LittleBigPlanet Style Level Editor
Although a level editor was available in the first Trials video game, you could only create levels that your motorcycle could ride on. This is to expected since that is what the game was about. Trials Evolution takes this level editor a step further and you can now create mini-game levels from a totally different gaming genre!
The full level editor allows you to create many games that have absolutely nothing to do with Trials Evolution itself. At first I downloaded a level called “Foosball”. At first, I thought it was a level where I could ride my motorcycle across a foosball table. To my surprise, it was actually a mini-game where you could play foosball itself. There are other weird and wonderful games that the Trials Evolution community has already created including a FPS-style game and a 2D-style shooting game just to name a few. If you have patience and is talented enough, you too can create mini-games like these as
well.
Since LittleBigPlanet is only available on the PS3, this is the only game I know of that has this type of feature on the Xbox 360. As additive as the main game is, playing around with the new and improved level editor can prove to be just as additive also.
Entertaining Offline and Online Multiplayer
As expansive as the single player and level editor modes are, this game also has a really fun multiplayer mode as well. Up to four players can play simultaneously as you all try and race one another without trying to fall off you motorcycle. Points are deducted every time you fall off so even if you’re the fastest across the finish line, you may see yourself get the least number of points if you bailed too many times. This element keeps each race highly fun and unpredictable. As much time I spent playing the game on single player mode, I spent countless hours playing against my brother on multiplayer as well!
Not
Graphics Could Have Been Better
If there is one thing to criticize about Trials Evolution, is that it has some pretty simplistic visuals compared to other XBLA games out there. The motorcycles lack any detail and some of the levels in the game have washed out colors. Not to mention that some of the background objects such as trees sometimes fail to load up properly and they look like something you might see from a PSOne game instead.
Might Be Too Difficult For Some People
The earlier levels in Trials Evolution are easy and I don’t think many gamers would have a hard time completing them. The latter stages get frustrating hard and retries are a must. One of the most hardest levels in the entire game was a tracked called “Gigatrack”. Most levels in the game can be completed in roughly 2 – 3 minutes. This mammoth track is so long, I failed to complete it in under the 30 minute time limit!
Verdict
Despite the simplistic visuals and slightly hard difficulty curve, the other aspects in Trials Evolution are awesome. The multiple gameplay modes on offer here are unprecedented and the level editor prolongs the fun factor endlessly. It’s amazing that Trials Evolution is only a XBLA game as it offers more fun and gameplay than even full-priced retail games out there.
[Editor’s Note: Trials Evolution was reviewed on the Xbox 360 platform. The game was provided to us by the publisher for review purposes.]
Marc
April 20, 2012 at 9:56 AMI have to agree with you about the gigatrack as it was ridiculously long, I actually broke a controller it was so frustrating and seemingly neverending! Otherwise it’s a great game deserving a 9.5 but I’m amazed that track got through testing.