Trials HD Micro-review: Trailing

@Pyrefly: Yeah, I'll pounce because there is almost no freaking difference between 10 and 15 bucks..Except 5 bucks and that ain't ripoff currency.

Now if they wanted 30 bucks you'd have a point.

@Gec05: Thank you for allowing me to hear the most annoying human being on the planet.

@Dynosaulo: Good choice! I don't like the way the bike feels in Trials 2, I think HD feels much better.

Nobuyuki

@Gec05: OMG!!!

A video game has a glitch! Burn the devs for such shoddy work! Hurrrrrrr

If you plan on playing this game only for a ragdoll minigame, then it probably is best you just stay away.

this game provided a good 6+ hours of hilarity and entertainment a few weekends ago. had a friend over and we completely lost track of time.

definitely recommended :)

Probably one reason why I won't buy this game.

Gec05

@MrMister: Excitebike never made me want to shoot someone in the face.

@Kapwan: I agree about the custom maps thing, but you can watch peoples' replays on the leaderboards. If you watch the number 1 person's replay, that's pretty much a tutorial on that particular map.

robotsneedhugs2

This game is the shit.

robotsneedhugs2

@TheOmnitron: Off topic but if you haven't played it recently it is much more stable and playable now. Recently i've only encountered lag maybe once or twice in an entire evening of the game.

@TheOmnitron: Off topic but if you haven't played it recently it is much more stable and playable now. Recently i've only encountered lag maybe once or twice in an entire evening of the game.

@Dynosaulo: Oh, f___ it. I'll just buy it.

OK, I have just one question: is it much better than Trials 2? Because I have it, and I won't be buying it if it's the same again.

@Pyrefly: Well, as long as it doesn't lag as much as BF1943, I might give it a shot :P

@duckmouth: Unfortunately, no. I don't have a PS3, but 'Splosion Man is one of those games everyone should get a chance to play, like Braid or Castle Crashers...

@depward: I'm still stuck on that very last track, where you have to jump from 2 60° slanted ramps onto this 3ft wide pole, after crossing what feels like an 80ft void.

It's a good game but it is just a jazzed up version of what can be found for free on the net. FOr 800 points i would say it is worth it but at 1200 it is a rip off.

Edit: Before you all pounce all over me like you all will, i would like to clarify that i do think the game is hugely fun but when you put it next to the likes of BF1943 it just is too overpriced for me, 800 points and i would've bought it straight up.

I got through the easy - hard stages, but the expert stages have is a different story. I am no longer trying them in an effort to protect my plasma television from a flying controller...

iownahonda

Love it. For fans of Stuntman, and anyone who enjoys a test of skill, a game in its purest form. Much more forgiving than Stuntman though, thanks to the instant restarts and frequent checkpoints.

actually they called it Trials because trials riding is an actual bike and motorcycle discipline where there are practically no seats, big handlebars and jaw-dropping bunnyhops up to seemingly unread heights. check out Trials riding on youtube. the things these guys do with bikes is the stuff if legend!

Nyctus

This an excellent game. My main qualms are that it doesn't allow you to share user maps with anyone but your friends, and the fact that there are no video tutorials. Other than that this game has no real issues and is fun to play.

@Kobun: It serves a purpose, it's fun and flashy :) But I agree, it doesn't need points, as it's not the focus or goal of the game (unless, as you mentioned, it's helping to shave time).

I've found it quite satisfying in itself to just hop back to some of the easy, flowing levels and flip my heart out with wonky jumps. That's good enough for me :P

@Brodka: Agreed on all points. Great game. I haven't been this hooked on an XBLA game since N+ (another frustrating, yet fair game). I finally beat the last Extreme level last week, after about 800 tries, and I had a feeling of accomplishment that you just don't get with 99.9% of other games.

@FillionSmythe: I have Kobun to thank. I was on the fence and he pushed me over (I broke all my bones, achievement!... yay!) with several comments on Kotaku. I really trust his opinion on XBLA and especially XBL Indie Games. There's not a lot of information available on the indies, and Kobun seems to try a lot of them and report back on the worthwhile ones in TAY & elsewhere.

(zombie) buddhathing

@krammaii: not to mention it has a plethora of re-playability. Both in the story and with the challenge maps.

