POSTED 17/4/12


TRIALS EVOLUTION

Ubisoft
Xbox 360/XBLA

No matter how you tell it, no matter how you spell it, it's evolution, ooh-ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh...

Ever been told to get on your bike and been naffed off? Don’t grumble, just play this! Yep, it’s the sequel to Trials HD which, if you’ve not been introduced, was (and still is) a funktacular trail bike-versus-physics romp.

Whilst the original was set indoors and harder than a diamond Jason Statham, this one really is evolved. Most everything’s now outside, allowing greater ambiental vibeishness, the difficulty’s been honed so that you don’t go X-controller smash after a few seconds and... other stuff.

Squirrel!

So, with simple controls of right button acceleration, left deceleration, plus left and right paddy-pads to lean backwards or forwards, your miniscule motorcyclical Stig takes on all that Isaac Newtony shit in the name of medals. Finish a track and you’ll score bronze, but shoom quickly or with a lack o’ stack and you’ll get preciouser metallic medallic thingies. These unlock levels – approximately one, two... erm, lots. Things start easy, whereby pedal-to-the-metal works, but you’ll soon require the arts of subtlety and nuance or you’ll be crashing more than Aeroflot’s fleet.

Squirrel!

It all takes place in a world akin to AC/DC’s ‘Jailbreak’ video, as flashpots flash, explosions explode and you make it out... with a bullet in your back. Well, no, but it gets excitementical, although the non-Acca-Dacca macho BS soundtrack sucks. Meanwhile, tributes pop up, from an easily-guessable NES classic to a more recent XBLA sortie into Hermes territory.
 
Not enough? There’s also that other stuff: Local or online multiplayer, thorough scoreboards, hidden squirrels, and not seventy-six but two level editors. One for normal punters, plus full-on geekgasmicness which the game was actually made with. The learning curve’s through the stratosphere, but...

Addictive much? Meh, sleep’s overrated. Get on your bikes and ride!

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