
Online multiplayer is strangely absent at launch.
TRIALS FUSION GAME ENGINE PLUS
Ubisoftįor the first time in the series’ history players have the ability to purchase a season pass that will let them access a minimum of six downloadable content packs – filled with additional tracks from RedLynx plus more bits and bobs for the track editor – slated for release over the next year.īut while Trials Fusion in its current form makes for an easy recommendation, there are a surprising number of unknowns that will likely transform the experience in unpredictable ways. That means there’s more opportunity than ever for your tracks to get noticed and played – assuming they’re any good.Īnd the editor is an obvious boon even for those who don’t fancy themselves game designers, since it all but guarantees a virtually limitless supply of fresh tracks to download. Once your magnum opus of motorbike mayhem is complete it can be uploaded and shared via a redesigned community menu, with user-generated tracks categorized by type, difficulty, popularity, friends’ creations, monthly track challenges, RedLynx picks, and even personalized feeds. It’s a dream come true for hobby level designers. The editor isn’t quite as intuitive as the rest of the game, but it is undeniably powerful, allowing players to precisely place more than a thousand unique elements of track architecture in and around a world some four square kilometres in size. The robust course-building module that resulted in a community of committed amateur designers making hundreds of thousands of tracks for Trials Evolution (one of the most popular games ever released on Xbox Live) has been significantly expanded upon for this sequel. While the campaign’s 60-or-so RedLynx-designed tracks – sprawling and dynamic levels marked by gorgeous next-gen vistas, an almost endless array of moving track elements, and a strange and unexpected narrative delivered by AI voices embedded in your rider’s bikes – are enough to justify a download, it’s the track editor that makes Fusion a must-own. RedLynx could have made an entirely separate game exploiting the capabilities of its ATV. The only problem is that this gratifyingly meaty machine is under-utilized in the career mode, required in only a handful of events. It also delivers a lot more traction, powerfully gripping the track the moment its massive tires touch down. This four-wheel drive vehicle is weightier and a bit bouncier, though it soar and spins through the air with a grace belying its size. One of the happy consequences of Trials’ terrific physics has always been the realistic and satisfyingly painful-looking ways in which riders ragdoll through the air when they crash or bail (it’s part of what makes the 100 or more attempts necessary to overcome some of the game’s more challenging obstacles – no exaggeration there’s a counter that tracks your retries – bearable).Īlso new is an ATV that controls much differently than – yet still just as authentically as – the series’ famed bikes. The chief difference lies simply in how RedLynx has grown and expanded the rest of the game around it. I’m happy to report that the driving action in Trials Fusion – the franchise’s twelfth (or so) iteration on various platforms in 15 years – is as addictive as it’s ever been. By framing the racing in two dimensions rather than three, taking away the unnecessary and distracting variable that is steering, players are better able to appreciate the game’s deftly designed physics engine in all its realistic glory. Article contentīut the cleverest bit of all is the game’s side-scrolling presentation. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
