Jeremy Ervin is a sophomore magazine journalism major and writes ‘No Sleep Till Muncie’ for the Daily News. His views do not necessarily reflect those of the paper. Write to Jeremy at jrervin@bsu.edu.
A screenshot from RedLynx
If you were the type to build, test and potentially maim yourself on a homemade plywood ramp, “Trials Fusion” may be the game for you.
The newest installment of the “Trials” series of dirt bike games demands palm-sweating, curse-shouting precision while giving players the freedom to build and test their own tracks.
The game is formatted like a side-scroller without being one-dimensional. Each track is a straight shot, with the only directions being forward and backward or up and down.
The world around the track lives, breaths and interacts ultimately with the player. Different tracks feature different scenarios, so the setting can range from a middle-of-nowhere desert trail to a crumbling, futuristic metropolis.
Most of the game is based on physics. The player controls the gas, the breaks and which way the rider leans. Different bikes ride differently than others, but open up different techniques.
If a bike has a lot of power in the rear, you make have to lean down on the front end to keep it from flipping. You will be grateful to have that bike when you’re slipping and you need the torque to propel you to safety.
Career mode introduces new players to the mechanics while providing those more experienced players with meaningful challenges. Training missions mix with the tracks in a structured way to teach and test game concepts.
Skills taught during training will be required to complete ensuing tracks. Each track must be completed with a bronze medal or higher to unlock the next track in the sequence. It makes you learn.
Along with the opportunity to earn a medal, each track also has a list of achievements. Sometimes these require equipment the player has yet to unlock, giving players the incentive to revisit old levels. Attaining these types of achievements can unlock further rewards.
Creative mode allows players to realize their vision of building their own challenges. While an understanding of level design isn’t required, knowing the game itself is important if you want to make a track that’s fun to play.
The “Trials” series carries it’s dramatic weight with the “almosts.” You almost stuck that landing, but you didn’t. You almost completed that quintuple backflip, but instead you wiped out and cheated yourself out of gold. When you’re customizing a track, knowing how to deliver on those moments is what is going to set your vision apart.
Completionists beware; this game will ruin your life. If you have that almost pathological hunger to get 100 percent oneverything available, “Trials” will make you work for it.
With so much to unlock, medals to earn and achievements to complete, this simple arcade game promises people their money’s worth.
The game features a slapstick style of humor that some may find maliciously endearing. Handling a “Trials Fusion” dirt bike is a hard job. When you mess up, that ragdoll rider will pay for it.
Miss a jump and see him thrown and slammed into the ground. Order him to lean the wrong way on a ramp and he’ll tumble to base and be crushed by the bike. Cross a finish line and watch a cut scene of him blasted into space or thrown off a cliff.
Even when you win, he loses.
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