Trials Fusion Video Game Review

Reviewed by KW Gaming on Apr 21, 2014

Rating:

Tough, rewarding, addictive. Trails Fusion is a wonderland of intense physics based racing challenges. Read Kidzworlds video game review!

ATV's in the sunset Courtesy of RedLynx/Ubisoft

Explosions are a regular occurrence Courtesy of RedLynx/Ubisoft

The environments are never boring Courtesy of RedLynx/Ubisoft

Hair Pulling Fun

Trials Fusion from developer RedLynx is one of those games where I'd repeat to myself "just one more time" over and over again. Minutes turn into hours until I'd realize the whole afternoon was spent trying to perfect only one of dozens of courses. I'd forget to eat, drink and sometimes even breathe as I attempted to navigate the at-first seemingly impossible obstacles. Trails Fusion is that addicting.

Challenging gaps await. Are you up for the challenge?Courtesy of RedLynx/Ubisoft

If you're new to the Trials series, Trials Fusion is as good a place to start as any. The premise is simple, get your dirt bike (and sometimes your ATV) from point A to point B as fast and as clean as you can. Sounds easy enough. But when you factor in the incredible bike physics and complete mastery of the rider needed to best some of the harder tracks, smiles can quickly turn into near controller throwing moments. Learning to distribute your weight across the bike and bunny hop like a pro with shifts of the right stick is essential once you hit the medium difficulty tracks. As is knowing when to gun the gas and when to take it a bit slower.

HUGE jumps are par for the course.Courtesy of RedLynx/Ubisoft

Trials Fusion gets really hard and at times will test patience, more so than most. Casual racing ala Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, this is not. But the reward of finally completing an area, the pure feeling of accomplishment, is exhilarating and unmatched. Many tracks near the end had me hitting "restart" over and over again as a bounced, flipped and exploded myself off the track.

Yet, each and every time, through sheer persistence, I got a little better and would eventually conquer the obstacle that I deemed un-ridable. What seemed hard once, soon becomes second nature and you'll be grabbing medals on even the expert tracks after enough practice. The "Master" class tracks though are on a whole other level. I have yet to medal a single one of those. They are insanely difficult.

Trials Fusion Launch Trailer

Refreshing Variety

Even when challenges get near the more hair pulling, the courses and the environments themselves will keep you engaged. The world of Trials Fusion is bright, colorful and at times doing everything it can to make you bail. Gas pipes explode around you, bridges collapse under your wheels and TNT barrels are inexplicably placed in the most inconvenient of places.

Each newly unlocked area and track gleams with variety. You'll rip through futuristic cities, old Mayan style ruins and dense jungles and swamplands before the end. Each track has it's own distinct style and some are quite pretty to look at, including one that has your rider presented only in silhouette as the warm sun sets in the background. Some courses even have secrets hidden on them in the way of mischievous squirrels.

Can you find all 20 hidden squirrels?Courtesy of RedLynx/Ubisoft

On one track I had to throw my rider off his bike and land him inside a ski chair lift. Once I did, I was treated to a fun animation of said squirrel sending my chair lift flying into a building...which he then blew up. On top of the hidden squirrels, each track also comes with a bunch of tough challenges, like holding a wheelie for 100 meters, or doing over 10 backflips without crashing in a run. Completing challenges helps to unlock new items for your rider to wear.

If you get tired of the great tracks RedLynx has put together - there is about 40 of them - you can then check out the thousands of user created tracks. Trials Fusion comes with a track editor and what some users are able to create is mind blowing, even surpassing some of the included game tracks. Not since the Little Big Planet series have I seen such fantastic work from community members on consoles. The beauty of good user generated content is that there is truly an infinite number of new tracks coming for free which adds incredible value to the game.

thousands of user created tracks are available.Courtesy of RedLynx/Ubisoft

The Verdict

Intense, challenging but ultimately rewarding and a load of fun. Trials Fusion is a great game with lots of added value thanks to the user generated content. If you're easily frustrated, you may want to skip it, but for those that like to punish themselves a little for rewarding, leaderboard glory, Trials Fusion is a great purchase. It's also only 19.99 as a digital download.