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| Nothing says adventure like a midnight dash across ancient ruins |
More often than not, the sequels we encounter are the ones
we need, the ones that fund the industry. Observe the annual sprawl of Call of
Duty titles. These games meet our basic needs. Short-term entertainment till
the guaranteed next cash injection arrives.
Yet once in a while, a sequel emerges that we deserve, a sequel
of such magnitude and genius that we can’t all but welcome its arrival with a
bent knee and an oath of fealty.
2009 delivered us a hero in the guise of Trials HD, a 2.5D
motor cross time trial game that delivered up nostalgic memories of school days
playing time trial games on Miniclip.com (or at least learning enough about VPN
servers to bypass school internet protocol to get our fill).
Trials HD gave a new lease of life to time trial challenge
games with visually intense graphics, intense gameplay and bat shit crazy
‘skill’ tracks which met the development criteria of displaying how awesome Red
Lynx’s ragdoll physics can be. Trials HD’s only worthwhile fault was the
sadomasochistic difficulty curve (a recent replay reminded me kindly why my
extreme tracks were left incomplete) which left shocking profanities leaping from
the mouths of its victims.
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| Racing over huge expanses of land adds new, natural dynamic track features |
Regardless, in 2012 we have seen the return of our hero with a shiny new graphics and a single mission statement, to bring back all the love, increase the frustration sensation, bestow players with the ability to think up new cusses and slurs to make even a BNP skinhead blush all the while never allowing the controller to be placed, only thrown and develop a better relationship with the BACK button than any other game in history.
Trials Evolution does exactly what it says on the tin. It’s
taken all the elements that’s made HD so enjoyable and acclaimed and let them advance
with the technology that has developed since its release. That or injected the
track editors with a concentrated strain of methamphetamine and let them loose.
Upgraded from unspeakably cavernous warehouses to the real
world, tracks in Evolution all take part in a mini continent. No two tracks look
the same or ever clash. Panoramic views greet your eyes as you make your way
through swamps, mountaintops, docks, battlefields and purpose built jumps. The
attention to detail in Trials Evolution is astounding. All aspects, all objects
have a pixel perfect finish, even for the elements that may only be on screen
for a total of six seconds.
As for gameplay, well, that previously mentioned difficulty
curb has been fixed. A gentle slope in difficult has now been added with no
middle of the list race being too impossible for a bronze medal, a gold medal sure,
but not for a bronze and a pat on the back.
Trials Evolution plays out in a simple fashion. Starting
with nothing and progressing to obtain 4 licences (D to A), marking a new set
of skills required for the following courses and more powerful bikes in which
to fail repeatedly. With around 50 courses, tournaments and barmy skill games
to get bronze silver or gold in, Evolutions single player has more than enough
for a few hours of your time.
Throw in the obvious Xbox Live connection you must have to
acquire this game and watch as virgin courses become a battleground as ghost times
of Xbox Live friends taunt you to keep up and beat their times. Friendly
competition has become a lesson in restraining oneself from screaming the most
profane things at good friends.
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| Take on your friends either locally or over Xbox Live |
One of the most pleasing elements included in Evolution is the pure loopy land thought process that went into what constituted good gameplay in development.
Explosions and strange interactions with the environment add
to the experience and strategy to getting gold medals. Be it gushing water work
pipes adding speed boosts, collapsing track sections, middle of nowhere
elevators and relatives of the Super Smash Brothers hand boss trying to crush
you, Red Lynx’s concept team have done a slap up job of masterminding tracks
that resonate long in your mind long after you’ve purchased a new controller.
Frustration is not gone from Trials Evolution. Oh contraire.
Striving for gold is the main objective for tracks and while the initial batch
of tracks set your hopes up high, events after obtaining the B licence seem
determined to test your mettle. But that’s part of the fun of these games! There
is something more-ish and unexplainable about the Trials series ability to have
you keep restarting courses from scratch over and over and over and over and
over and over again.
Added into the mix is are local and online multiplayer game
modes, allowing friends or strangers to go head to head on tracks that hold a
close resemblance to slot car or Scaletrix tracks of a youth long gone.
The new map editor is where Trials Evolution will find its longevity. Players can now create their own slices of hell in the style of Halo’s Forge mode. Laid before those who dare venture is a vast wealth of land where the possibilities of how it can be utilised are endless. Everything from weather conditions, to how certain track pieces will react when a player reaches them, to explosions, visibility and thundering falling rocks. Simply looking through the tool options is enough to bamboozle and spark an imagination.
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| Custom maps can be made to be as complex or as simple as to the creators ability |
In a sequel heavy time of year before more sequels and story
arc continuation titles are announced at E3, Red Lynx have released a behemoth
in the mean time. A title that has replay value by the bucket load and rather
importantly, happens to be an Xbox exclusive worth boasting about.
Driven by a unique charm, supported with engaging gameplay,
an array of extras and most importantly, a true, player defined sense of fun,
Trials Evolution one of the most fun games you will be likely to play this
year.
When staring down the iron sight of a rifle in Modern
Warfare 3 and that amazing cross map headshot doesn’t give you that same sense
of satisfaction as it did last week, that’s because nothing holds up to landing
an eight spin forward flip over the finishing line on a Trials Evolution track.
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