As August draws to a close,
Microsoft’s second Summer of Arcade comes to an end. Much like last year, this
summer saw the release of some exceptional download games for the 360 – titles
like Shadow Complex, Marvel vs. Capcom 2, and ‘Splosion Man all received
download popularity and critical acclaim. Trials HD, from Finnish developers
RedLynx, didn’t get the attention some other titles got this summer, but this is
one game that should definitely not be overlooked.
Since players take control of a
motorcyclist, you’d be forgiven for assuming it’s a racing title. In actuality,
Trials HD has more in common with LittleBigPlanet than it does with Moto GP 08.
Like Sony’s platformer, Trials features 3D graphics (in HD, of course) but
two-dimensional gameplay. Instead of trying to beat a slew of opponents to the
finish line, the goal is to simply get there – there’s nothing in your way but
the track itself. Instead, each track pits you against a series of jumps, flips,
giant gaps, and seemingly insurmountable obstacles, and you have only the laws
of physics on your side.
Trials keeps the entry barrier low
with its simple controls: acceleration and deceleration are handled with the
right and left triggers respectively, and you tilt the analog stick to shift
your rider’s weight forward or backward. As the game starts you encounter
relatively straightforward tracks, consisting of hills, valleys, and some small
jumps. Winning these stages is as simple as accelerating and using your weight
to land jumps with your bike parallel to the ground. As long as you don’t try to
flip mid-air or anything, you’ll likely breeze through the beginner stages.
The first set of courses are simple paths,
with a few hills and jumps but not much else.
These early stages soon give way to
some of the trickiest, most deviously designed platforming challenges ever seen
in a video-game. By the time you’ve made your way past the Beginner and Easy
stages and into the Medium courses, you’ll face hundred-foot drops, tiny
platforms hung over flaming pits, and enough loops to make you feel like you’re
on a roller coaster. Master these, and you’ll advance to Hard, then Extreme
courses, which require precision driving to successfully navigate. Some of the
later stages can get frustratingly tough, but they’re all possible, and the
game’s so much fun you’ll want to keep retrying over and over every time you
fail. It’s incredibly addicting, and a quick session with the game can easily
turn into a multi-hour marathon.
Believe it or not, this is nowhere near as
hard as things will get.
There are 50 stages to work your way
through, and these alone will keep you busy for quite a while. But if you want a
change of pace, you can try one of the game’s 12 Skill Games. These mini-games
focus on one specific aspect of the game, whether it’s climbing as high as you
can up a nearly vertical slope, or trying to pull off as many flips as you can
without crashing. Some of these Skill Games are played more for laughs – there’s
one that sees you flinging your rider down a gigantic staircase, trying to break
as many of his bones as possible. While they probably won’t keep you coming back
the way the tracks will, the Skill Games are fun diversions, and die-hard
players will want to push themselves to pull off the best performance possible.
This Skill Game sees you balancing atop a
giant metal ball, using the rotation of your tires to roll the ball as far as
possible.
Trials HD has one other big thing in
common with LittleBigPlanet, and that’s its focus on user-created content. The
game comes complete with a level editor, which is deep and complete enough that
user creations could easily match (or even surpass) the RedLynx-created stages
in terms of complexity. And of course, these stages can be shared online, so
even if you don’t like making your own stages, these community-created levels
will provide nearly endless replayability.
While there’s no direct head-to-head
play possible, your best performances are put up against your friend’s when you
play on Live. As you attempt each track, a meter at the top of the screen will
show you your friends’ progress through the same stage, and Skill Games indicate
your friends’ best performances, so it’s easy to compete back and forth with
your buddies online.
It may not make it easy to describe,
but Trials HD’s unique combination of racing and platforming gives the game a
unique identity and makes for fun, addictive gameplay. While it’s not the
flashiest, most attention-grabbing Live Arcade title on the market, it’s a blast
to play and gives you enough content to keep you busy for quite a long time.
Gameplay: 9.2
It may have simple controls, but Trials’ realistic physics system makes every
attempt different. It can get frustrating to fail over and over again on a
particular section, but you’ll always feel like you can do it if you just keep
trying. When you finally do pull off a move that’s stymied your progress for so
long, it’s incredibly satisfying.
Graphics: 8.8
The visuals benefit from highly detailed high-def graphics. The lighting
deserves special mention – as you careen through each course your rider and bike
will be lit by everything from overhead fluorescent lights to pits of fire. The
physics manifest visually through the animation of the bike and your rider, so
you’ll feel every bone-crunching crash.
Sound: 7.0
While there are some interesting and humorous voice clips in the game, the
generic metal and techno soundtrack doesn’t really impress. Luckily they give
you the option of simply disabling the music.
Difficulty: Medium-Hard
While anyone can pick up the controller and breeze their way through the early
stages, later levels pose a significant challenge, even for skilled gamers. And
when the user-created stages start really rolling in, I’m sure we’ll see
everything from bunny slopes to the seemingly impossible.
Concept: 8.5
It’s an interesting and unique concept to be sure, but the combination of racing
and platforming elements, all run by the very accurate physics simulation, makes
for compelling gameplay.
Overall: 9.0
Trials HD is the most addicting game I’ve played in quite some time, and you get
a whole lot of game for a relatively small download fee. While there were plenty
of great XBLA games released this summer, Trials is one that definitely
shouldn’t get overlooked.
