I admit that before the release of Trials HD on the Xbox Live Arcade, I was a Trials newbie. I was blissfully ignorant of all the joyous hours of gaming it has brought many of you; readers, peers as gamers, and everyone who has ever attempted a high score within the game. Though my backlog is ever-growing, I knew I had to get in on the big secret as to what makes this game such an exercise in frustration, addiction, and complete satisfaction when you land the perfect time. I’m sure it goes without saying that I soon discovered what makes this game tick, and I wasn’t let down in the least.

At first glance, you may be reminded just a bit of ExciteBike because yes, at its core, Trials HD does feature motorcycles. It differs substantially from ExciteBike and similar titles in that you cannot steer to the left or to the right in this motorcycle title. The only direction you can go in is straight ahead, pedal-to-the-metal, baby! Straight forward is the key to victory. It sounds simple, but if you’re thinking it shouldn’t be too hard to master, you’ve never been more wrong in your life.

Trials may seem like an exceptionally simple racer, but everything depends on specific layers of gravity and developer RedLynx’s precise use of physics within the game. You won’t have to do any pesky steering, but know that every miniscule movement of your biker will affect the outcome of each trial and thus affect your time at the end as well. The very same rules that apply to real life motorbikes will apply here. If you’re on an uphill ramp you’ll need to make sure you lean forward and apply steady pressure on the gas rather than gunning it or else you won’t make it to the end of a trial, much less an admirable score. It’s the small nuances like this that will make you both enamored with Trials HD and ready to tear your hair out because you just can’t figure out the perfect marriage of speed, braking, and which way to lean.

Once you think you may have begun to master simple slopes ending with a jump through a burning hoop, then Trials HD ups the ante with some gnarly multiple jumps and terrain that will require precise maneuvers in the air, while you might be content to be taking a break. You may want to simply power ahead over ramps and throw caution to the wind, but if you do this you will find yourself getting quite frustrated very quickly, as this is very much a game meant to be played in steady and capable hands. The mixture of so-hard-it-hurts gameplay as well as the satisfaction that stems from landing a near-impossible jump with an admirable time as you climb the leaderboards is second to none, and you might find yourself doing that little victory dance you do right in your chair.

Trials HD knows it’s a little devil, too. Before you’re allowed to play with the big boys in each of the game’s five difficulties, you must play through mandatory tutorials that will show you the ropes in case you were planning on attempting to blindly figure it out. They’re quite useful, showcasing some more advanced techniques on the higher difficulties, though I am sure for players who can grasp the concepts on their own they begin to become annoyances. When and if you complete the main campaign challenges, the fun doesn’t stop there. From there you can partake in Tournament mode or some Skill Games that will require more of you than some fancy leaning and throttling. Tournament mode is not for the faint of heart, as one slip-up in a series of events can cause your entire cumulative score to go spiraling down the drain.

Though much of the fun can be found within simply trying to complete an event, you’ll find plenty to enjoy when you happen to fail too, and you will fail a lot. Your rider will regularly be subjected to flames, glass, low beams, and contortion positions as his body is tossed to and fro in the play area. Ragdoll physics make this a hilarious experience that you won’t get tired of seeing, at least, if you’re not trying too hard to complete the campaign.

When you’ve had enough fun with the campaign and various challenges, you can put your creative skills to the test with quite the useful level editor with which you can shape terrain, create your own obstacles, jumps, and even go so far as to change lighting and shadow effects within the areas you’ve created. Once you’ve done this, you can submit your creation for all your friends to enjoy, LittleBigPlanet-style. Titles that go for an affordable 800 Microsoft points and still manage to pack all this content into one package never fail to impress me.

As far as looks go, Trials HD is slick and clean. As the physics speak for themselves, so do the impressive graphics. Forgetting the humorous spills your rider will take throughout the course of game, you can’t deny the fact that the rusty, dingy, and dimly-lit warehouses that your events will take place in were given true TLC by RedLynx in that there is so much attention to detail, they really meant it when they slapped the HD onto the end of the title.

If you’re looking for an Xbox Live Arcade game that doesn’t rely on the same mechanics that the rest do, then Trials HD should satisfy your thirst for the unique. Don’t approach this game looking for easy achievements or simple gameplay, however, because you’ll be turned off in a heartbeat. If you’re dow for some addictive, challenging, and wholly entertaining action, then Trials HD is currently one of the best bets on the Xbox Live Arcade.

Title: Trials HD Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios Developer: RedLynx Platform(s): Xbox Live Arcade Release Date: August 12, 2025

Doin It RIGHT: - Fantastic challenge for those of you who complain that games are too easy. - Astounding physics and puzzles to conquer using said physics. - Slick graphics and high production values.	Doin It RONG: - It might be a little too hard if you're not up to learning the ropes. - Would have been nice to see a bit more varied environments.
FINAL SCORE: 9 / 10

       

Tags: Review, Trials HD, XBLA, Xbox 360

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 25th, 2009 at 1:10 am and is filed under Reviews, XBLA, Xbox 360. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.