It is one of the few games I actually want to try and get every achievement for

@SuperSonik: Flower and Pixeljunk got your back. Peggle you can grab on Steam, so that's a nice even split.

It's a really great game to throw on when you have a few friends over. That's what I like most about the game. It doesn't end up getting frustrating, or as frustrating, when you are taking turns with 3 other people. I also like that load times are non-existant.

One of the best XBLA games for sure.

I'd also like to say, regarding the price, that if you were willing to pay $60 to play any game that came out this year, you should really realize how a good game for $15 is a steal.

goldenroad

Ive passed on it a few times during Steam sales, but after playing the demo on Live, I fell in love with it.

It is definitely worth the price.

@Phlet: I definitely agree that having a few people on your friends list that also have Trials definitely adds to my enjoyment. I know I'm not going to get to the top of the mountain, but I might be able to top my friends... and voila! shaving a few fractions of a second off my time becomes less abstract.

(zombie) buddhathing

Excitebike HD!

MrMister

(Stick IMO sticker here)
@SuperSonik: I can tell you - Shadow Complex is the type of game I was just CRAZY for. After playing, though - it's not something I'd buy a 360 for or anything, but I'd reccomend getting it for the PC if it's ever released on it(and considering the sales, I'd not be too surprised if it is). Just trying to soothe your want for the game, buddy... it's not a 12, it's an 8.5/9. So don't get TOO excited.

WARNING - I'M NOT SAYING IT'S BAD, I'M JUST SAYING IT'S NOT THE GREATEST ACHIEVEMENT IN THE HISTORY OF MANKIND(Sorry, I've been attacked by fanboys too many times these days, I HAVE to be safe).

@SuperSonik: Does PS3 have 'Spolsion Man?

@depward:

Haha, NO DOUBT. The extreme tracks are fucking brutal.

@krammaii:

Damn straight!!!!

I played this and the sequel to death in the Flash versions. Always wanted a follow-up so I'm glad this is out. I'll be getting it soon just to see if my skills have diminished.

@Phlet:

Well said on all counts.

@Spidery_Yoda: The top 4000 runs of every map has a watchable replay.

@blackestwizard: It's not overrated at all. There's a reason it's the best selling XBLA game ever... it's just you. Metacritic (90%) and the masses has spoken.

It's awesome and some of your complaints are acting like you paid $60 dollars. For $15 it is INCREDIBLY fleshed out.

krammaii

@iamspoo: It's worth 1200.

Trials is 1200, and it makes people say "It's fun, but..." But WHAT? Buy the game.

There's some misguided rule that a game needs an inventory screen in order to be worth 1200. As in, "Wherez my complexity?"

Trials has depth - which is what most people really want when they think "complexity."

I also think that many gamers look at the game and try to calculate the game's BUDGET. As in... "that game looks like is was expensive to make - it must be worth 1200 points!"

The comical result is that gamers have LESS fun playing through MORE complex games, but they feel ok with that, because the developers spent a lot of money making it!

The game's budget isn't the fun part of the game. The play is. Trials = buy.

gamegrump

@Teancum: It is easily worth 15 dollars. It's a lot of game.

krammaii

@adas1023: The PC version is a different game altogethe called Trials 2r. In my opinion it is a rather superior one too. Less random silly crap, more skill based biking.

And yes the ghost system is one of the best things about it :). Want to see how someone did a particular section? Click the little button and watch. I really have no idea why they left it out of Trials HD because it was an amazing feature. Xbox Live limits perhaps?

@NeVeRMoRe666: One of the skill games (mini-games) is a bone breaking challenge. :^)

Kobun

@(zombie) buddhathing: While I'm sure that'll give the game more "life," I'd advise against that. You'll be stuck on Building Blocks for some time. :p I personally just played through the game beating all of the tracks regardless of whether or not I did well, and then started going back looking to get good times. The harder tracks will teach you things that you can begin to exploit on the earlier ones such as aggressively positioning yourself always so that your rear tire makes contact after a jump ASAP.

