I don’t know what it is about the Trials games that keep me coming back, but with the release of Trials Fusion I had to get it as soon as it was released. I do feel I was kind of bucking the trend buying the Xbox 360 version of the game though, but looking at what has been written about the different versions the biggest difference is unsurprisingly the graphical detail of the game.
I’ll admit that I’m not one of those players who go for the multiplayer options, so this review is looking at the solo based play. Though you don’t have people to race against you do have times that you can race against, and you have your own best personal times to try to beat. It would be very easy to become obsessed with shaving off those seconds from your race if Trials is not more focused on making the tracks as devious as possible for the player.
It all starts off pretty easy, there will be hills that may make you crash a few times, maybe a steep incline just to push you to use some of the skills you’ve been learnt, but the real fun comes in the later levels. As things get more complicated you need to master the art of landing just right so you don’t land flat on your face, know how to bunny hop at just the right time so to be able to make the jump and most importantly understand the tracks that you are racing over.
With a futuristic twist on the tracks you’ll find that with some you’ll have no idea what is coming next as it builds itself as you hit the landing, this can cause some confusion as you are forever planning your next move, but you soon get the hang of it and once the riding becomes almost automatic for you, you get to enjoy the Easter egg filled world that you have been placed in.
Trials Fusion has been created to not only give you a few hidden secrets from their past games, but also a few pop references. The fact you have a robotic female voice forever commenting on your progress is an instant reminder of Portal, but not to the quality of GLaDOS. It is a nice touch though and the humour is presented at just the right level of sarcastic as to make you smile, even as your head rams into that ledge that was placed just perfectly to catch you out.
To add to the longevity of the game there are user tracks provided which will constantly grow, and you can make your own. Add to this the way the medal system works to make sure that if you’ve been just rushing through the tracks getting bronze medals, you are going to have to go back and complete them. This can be done using the faster bikes you’ve been provided with too.
There is a feel with Trials Fusion that there is more to come and that this is going to be something to look forward to. Though this raises the question about why it’s not here yet. Another question I found myself asking was that if the game is set in the future, some of the bikes don’t exactly feel futuristic, but this to be fair is just looking for problems.
With plenty of room to improve your skills in the game, and plenty of tricks to be able to pull of Trials Fusion is fun, even in the Xbox 360. I’m sure that people who play the Xbox One version will question just why you would want to play it on the older consoles, but for those who aren’t rushing to buy a new console this is a way to play the game still and not miss out on the fun. With companies like Microsoft and Sony making it clear that they are not going to ignore the older consoles, Trials Fusion does prove it can be done.
