Trials Evolution Review
Trials Evolution is the second Trials game to hit XBLA but can it top its predecessor?
It’'s been 2 and half years since Redlynx released Trials HD on the XBLA but since the announcement of Trials Evolution it has felt even longer.
Trials Evolution is a 3D motorcycle trials game played as 2D sidscroller and located in a vast open world. Your role is to get from A to B whilst facing hills, jumps, obstructions and natures will. A few levels you will ride on are an oil rig, a sewage plant, a gold mine and a laboratory, with over 60 tracks to ride on you won’t get bored or see the same level twice.
Did you notice I said vast OPEN WORLD!!! Yeah that’s right, in Trials HD you were stuck in a warehouse but in Trials Evolution you are able to go outside and breathe the fresh air whilst hitting the jumps. I love being outside whilst riding my bike because it opens up a whole new way of looking at trials. You might ride in the day or maybe at night, there may be fog and cloudy skies, there may be stars and sun sets…...... You get my drift. Taking trials outside was the best decision and helps to make everything feel unique and alive.
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Trials is famous for its competitive track times and with leaderboards and a constant reminder of where your friends are ranking against you on each track you are sure to feel the pressure to be the best or beat their times at least.
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When you complete a level you are given a medal based on your time an faults. Depending how well you did you will gain a bronze, silver, gold or platinum medal as well as money that you can use to purchase items from the garage.
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The more medals you get the closer you come to gaining a new licence. You can also view replays of the top 10,000 (roughly) which is great if you want to find out what they are doing to save time.
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If your friends are within the required rank for you to be able to watch their replay they are even more fun to watch because for some reason it’s always funnier watching your mates riding in style. (or not)
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Tracks range in difficulty, beginner being the easiest and extreme being the hardest. The levels in Trials Evolution are a lot better than those in Trials HD but I do feel that they are easier (even the extreme tracks) which is a little upsetting for the hardcore trials fans. However there are ways to get an extremely hard fix from the editor.
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Trials Evolution makes you take tests in order to gain licences which allow you access to new and better bikes which allow you to play the harder levels. This is a great idea but trials is pretty much common sense with physics playing the major part so I’m guessing this was put in, in order to help bring in the masses.
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A great addition to Trials Evolution is the garage. You are able to totally modify the colour of your bike and purchase new parts. In addition to the bike modifications you are also able to change the look of your rider by purchasing new clothes and helmets.
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The editor in Trials HD was very good but limited. You could only build in the warehouse and sharing tracks was only achievable buy having the creators on you friend list.
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This time round you have a lite editor which is basic and the pro editor which has everything available at your disposal. Baring in mind that every track in Trials Evolution was created using the same editor you can see the potentially amazing levels that could come about from those that have the patience, skill and imagination.
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When you first go to create a level you are given the map and from there you can scan in order to find the best spot for your new track. Once you have found the perfect location all you need to do is place a start, some checkpoints and a finish line and the world is yours. With over 5000 objects for you to use in any way you like diversity is not a problem. You can change the time of day and the weather, the terrain, or totally forget about riding a bike and make something completely different like an FPS.
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The trials editor is so advanced that it could be as good as if not better than that of Little Big Planet on the PS3. You no longer have to create a trials track but can now create FPS, top down shooters, pinball tales or anything else you may want to make as long as you have the skills and abilities to do so.
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The editor also gives you the ability to create supercross tracks for up to 4 players. Obviously these are a little harder to make because the obstacles have to be identical and fair for people to enjoy them but the ones that the game currently offers are a little easy. You are literally riding up and down a few bumps with the odd jump.
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All tracks that you and others create have the ability to be shared online and this time you don’t need to have the creator on your friend list. This is great because you will have a constant supply of new tracks available to you at anytime without having to clog up your friend list with random people you don’t know.
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Something that was always lacking in Trials HD was multiplayer. I always wanted to play alongside friends or watch them play and now I can. You can play supercross where you are placed next to each other as you try to get the lead and finish first or you can play Trials levels where you play as you would on single player with the addition of ghosts of the other players on your screen.
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Trials online is great and if you manage to finish ahead of others you are able to watch them try to complete the track before the times up. I love this but would like the timer to last a little longer than it does because I find it funny watching others playing under pressure.
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Overall Trials Evolution has absolutely blown Trials HD out of the water. Trials Evolution gives you everything you wanted out of Trials HD and more. There are a few things that need tweaking in my opinion but nothing that actually ruins the game as it is. If you like motorcycles, funny crashes, amazing physics and think you have what it takes, go buy Trials Evolution NOW.
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10/10
Review By Wicket2961
