Release date: 2014
Version played: Xbox One in 2017
The fifth game in the Trials series developed by RedLynx and published by Ubisoft, Trials Fusion was released in 2014. A sequel to the fantastic Trials Evolution, players once again control a rider and their motorcycle to traverse physics-based riding tracks. As always, tracks range from standard dirtbike tracks to anti-gravity factories with moving parts, and for the first time players can perform real FMX tricks, including on specially made FMX tracks with death defying ramps and jumps.
+ the same physics based driving “Trials” tracks, ranging from Easy to Extreme, are great. The Easy tracks are too easy, the Medium are the perfect ones, Hard requires some skill and Extreme is for experts only. I found all but a handful of the Extreme tracks ot be good fun to get through – I’m still working on a couple of the Expert tracks
– believe it or not, there is a rather sinister story in the background of the single player mode. If you piece together some dialogue from the in-game announcer, a supposed smart AI system, things do take a somewhat dark turn
+ the skill games peppered throughout the single player career mode (which is just a fancy way of saying ‘play these tracks’ – there is no “career” as such) are fun, including things like ride as far as you can only on your back wheel, or seeing how far up a mountain of obstacles you can climb. They break up the Trials without needing to be the stupid FMX tracks (see below)
+ the Track Central area returns from the previous games, where players can download and play thousands upon thousands of user made maps of all difficulties. Some of these are absolutely incredible, and need to be seen to be believed
+ multiplayer mode, of up to four on one home console, is again a highlight. The wild tracks, close finishes and the ability to jump off your bike to cross the finish line first – complete with hilarious screams from the riders – make for a fantastic time. And you can play as a cat riding a unicorn. God it’s funny
– the FMX tracks, and performing tricks in general, felt entirely unnecessary. They often boiled down to just flipping while wiggling the right analog stick, and I never found them to be anything more than easy medal races. I’d have preferred even just a handful more of the Trials tracks, rather than the FMX
– perhaps due to my proficiency in the previous game, I found this to be much easier, and I got gold medals on all but some of the Hard tracks on my first attempt. Only the Extreme difficulty tracks gave me any issues, and even still there are only two tracks I have been unable to complete
– the track editor is ridiculously convoluted, and there is no in-game guide or manual on how to do it all. I made a few small tracks in the previous game, but I can’t be bothered doing so here, solely due to how complicated it is
Should you play this game: This was a fun game, but it felt somewhat unnecessary, as it barely improved anything over Trials Evolution, except the addition of performing tricks – and the game is not called FMX Fusion. In a similar way to a game such as Far Cry Primal (another Ubisoft franchise. Hmm…), this was a new take on the same formula, and it was different enough to perhaps warrant a small play, but don’t go out of your way if you didn’t like the previous games. Note: I got this for free as part of Microsoft’s Games With Gold promotion on Xbox, and I’m glad I didn’t pay for it.
MoshFish Reviews 