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"Monkey say..."
Regular
on 13/10/2009 at 2:09:19PM
Edited: 13/10/09 14:23 Total Posts: 135 |
Trials HD
The need for speed?
There are certain things in life that do not make any sense to me. Vandalism is one. The X Factor is another. There is also sushi, groin piercings and Birmingham (the list is quite large to be fair). Add to this list, then, the fact that this is the first Trials HD Review on this website. I can only assume that this is due to people having too much fun and frustration playing it, rather than writing about it.
Trials HD is a game available on XBLA. You can download it for the princely sum of 1200 MS points, (which is about £10 in Earth money). It is a 2D platform game in which you control a chap on a motocross bike over and through a series of obstacles. The main aim is to do this as quickly as possible. Does that sound like fun to you?
No? Well that’s hardly a great surprise, as trying to sum this little gem up into a neat, concise paragraph is not very easy; especially when this game has so much going for it.
First up, this game is not a racing game as one might expect. Although you do have to guide your player through the level as quickly as possible this game is more about puzzle solving, with the skill being able to replay a level at speed. Honestly, there are levels in this game that will have you stuck for ages on one little bit. Just a slight alteration to the controls as you jump or land can be the difference between success and an untimely death. And this leads us on nicely to a few other things that are great about this game: The controls, the physics and the restarts.
The controls are as fabulous as they are simple. There are only three buttons you need to worry about at any one time; accelerate, decelerate and tilt (which is the left stick, and it controls the position of the rider on the bike, be it leaning back on the bike or leaning forwards over the handle bars). But the trick is using the right amount of accelerate and brake at a particular time, giving you just the right amount of momentum to make the hurdle or jump. Tilting also helps with take off and landing, which can make all the difference between clearing an obstacle perfectly or falling off.
And this is where the physics come in. I’m not saying that things are perfectly real world here, but I am saying that things feel very well balanced. Some of the things you have to get your rider to do are so ridiculous and imaginative it means that trying to mimic a real world experience would be an act of futility. But what you do feel is that you have control over your rider; that when you fall it is your fault and not because the game is flawed in some way. You feel that the answer lies in improving your skill, your ability to control accelerating and braking, as well as leaning forwards and backwards. And when you fall off the bike the results can be hilarious. As soon as you are separated from your bike (which is quite a lot) you seem to become some sort of rag doll, which is not that amusing until you come into contact with one of the hundreds of exploding barrels dotted around the levels. Suddenly you are catapulted like a damp squid across the screen, crashing into walls and other obstacles. Hit another barrel and it happens again, and again, and again. The fact that you ‘die’ in such an amazing way just makes the game that little bit more fun.
When you do come off your bike thankfully it is not game over. It happens so often that it would be silly if that were the case. You have the choice of starting the level again if you wish, or restarting from the last checkpoint. Usually the last checkpoint wasn’t that long ago (we are talking seconds here folks), and so if you do get stuck in places (like I have many, many times) it is very quick and easy to have another go. And have another go. And have another go. And have another go. There are bits that will infuriate you, but retrying is just so tempting you will find yourself glued to it for ages.
There is no story here... it is a puzzle game after all. But you do get 50 wonderful levels of varying difficulty to get through. The imagination of some levels will leave you jaw-droppingly amazed as to how someone came up with it. And the levels are also brilliantly varied; you never feel like it is repetitive.
The graphics are also nice, as one would expect from a current gen console. The levels are detailed enough so as not to become confusing. And when those explosions start going off… well I’ll let you witness the joy of either driving through them or being thrown around the screen for yourselves.
In summary this game is much more than it seems. It is simple and complex; it is joyous and frustrating; it is something you can play for 5 minutes or 5 hours. It is a real little gem that will keep you coming back for more, if only to get past “that annoying part where I keep falling off” or to see your name creeping nearer to the top of the leaderboard.
A final score of 95% is not undeserved in my opinion. Yes it is a small game, but then that is what you are paying for. What you are getting is a game that is perfectly balanced in just about every way. I would have like a few more race options, but perhaps that's me just being pedantic. Whatever, this game will keep you entertained for many hours.
