I’d always wanted to give Trials a go as I can remember playing a flash version online back in high school, which is way too long ago so I’ll stop remembering that now. What I do remember is how simple the concept was – Start at point A go fast to point B and don’t crash! Sounds simple but when you get to versions like Trials Fusion Awesome Max Edition you’ll need to think fast and strategically as well as drive fast. For those of you that haven’t played Trials before it’s one of those games where mastering the basics is so simple but it’ll take you a while to do so, to get the lie of the courses, get used to all the moves and to get the timings just right. There’ll be plenty of times where you’ll sail through a good few levels in a row and feel like nothing can stop you. But there’ll be plenty of times where you feel the world is out to get you because the track is beyond impossible and you can’t help but think “how can anyone pass this,” despite having the ghost data of friends passing you by, questioning if they’re using a cheat or something… Or is that just me? Moving on then! Trials Fusion is a platform racing game developed by RedLynx in collaboration with Ubisoft Shanghai and Ubisoft Ukraine. Fusion is a follow up to Trials Evolution and is the fifth installment in the series, Fusion is also the first Trials game to be released on Playstation and was released for consoles and PC in April 2014. There’s also a companion game called Trials Frontier released on iOS and Android. There are plenty of modes in Fusion to keep you busy. You have your basic career mode where you play through various levels that increase in difficulty the more you progress, but it also has training levels where you’ll get taught some tricks and tips that should help you with the more challenging levels. The further you get the more you’ll need these tricks so it’s best to practice them as much as you can while you get the chance. You’ll need to master them if you want to get those gold medal rewards. The next mode you’ll find is Track Central which is a list of custom made tracks made by the Trials community that will really test your skills. Some of the tracks might require the DLC (which is included in this version of the game) so you won’t be able to play some of the tracks if you haven’t brought it. A couple of custom tracks worth checking out which I particularly enjoyed were Pterodactyl Ptrack and Haunted Hallows, played on easy and medium difficulty respectively, which are a couple of good examples of some of things the community can do. You’ll also see a couple of Track Central options on the main screen with the Featured Trackbuilder, which lists all the custom tracks made by the player you have selected, and Uplay Recommended, which is a self explanatory title. Then there’s the multiplayer. You can compete in online or local multiplayer for up to 4 players. You play in a set amount of heats over different courses. There are a couple of factors which determine how many points you’ll get such as your finishing position, your ability to even complete the course, and how many errors/restarts you make. Depending on the course you’ll either be playing side by side, with those who fall behind having to restart at the next checkpoint or on your own with ghost versions of the other players, much like the ghost data of your friends in the single player mode. All of the above modes also allow you to level up which all adds up to your overall level, so no divided single/multiplayer levelling here. Each mode also gives you credits that you can spend on new outfits (helmets, tops and trousers) or new paint/designs for your bike. With Tournament mode, you take part in a number of races with an accumulative overall time and the fastest player with the least amount errors wins. You have unlimited chances to get the fastest time within the tournaments time limit so you can try as many times as you like for first place. Finally we have Step Into The Light where you play in a select few races to unlock some special gear. I haven’t unlocked it yet but it looks pretty swish with an Evel Knievel vibe. One feature in particular I liked about Trials Fusion is that you don’t need to complete every track to move onto the next section. There will be some sections that require some conditions be met like having a certain amount of medals or having to beat a particular track but you won’t have to finish all of them or get a gold in all tracks to continue luckily. Much like other similar platformers (Olli-Olli) you can unlock several things at once so there’s always something to go to if you get a bit too frustrated. The DLC content adds six new events each of which have between eight to ten tracks that are a lot more demanding than the originals. Thing’s like floating platforms where you need to time your jump just right and sometimes having to slam on the brakes right after so you can build up some speed for the next floating platform. Which of course can be kind of fun but extremely challenging (or infuriating depending on how you look at things) at the same time. A fun extra that comes with the DLC is the Unicorn Mk II, that comes complete with a bandana wearing, pistol yielding cat. It’s a majestic thing to behold although not if you crash, then it’s less majestic and more pathetic and hard to watch. It’s a welcome addition though. This game is a must have for any Trials fans as there’s so much to do that you’ll be kept busy for a good long while. It also has your own ghost data driving along side you if you decide you want to retry a course so you’ll always have someone to compete against even if you manage to surpass your friends times. If you haven’t played Trials before you really should give this game a go as it has some valuable tutorial lessons at the start so it doesn’t just chuck you in head first and expect you to know what you’re doing. It’s a fun change from the run of the mill racer games that are out there, with the platform based gameplay. I do have a couple of problems with the game unfortunately, but only a couple. The first is the difficulty in getting an online game going. I spent too long and tried too many times trying to get a game going, this may be down to not many people playing it at the time that I happened to be online but it’s still something that ruined the experience a little. Secondly was the difficulty in some of the levels. I know that as you progress it will get more challenging and I can accept that, but what gets to me is when a certain part of a level is so complex that you end up sitting at fifty something retries and five or more minutes on the clock with no obvious way to get by a certain section. My worst so far has been sitting at over 200 retries with about eight minutes on the clock, which is kind of shameful! I know you can look up a youtube video or something but that takes the fun out of being able to complete it on your own. I think some sections could be doing with a little less complexity or even have a hint appear after so many retries. Overall it’s a fantastic challenging game that everyone should give a go at least once. There’s a demo available if you’re still unsure but it’s definitely worth the money. This review is based on the Xbox One version of the game, provided by Xbox. Thanks!
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