Console: Xbox 360 Arcade
Date Released: April 18th, 2012
Date Reviewed: April 26th, 2012
Reviewer: Jon
Pros
* Features an amazing amount of content, especially for an Xbox Live Arcade Title
* Insane map editor
* Fair amount of customization
* Finally getting out of that dusty warehouse
Cons
* Title track really is that annoying
* 1.23 GB of your hard drive will never be free again
In 2009 we witnessed the release of perhaps one of the best Xbox live arcade titles. At the time Trials HD competed with Shadow Complex for the best arcade title released that year. For those of you who haven’t played Trials, it is a physics based motorcycle game that throws you in a series of outrageous courses that you must get through while keeping the best time. You would be awarded as you progressed by unlocking new tracks, bikes etc. The key to this title is in the statement of “physics based”.
Trials HD is very reminiscent of excite bike for NES in which you control the pitch and speed of your bike in order to overcome obstacles throughout the each course. However Trials added an element of humor and some down right difficult situations to overcome. Whether I was trying to get my bike up a 90 degree angle, playing with the rag doll physics, or trying to perform an insane flip to land my bike on a platform directly above me, this arcade title provided hours of entertainment.
Three years later and Trials is back with Trials Evolution. Promising to expand on its predecessor in almost every way, let’s take a closer look to see how the sequel holds up.
Presentation : A
Graphics / Animation / Sound
Trials HD placed you in the setting of an old warehouse. This served the purpose very well considering, but Evolution is looking to completely overhaul the experience. Taking place in both indoors and outdoors, there are moments that will simply make your jaw drop. You will witness world war battlefields, mountain tops, forests, and construction sites just to name a few. All of these environments have an outstanding amount of detail and depth to them featuring epic explosions and all the “Trials Trickery” that we know and love.
I can’t tell you enough how refreshing it feels to barrel down a 500 foot drop while seeing an epic landscape in the distance. The warehouse environments of the first game were impressive enough, but the wide open setting that RedLynx created for this game is a huge improvement. There is also a vast amount of lighting and weather effects that will be thrown your way to mix things up and in some cases add a whole new element to the difficulty of the game.
There is plenty of visual appeal to this game aside from the highly detailed models that you fly by at break neck speeds. Explosions, water effects, this game is far from a boring experience.
One aspect that fails to impress me however is the game’s soundtrack. Yeah I am sure that you heard about that one already. Looking up any information about this game will likely lead you to a forum complaining about how terrible the musical choices are. Truth is, aside from the title track (that only lasts a few minutes) I didn’t find the rest of the audio too bad. Song selection consists of generic guitar rifts and rockin’ tunes to accompany each track. While it may not be memorable, it never felt out-of-place and didn’t annoy me too much.
Single Player : A
Game mechanics / Length / difficulty
Let’s talk gameplay! In the opening paragraphs I explained the basic mechanics behind the Trials series and this entry doesn’t set out to reinvent the wheel. The best thing about it, is that it really doesn’t have to. Trials HD was a bestseller for a reason, so if it’s not broke why fix it? The core gameplay is exactly the same so for those familiar with the first entry you know what you are getting into. Newcomers, just be prepared for some of the best fun you will likely experience for only $15. While the gameplay doesn’t mix things up, Trials Evolution does expand on almost every other aspect of the experience.
There are not only quite a large amount of tracks to unlock, but also a fair amount of “interesting” challenges to add to the mix. These challenges are things like, your bike is running out of gas and you have to see how far you can make it. One of the challenges I encountered altered the bike and gave me a heavy throttle. This made it tricky, but the only goal was to launch myself from a ramp and see how far I could “fly” by flapping my arms that just so happened to be fitted with 2x4s. (Yeah you heard me right) Like I said, this series adds just the right amount of humor and always puts a lot of emphasis on just having fun. A decent amount of customization options are present, but they mostly consist of altering your biker’s apparel or altering your bikes appearance. This can seem pretty in-depth at first, but after a while it mostly consists of color swapping. Is this an issue? Not at all, I mean what more could you ask for in a game like this? There are multiple bikes that perform differently as you unlock them, so with performance already out-of-the-way, the only thing left would be cosmetic. I felt satisfied with the options presented and I am glad that it was included, it’s just not the highlight of the game.