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altaranga
"Monkey say..."
Regular
on 13/10/2009 at 2:09:19PM
Edited: 13/10/09 14:23 Total Posts: 135
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Trials HD
The need for speed?
There are certain things in life that do not make any sense to me. Vandalism is one. The X Factor is another. There is also sushi, groin piercings and Birmingham (the list is quite large to be fair). Add to this list, then, the fact that this is the first Trials HD Review on this website. I can only assume that this is due to people having too much fun and frustration playing it, rather than writing about it.
Trials HD is a game available on XBLA. You can download it for the princely sum of 1200 MS points, (which is about £10 in Earth money). It is a 2D platform game in which you control a chap on a motocross bike over and through a series of obstacles. The main aim is to do this as quickly as possible. Does that sound like fun to you?
No? Well that’s hardly a great surprise, as trying to sum this little gem up into a neat, concise paragraph is not very easy; especially when this game has so much going for it.
First up, this game is not a racing game as one might expect. Although you do have to guide your player through the level as quickly as possible this game is more about puzzle solving, with the skill being able to replay a level at speed. Honestly, there are levels in this game that will have you stuck for ages on one little bit. Just a slight alteration to the controls as you jump or land can be the difference between success and an untimely death. And this leads us on nicely to a few other things that are great about this game: The controls, the physics and the restarts.
The controls are as fabulous as they are simple. There are only three buttons you need to worry about at any one time; accelerate, decelerate and tilt (which is the left stick, and it controls the position of the rider on the bike, be it leaning back on the bike or leaning forwards over the handle bars). But the trick is using the right amount of accelerate and brake at a particular time, giving you just the right amount of momentum to make the hurdle or jump. Tilting also helps with take off and landing, which can make all the difference between clearing an obstacle perfectly or falling off.
And this is where the physics come in. I’m not saying that things are perfectly real world here, but I am saying that things feel very well balanced. Some of the things you have to get your rider to do are so ridiculous and imaginative it means that trying to mimic a real world experience would be an act of futility. But what you do feel is that you have control over your rider; that when you fall it is your fault and not because the game is flawed in some way. You feel that the answer lies in improving your skill, your ability to control accelerating and braking, as well as leaning forwards and backwards. And when you fall off the bike the results can be hilarious. As soon as you are separated from your bike (which is quite a lot) you seem to become some sort of rag doll, which is not that amusing until you come into contact with one of the hundreds of exploding barrels dotted around the levels. Suddenly you are catapulted like a damp squid across the screen, crashing into walls and other obstacles. Hit another barrel and it happens again, and again, and again. The fact that you ‘die’ in such an amazing way just makes the game that little bit more fun.
When you do come off your bike thankfully it is not game over. It happens so often that it would be silly if that were the case. You have the choice of starting the level again if you wish, or restarting from the last checkpoint. Usually the last checkpoint wasn’t that long ago (we are talking seconds here folks), and so if you do get stuck in places (like I have many, many times) it is very quick and easy to have another go. And have another go. And have another go. And have another go. There are bits that will infuriate you, but retrying is just so tempting you will find yourself glued to it for ages.
There is no story here... it is a puzzle game after all. But you do get 50 wonderful levels of varying difficulty to get through. The imagination of some levels will leave you jaw-droppingly amazed as to how someone came up with it. And the levels are also brilliantly varied; you never feel like it is repetitive.
The graphics are also nice, as one would expect from a current gen console. The levels are detailed enough so as not to become confusing. And when those explosions start going off… well I’ll let you witness the joy of either driving through them or being thrown around the screen for yourselves.
In summary this game is much more than it seems. It is simple and complex; it is joyous and frustrating; it is something you can play for 5 minutes or 5 hours. It is a real little gem that will keep you coming back for more, if only to get past “that annoying part where I keep falling off” or to see your name creeping nearer to the top of the leaderboard.
A final score of 95% is not undeserved in my opinion. Yes it is a small game, but then that is what you are paying for. What you are getting is a game that is perfectly balanced in just about every way. I would have like a few more race options, but perhaps that's me just being pedantic. Whatever, this game will keep you entertained for many hours.
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