The times are nuts. My 60th place on Jolly Jumper is already at 74th now. A few hundredths of a second can mean the difference between a five digit ranking an a four or three digit one. Seems like if you do well enough to get a platinum medal or close to that, you'll get your replay uploaded, which is my main goal since I know my rankings will only decay over time.

Kobun

The review also fails to mention the hilarious skill games and scarcely mentions the incredibly robust level editor.

This game rocks. I like it more than Shadow Complex frankly. All you need to do is go back and check how your times are holding up and your sucked back into trying to get back into a (for me) four digit score.

Its the instant (and I mean instant) reset that keeps you coming back for more and more and more. Most addictive game on XBLA in the best way possible.

Brodka

@Teancum: I agree but I keep on getting tempted to buy this.

iamspoo

@SuperSonik: A "small" investment of $249 could solve all of those problems for you...

@choco27: You are trying to beat a time, but you have no other opponents.

Opponents are not a requirement for a racing game. By your logic, Night Driver, Enduro, and countless other racing games are not "racing games." A racing game is simply about getting from point A to point B as quickly as possible.

Its about setting the right angle and performing the right amount of throttle or brakes.

Yeah, that never is a factor in racing games. :p It takes nothing to do flips, and you can find dozens of jumps in the game that will let you do that if you were hoping for a game about flipping for some reason. :p

Kobun

@Kobun: I didn't even know about the mini-games... It took me awhile to pull the trigger because of the 1200MS price tag right before Shadow Complex came out, but I'm definitely happy with my purchase. Moreso now, knowing that there are mini-games to relieve any frustration. It's funny how satisfying it can be to shave a couple of tenths of a second off your time, and how easy it is to laugh off frustration and give it another go (with the caveat that I'm still in the earlier stages of the game... I'm not willing to move on until I've beat at least a couple of people on my friends list.)

(zombie) buddhathing

@SuperSonik:

dude.. despite the hype and reviews, shadow complex is NOTHING you're missing. The good reviews seem to be based off of that a game in that style hasn't come around in a long time. The whole game is copy paste backgrounds, and they are all gray gray gray... oh and more grey .

There are only like two types of enemies, the guns aren't that fun and the whole "hundreds of collectibles" are just like "health upgrade" "armor upgrade". The story is so lame and the boss fights aren't even boss fights. There is one type of tank that you fight like four times. and a walker robot. That's it. The whole time you are hoping for a cooler boss or like a really cool weapon but it never gets around to it. And the ending is so wtf its just a joke and then you feel empty and mad that you spent 2-7 hours on this overrated game. hmmm.

It was good that they might have opened peoples eye to this medroidvania style, but there is SO MUCH to be improved upon. so hold out ps3 guy. i bet that there is something on it's way soon enough.

blackestwizard

Trials HD is the best game for me this year.
Back to basics game play of the golden age.
Left, right, accelerate and brake. It seems simple yet so hard and satisfying. I wouldn't have bought it if my friend didn't tell me to play it.

Have had this on PC for a long time. Worth every penny.

@Kobun: Its not as much a racing game as a puzzle game. You are trying to beat a time, but you have no other opponents. Its about setting the right angle and performing the right amount of throttle or brakes. It would have been cool to get an achievement for doing so many flips in a row.

choco27

@SuperSonik: have you played shatter? if you haven't....do it T.T

Looks fun, but for 1200 ms points, i'll stick to Elastomania :D

@SuperSonik: Flower is a very unique and excellent game, not for the hard-core shoot to kill crowd but a very relaxing and rewarding experience. Try Flow its older than Flower but made by the same developer.

@Rykuen: It's a racing game. Your completion time is your score. The only time you'll want to consider flipping is to reduce your travel across a jump or for better rear wheel positioning so you can take off sooner. Lots of good replays out there utilize flipping, but spinning out aimlessly as you seem to want serves no purpose. This isn't Tony Hawk. :^)

Kobun

I might have bought it for 800 MSP, but 1200 is just way to high for this game

Teancum

@Oyn: White Knight: They've gotten soft and pudgy, that's what! The beauty of Trials HD is that as with any good challenge, what once would seem impossible quickly becomes second nature as you play the game. I think it's an error to consider the challenge of the game a fault, particularly when nothing is held back from the player -- in the way of locked out tracks, modes, or bikes -- from being unable to finish the hard or extreme tracks.

