To me there are two things in gaming that provide the biggest enjoyment nowadays for people who have played them for as long. One of them is finding games that had no previous info on it and wasn’t hyped up to the hilt make it big on the grand stage and take everyone like surprise. The other is when you revisit something that you’ve left at the side for a while as you go through the usual suspects, but when you head back to it you get a big smile on your face and remember just how much fun it was.
Trials HD fits both of these in a worryingly effective manner. The physics and gameplay mixed with some really crisp looks and sounds made this one of the surprise hits of last year; and deservedly up there on the list of best games of last year, whether that list is covering Arcade only or not. The editor gave it so much possibility between friends that the limits of other titles just weren’t there for this. I’ll make no bones about it, the Big Pack DLC has been out for a little while, but as I say, the major AAA’s of last Christmas took over EVERYONE’S world, so rather than play it for a quick 5 minutes, we thought it best to give it a proper road test.
The pack itself is a nicely filled mixed bag of editing tools and tracks, just waiting to be unwrapped and thrown into whatever concoction your mind can conceive. In the editor section we now have cars and floor based fans which give you a cushion of air to get to what used to be impossible areas. The turbines from the skill games have made their way onto the main courses too, allowing for some really crazy moments. The junk yard cars do provide some interesting obstacles, in some cases the odd monster truck has been seen, but as much as there will be the odd item which may seem trivial, there will be two times that which provide an essential piece of extra richness to proceedings.
The new levels themselves are rather interesting; and just like last time, I STILL can’t get beyond the hard ones. There are 23 of them in total, spread throughout the difficulties, although beginner and easy have been left out. Boosts, air and some truly crazy gravity settings make for some mind bending moments, but as always with Trials, a little perseverance and some luck (come on, where was the skill in the first place?) will see you through.
The skill tracks haven’t been ignored either, with 12 of those helping to double up what was already there, as it bolsters another of each type onto the originals. The ball of death, the loose front wheel, ski jumps and everything else are still as exciting to go through as ever. The leaderboards are still as annoyingly addictive to keep up with, followers of the standard game will know this all too well, and you know you’ll be at it for some time trying desperately to get one up on your friends, but falling short just before you can make it. It can be such a forgiving and damning game in the space of 10 seconds, but that is it’s beauty at the end of the day.
The pack is 400 points; and when you consider not just what you’re getting here, but also what those kind of figures get you now (or not if you’re eyeing up a certain map pack at the moment) in the marketplace. I would say not just because of what it gives you as a standard course selection, but as a chance to flex your creativity then this is a very welcome addition to an already cracking game. What I would love to see is this DLC making people notice just how addictive and fun Trials HD can be and maybe even get some fresh blood into it. It was always a game that deserved the greatness that only a certain few on the XBLA stage ever see. This expansion pack just adds to its reputation and I do hope there are some more additions before a new Trials is made because I firmly believe there is so much life in the old bike yet.
VideogameUK verdict: 8.5/10
