Trials HD (XBLA)

...with benefits

Year: 2009 -- Developer: RedLynx -- Publisher:  XBLA

Me and Trials HD go back a ways.  Probably at least a couple years at this point.  I think it was one of the first demos I downloaded when I got my XBOX360 but couldn't afford any games yet.  Even the 3 levels in the demo kept me playing longer than some "real" games have.  I just wanted to get better times, or find better ways to show off fancy maneuvers or whatever.  After I really just couldn't take the demo anymore and had some extra money, I bought my points, downloaded the full version, and couldn't stop playing it for days.

The premise is fairly simple.  You are riding a dirtbike, and you are trying to get from the beginning to the end in the fastest time, with the fewest number of faults.  The reality is that this really isn't as easy as it sounds.  The levels go up, down, including ramps, jumps, obstacles, etc.  As the game gets to the Hard and Extreme courses, you really need to get into bunny hopping, riding up what are basically walls, and all sorts of crazy things.  The better you do, the better medal you get.

The game is gorgeous!  I can't even imagine needing the graphics to look any better!  And when you fall of your bike, you are thrown around with ragdoll physics, and you can almost feel the pain he must be in.  Then you can still wiggle him around on the ground, and that's always fun!

The controls are easy.  Right trigger "go", Left trigger "stop", and tilt the stick to lean back or forward.  It's the combination of this and the crazy physics that really make the game.  While there is no "jump" button, with practice you learn that if you hit the gas just right and lean just right, you can make little hops.  Or you find that if you hit this ramp just right, you will go up to another path in the level.  Also, there are explosions, and boxes you might hit that just knock you out!

The game comes with a level editor (the same one the developers actually use), so you have every possibility of creating the same quality of levels that they did, it's just a matter of skill, design and patience.  I have never messed with the editor much, but it's cool that it's in there.  You can share tracks to your XBOX friends, but not to anyone, so you can't just go download them either (See: Trials Evolution coming up).

In case you get tired of the Point A to Point B runs, there are also Skill Games.  These might have you jumping off of pinball flippers to reach the highest altitude you can, or they may have you riding on top of a metal ball for as long as you can.  The cleverness of some of the Skill Games is actually pretty interesting, and definitely a nice break from the rest of the main game.

Also!  When you look at the leaderboards, you can watch the replay of the Top 100 (I think it's 100) so you can try to pick up ideas on how to decrease your time, or get past certain obstacles.  The catch is, these people are crazy, and often, you need to run the course exactly like they did, otherwise you whole timing is off and their techniques don't work.  It's always fun to watch though, and just try to imagine how long they spent getting to that skill level.



I find myself hooking up with this game every now and then just because I want to keep my skills up.  I have gone too long sometimes, and I can tell I've gotten rusty.  I used to think "Man, I could never get through those Extreme courses" but over the years, I have just stuck with it every now and then, and I have slowly pieced together most of them.  I'm nowhere near getting golds on them, but at least I'm getting through them! Also, with no story to pay attention to, it's super easy to just pick up for a few minutes here and there.  If I pass, I pass, if not, at least I was able to get a little more used to some of the Extreme level skills required to pass them someday.

The worst part is trying and trying to pass a course, and running out the 30 minute time limit, or the 500 fault limit.  All the time feels wasted, but at least you know the next time, the level up until that point will run a little easier, and you can focus more on that area that snuffed you.

Even with the sequel out, I still pick this up, and still will.  There's always room for improvement, and I just love the way the physics to the bike feel.  As long as I stick with it and feel that I'm improving, this game will stay in my benefits rotation.