One of the brilliant design features is the ability to instantly restart or resume from a checkpoint, which makes tackling the more difficult tracks a relative breeze. I can't see the difficulty being a strike here as the game gives you a generous time limit (30 minutes) and checkpoints after every single obstacle the game throws your way. Seeing that the tracks are only 1/2 to 1 1/2 minutes in length, the game doesn't demand much of the player in the way of pointless, tedious frustration.

I absolutely love the game. I describe it last night as a sort of bite-sized "hardcore" experience where I can focus on being the best I can be on a track knowing that I just have to maximize my 30 second or so run. I will never beat, say, any of the Raiden Fighters games without dying or continuing, but I know I have the time to put a few pretty good runs of some Trials HD tracks together.

The one thing I do like that the review mentions is the "leaning" factor. I've never swayed in my seat so much in a game. You really get into the ride, pushing yourself over gaps and boxes and leaning as you pop wheelies up inclines. I am disappointed, though, that the review doesn't mention any of the subgame modes available. Riding inside the ball, breaking your bones, pinball, and the other nine mini-games are good fun. The extensive leaderboards with full featured replays is another of the review's oversights which should have gotten a mention, particularly one as arcade-y as Trials HD.

Kobun

I really wanted to like Trials HD. It's well polished and really fun to play, But the lack of a point system (which isn't the point I know) really killed me because when I would go out of my way to do a back flip (or 3) there was no reward.

That's my only personal gripe, (once again, I know scoring isn't the point) It just would have been nice to be rewarded for going out of my way to make it look cool, instead of taking the dull boring.... non-flipping, route.

Rykuen

i noticed on the pc version of trials HD (well at least teh demo version which i played) let you view the ghosts of others in the leaderboards, while this only lets you see a yellow line on a black bar respective to where your bike is with the persons name. that was a feature i really wanted to use

adas1023

@SuperSonik: Well, not to rub it in, but all the games you mentioned are AMAZING. Shadow Complex especially.

1200 Points? I'm not broke or anything, but is it the same thing as Trials 2 on Steam? I really dug the demo.

I've been playing this for months and would definitely reccommend it! Very addictive if you've got the points.

@Jakelshark: There are a lot of games out there. Don't hate the playas. Hate the games.

This is like the 3rd or 4th Xbox live arcade game I really, REALLY want but I'm stuck with a PS3. Not that I don't like what I have but man, I wish I could have it all without feeling vain and owning 3 consoles.

Shadow Complex
Trials HD
Peggle + Peggle Nights (my wife would love me even more!)

If Braid wasn't coming to PS3, I would have lost all hope. Keep up the porting, please!

Oh, we do get flower though.

*drools over awesomeness of flower*

SuperSonik

I love it. Some things I wish they added though, is the ability to do tricks on jumps (even though I know the game itself wants you to focus more on the levels rather than the character) and maybe the ability to see the damage you do to the player when you fall off ect. (skull fracture, ruptured spleen, third degree burns ect.)

you guys are just getting to this?

I never intended on even trying to play this game, but my buddies were all talking smack and posting up records. I watched them play to beat each other's times. I went home and downloaded it. I'm hooked.

I have to say, your review is spot on. It's easy to play but hard to master. I was immediately reminded why I stopped playing Tony Hawk after THPS3: I kept breaking controllers. The restart is so fast its like they knew you would be restarting over and over again. When I finish a course and smash my friends' records its awesome, but when I mess up right before the end of the course, I want to Hulk Smash my controller.

It's a thin line between love and hate.

"Played all beginner, easy and medium tracks as well as some hard tracks." - "Some hard tracks"? No Extreme tracks? Man, you have no idea how hard this game can get, then..

depward

Trial Bike was by far my most fave game on sites like miniclip and addictinggames, i remember going to that simple flash game each computer class in school. I really wanted to get the trial bike pro version on the PC, but now i've got Trials HD on my xbox.

tl;dr - sweet nostalgia

@Oyn: White Knight: Ya I didn't understand that either. The game definitely challenges you but it never frustrates you to the point where you don't want to play again.

PC version is better.