The track editor is a different story. This thing is incredibly powerful and gives you total control of every aspect of your track. Seeing the amount of options and depth presented can be somewhat intimidating. But thankfully RedLynx gives you both a simple and advanced editing mode to help some newcomers to the process. This mode also comes equipped a few pre-made tracks that can help you in figuring out the development process.
From picking your preferred area and path of the landscape to adding extra elements like simple clutter really go a long way in making each track created unique. Now fans of the original Trials may think that picking your path in an open landscape can’t vary too much, but trust me that;s where you are wrong.
You see, Trials Evolution has a new addition and that is the ability to turn. While the gameplay never leaves the 2.5D setting and the only controls are pitch, brake and gas on occasion you will encounter an area where the track turns. This event prompts the camera to follow the biker while still maintaining a side view, this effect really manages to create an even greater sense of depth. Adding this into the track editor was only natural, so being able to literally place your track line anywhere you see fit adds an unlimited amount of variation. Now every level editor wouldn’t be complete without its own community would it? That why Trials Evolution has track sharing system put into place complete with ranking and recommendations to ensure your track selection is unlimited.
Multiplayer : A
Game mechanics / features / Online features
Multiplayer eh? Trials Evolution has that too. Not only can you compete in local and online races, things are amped up even more with the presence of up to 4 bikers on the same track. These specialized courses present themselves in a side by side manner similar to your standard motocross race. This feature along with the stat and medal tracking for all of the tracks will give you and your friends quite a lot to compete for.
Replay Value : A
Lasting appeal / Bonus Content / DLC
This one will keep you busy for a long time. With 60 single player tracks, multiplayer options, and the robust track editor, Trials Evolution will make a permanent home on your hard drive. Whether you are in it for the long haul and want to create the longest track in existence or just want to hop in for a few and run through a couple of tracks, you will be more than satisfied with the experience. For the price tag, this game is a great value that will still fresh for a long time.
Overall : A
Console: Xbox 360 Arcade
Date Released: April 18th, 2012
Date Reviewed: April 26th, 2012
Reviewer: Jon
Pros
* Features an amazing amount of content, especially for an Xbox Live Arcade Title
* Insane map editor
* Fair amount of customization
* Finally getting out of that dusty warehouse
Cons
* Title track really is that annoying
* 1.23 GB of your hard drive will never be free again
In 2009 we witnessed the release of perhaps one of the best Xbox live arcade titles. At the time Trials HD competed with Shadow Complex for the best arcade title released that year. For those of you who haven’t played Trials, it is a physics based motorcycle game that throws you in a series of outrageous courses that you must get through while keeping the best time. You would be awarded as you progressed by unlocking new tracks, bikes etc. The key to this title is in the statement of “physics based”.
Trials HD is very reminiscent of excite bike for NES in which you control the pitch and speed of your bike in order to overcome obstacles throughout the each course. However Trials added an element of humor and some down right difficult situations to overcome. Whether I was trying to get my bike up a 90 degree angle, playing with the rag doll physics, or trying to perform an insane flip to land my bike on a platform directly above me, this arcade title provided hours of entertainment.
Three years later and Trials is back with Trials Evolution. Promising to expand on its predecessor in almost every way, let’s take a closer look to see how the sequel holds up.
Presentation : A
Graphics / Animation / Sound
Trials HD placed you in the setting of an old warehouse. This served the purpose very well considering, but Evolution is looking to completely overhaul the experience. Taking place in both indoors and outdoors, there are moments that will simply make your jaw drop. You will witness world war battlefields, mountain tops, forests, and construction sites just to name a few. All of these environments have an outstanding amount of detail and depth to them featuring epic explosions and all the “Trials Trickery” that we know and love.
I can’t tell you enough how refreshing it feels to barrel down a 500 foot drop while seeing an epic landscape in the distance. The warehouse environments of the first game were impressive enough, but the wide open setting that RedLynx created for this game is a huge improvement. There is also a vast amount of lighting and weather effects that will be thrown your way to mix things up and in some cases add a whole new element to the difficulty of the game.
