Trials HD Review

Describing Trials HD to someone who hasn’t tried it is like trying to tell a deaf person all about your favorite new song. It’s kind of a side-scrolling-action-racing-motorcycle-mayhem-platformer. You control a physics based motorcycle rider racing through some of the most complex, and at times irritating maps I’ve ever seen. As you race, your control is limited to simply leaning your rider’s weight forward or backward; there is no turning in the game.

The maps seem alive, with incredibly thought-out and precise detail; explosive crates might fall off of ledges, blowing up some flimsy planks of wood, thereby dropping the shipping containers they were supporting which fall onto a balancing metal pipe you are riding on, using it like a see-saw to launch you across the map to the next checkpoint. This game is anything but boring.

There is even some comedy, too. Your racer may scream out in typical 80s metal-god fashion to express his anxiety for that big jump, and every map ends humorously – you might slam into a pile of barrels at high speed, or have the ceiling come down on you as you cross the finish line.

There a LOT of maps, most of which are just downright fun. There is also a Mapmaker (I’ve found this to be surprsingly rare on Xbox 360 games) which offers limitless options. In the advanced mode (and there is a simple mode for the newbies) I spent well over three hours making a map; the finished product included: a loop-de-loop; an underground stretch, strafed by multicolored lights; an ascent towards a ramp that offered a landing zone in the middle of a lake of fire; and ended with a flight from an Indiana Jonesesque giant rolling ball.

It’s not all perfect, however. Some of the later maps and challenges are just plain aggravating. Insider Moves had to put out a video just on how to finish the last map (and not even with a good time). If you are a perfectionist like me and must beat all the maps, consider your blood prssure before you buy. A few of the later maps on hard had me nearly throwing my controller, and I couldn’t even get past the first jumps on some of the extreme mode maps without screaming at my TV.

For 1200 points, this game offers quite a lot. There is a free trial of Trials HD, offered in the Xbox Live Arcade, and I suggest you give it a shot. There are insane maps, HD graphics (obviously), a cool soundtrack, and one of the greatest map makers I’ve ever used. In fact, I’m surprised it’s only 1200 points; seeing as most downloadable content of late has been clearly overpriced, this almost seems to have been sold short. Keeping that in mind, there is some mind-numbingly difficult gameplay in the last third of the game or so, and I wish there were more actual motorcycles.

If you yearn for another Exictebike, like I once did, or just want a good arcade game you can keep coming back to – get the game as soon as possible. (just try not to lose it when you still can’t beat that extreme map.)

8/10 Exploding Motorcycles

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