise.

Providing that you're both sick and a bit twisted, Trapt will definitely appeal to you. The personal (ones you can set anywhere) as well as environmental traps (ones you cannot place but merely trigger) in the game are all guilty pleasures of varying degrees, from simple bear traps to arrows to cannons and even pendulums. You can even drop humongous rocks onto peoples' heads. There's blood everywhere, people scream their lungs out, and bodies are thrown about like rag dolls.

Part of the reason why this game is good, aside from the trap mechanic, is because of Allura herself. Tecmo's done a nice job creating an attractive, vulnerable character that, despite her good natured sensibilities, wields great power. Whereas other games need a visual representation of a character's strength/personality, Trapt's heroine is the most terrifying type of person, someone who looks trustworthy but will stab you in the back the moment you take your eyes off her.

There's no denying this game as a guilty pleasure. I always feel especially naughty while playing it because it takes quite a bit of premeditation to enjoy. Being able to spring multiple traps at once and then combine those with some of the game's more elaborate set pieces is extremely enjoyable, yet all is not perfect with this game. The AI is at times too stupid to avoid a trap (thus eliminating much of the strategy) or too intelligent to walk into anything. There's no in between, so the night and day contrast makes things at times too frustrating. Plus, since some of the enemies refuse to take the bait, you'll have to run numerous laps about a single room and that's very monotonous. More so than ever, Trapt proves that patience is a virtue, so if you're not willing to invest the time, it probably won't hold your interest.

The traps are also a bit disappointing. There are certainly enough of them, yet at the same time most are just variations of the same thing (the rock versus the flaming rock, for example). It also doesn't help that Trapt's visuals aren't particularly attractive. The character models look all right, but the game's environments have been painted using dark, dull colors. It's certainly not ugly, but it's not exactly the best work that Tecmo's done.

Trapt isn't for everyone, but if you're willing to invest the time, you'll find it to be a good but not great videogame that puts a different spin on the standard adventure formula. It's without question one of those "outside of the box" experiences, one that appeals to the trap setter in us all. Not one of Tecmo's best, but definitely another solid product to add to its lineup.