There is plenty of visual appeal to this game aside from the highly detailed models that you fly by at break neck speeds. Explosions, water effects, this game is far from a boring experience.
One aspect that fails to impress me however is the game’s soundtrack. Yeah I am sure that you heard about that one already. Looking up any information about this game will likely lead you to a forum complaining about how terrible the musical choices are. Truth is, aside from the title track (that only lasts a few minutes) I didn’t find the rest of the audio too bad. Song selection consists of generic guitar rifts and rockin’ tunes to accompany each track. While it may not be memorable, it never felt out-of-place and didn’t annoy me too much.
Single Player : A
Game mechanics / Length / difficulty
Let’s talk gameplay! In the opening paragraphs I explained the basic mechanics behind the Trials series and this entry doesn’t set out to reinvent the wheel. The best thing about it, is that it really doesn’t have to. Trials HD was a bestseller for a reason, so if it’s not broke why fix it? The core gameplay is exactly the same so for those familiar with the first entry you know what you are getting into. Newcomers, just be prepared for some of the best fun you will likely experience for only $15. While the gameplay doesn’t mix things up, Trials Evolution does expand on almost every other aspect of the experience.
There are not only quite a large amount of tracks to unlock, but also a fair amount of “interesting” challenges to add to the mix. These challenges are things like, your bike is running out of gas and you have to see how far you can make it. One of the challenges I encountered altered the bike and gave me a heavy throttle. This made it tricky, but the only goal was to launch myself from a ramp and see how far I could “fly” by flapping my arms that just so happened to be fitted with 2x4s. (Yeah you heard me right) Like I said, this series adds just the right amount of humor and always puts a lot of emphasis on just having fun. A decent amount of customization options are present, but they mostly consist of altering your biker’s apparel or altering your bikes appearance. This can seem pretty in-depth at first, but after a while it mostly consists of color swapping. Is this an issue? Not at all, I mean what more could you ask for in a game like this? There are multiple bikes that perform differently as you unlock them, so with performance already out-of-the-way, the only thing left would be cosmetic. I felt satisfied with the options presented and I am glad that it was included, it’s just not the highlight of the game.
The track editor is a different story. This thing is incredibly powerful and gives you total control of every aspect of your track. Seeing the amount of options and depth presented can be somewhat intimidating. But thankfully RedLynx gives you both a simple and advanced editing mode to help some newcomers to the process. This mode also comes equipped a few pre-made tracks that can help you in figuring out the development process.
From picking your preferred area and path of the landscape to adding extra elements like simple clutter really go a long way in making each track created unique. Now fans of the original Trials may think that picking your path in an open landscape can’t vary too much, but trust me that;s where you are wrong.
You see, Trials Evolution has a new addition and that is the ability to turn. While the gameplay never leaves the 2.5D setting and the only controls are pitch, brake and gas on occasion you will encounter an area where the track turns. This event prompts the camera to follow the biker while still maintaining a side view, this effect really manages to create an even greater sense of depth. Adding this into the track editor was only natural, so being able to literally place your track line anywhere you see fit adds an unlimited amount of variation. Now every level editor wouldn’t be complete without its own community would it? That why Trials Evolution has track sharing system put into place complete with ranking and recommendations to ensure your track selection is unlimited.
Multiplayer : A
Game mechanics / features / Online features
Multiplayer eh? Trials Evolution has that too. Not only can you compete in local and online races, things are amped up even more with the presence of up to 4 bikers on the same track. These specialized courses present themselves in a side by side manner similar to your standard motocross race. This feature along with the stat and medal tracking for all of the tracks will give you and your friends quite a lot to compete for.
Replay Value : A
Lasting appeal / Bonus Content / DLC
This one will keep you busy for a long time. With 60 single player tracks, multiplayer options, and the robust track editor, Trials Evolution will make a permanent home on your hard drive. Whether you are in it for the long haul and want to create the longest track in existence or just want to hop in for a few and run through a couple of tracks, you will be more than satisfied with the experience. For the price tag, this game is a great value that will still fresh for a long time.
Overall : A