I never played the PC version but heard of it. I decided to go all out and download it without reading too much about it and ended up loving it. This is one of the most addicting, high quality, XBLA arcade titles you can get.

It's really fun trying to beat your buddies times and the courses really challenge you. Wait till you get to the Extreme levels.

5/5

So your only complaint is that it's too hard? What has happened to gamers today?

This is the only game I have played this year with such replay value. I completely lose myself in it. It is the first game in a long time that I actually strive to get better at. I have wasted hours on it just like I did with Tiger Woods Golf (When it used to be good and fun of course).

This gets my vote for GOTY

Part-Man-Part-Awesome

This game is what I call a "controller breaker"

Pornosaur

I remember Trails from the miniclip days. If that's the same game this came from. I played it a lot during the early years of high school, and occasionally during the last. Don't think I ever beat it.

Invisible-Echidna

@(zombie) buddhathing:
I showed my friends the game and they fell in love with it. One bought it straight after. It's instant pick up and play.

@heretrix: Do that twice though and you're out $10, enough to buy another XBL game.

@Gec05: You're kidding right? Those glitches do not even effect gameplay and are totally hilarious. That looks like a reason to buy the game.

Unless you are talking about the obvious satanic possession of the bruised and beatened bodies of the riders...The Power of Christ Compels You!

@Chrystolis: You know, stupid me completely forgot one of the skill games is called Flip Hunter with the goal of flipping out as much as possible over a course. :p I wouldn't say that would be the primary reason to get the game, but it's there for flashy people. :p

Kobun

@heretrix: Well i;m in the UK so it's jacked anyway also it would mean i have to buy more points than i need again and giving MS more of my money is something i don't enjoy.

Admittedly I haven't played this, but I did play Trials, and then Trials 2 more recently.
I just cannot get into this series. I don't know why. I'm not the kind of guy who wants to be immediately good at every game he plays, but Trials 2 just seemed to require WAY more practice than I felt like giving it, given how insanely precise you have to be once the game really gets going.

nworobes

@Gec05: So, the ragdoll glitches out, AFTER you've already crashed and failed the course, and that's why you're not going to buy it?

Wow, you're an idiot.

@krammaii:

That's exactly what I mean by overrated. It gets a good score and high sales... but imo not that great of a game. i am happy though that it got as much attention as it did because hopefully we will be seeing more (and better) games in this genre. ...

oh an price has nothing to do with creativity in a game... i liked it in the beginning and got the 100% items but there was never like a WOW moment (like the full armor upgrade ... who needs invincibility at that point anyway... or gold guns... it was a let down). They could have done a little better.. okay. hmm.

blackestwizard

@Gec05: You know, I'm sure it's patchable and that's hardly even the main gameplay mode so who honestly cares...excellent game.

NoHoldsBarred

@MrMister:

+ 1

Great game. Really creative use of the environments, and presents a challenge whose magnitude is unmatched by many games that retail for many times the price. This summer of arcade has really restored a lot of my faith in XBLA. Buy this game.

@Pyrefly: You're a retard and should consider suicide for the good of the planet.

1200 POINTS IS FIFTEEN GOD DAMN DOLLARS. 800 POINTS IS ELEVEN GOD DAMN DOLLARS. SHUT YOUR FUCKING IGNORANT, CHEAP, AND LAZY FUCKING PIE HOLE.

KanSer

@Bluejuan85: That very first part is the hardest thing on the track and one of the hardest things in the game to me. I hate getting over those boxes at the start. Thankfully, the rest of the course is nowhere near as difficult as that opening bit.

Kobun

I like the game but good god is it tough I still can't get past the beginning of King of the Hill.

Beating this game was one of the best feelings I've ever experienced in gaming. I consider myself "good" at video games but I don't ever excel at anything in particular. However, when I completed the game after literally thousands of tries, I felt like a god. Trials was a controller smashing game in the best way possible and I can't wait for the dlc.

Can't Stop Playing. Must Finish With Only One Fault NYAARRRRRGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!

@Gec05: Yeah, I hate it when games make me laugh, too.

Games. Serious effing business.

@KanSer: 800 = $10, and I'd rather he stay alive so he keeps flipping my burgers, but everything else you said has my approval.