Trials Rising Review
Trials Rising
Publisher: Ubisoft
Developer: Ubisoft & RedLynx
Genre:
PEGI:
Comments:
Right from the get-go, looking at the cover graphics of Ubisoft’s Trials Rising, you can make a good guess of what you are going to see when you first fire this game up. Cool graphics, lots of loops, jumps and racing adventure. As this game comes from a publisher which has given us epics like the Far Cry and Assassin’s Creed series, I had high expectations right out of the gate. Yes, the opening cinematic and music told me there was fun and adventure to come – crack open the throttle and let’s get going!
The start-up and the training were slow very slow going, as it always seems to be, and as usual I whisked through it to get to the action and fun. Yeah, I don’t recommend doing that, there are a few good things to learn. Especially important is the basic training, which is much trickier than I first thought. Motorbikes? Yes, I’ve ridden a few (but not on tracks like this!) so I know what to do, right? Maybe a little? Nope. In case anyone was wondering, real life motorcycle skills do not transfer to Trials Rising!
Starting out with a world map and loads of tracks made me think of the open world format of some of the other titles by Ubisoft, but that is not how this game works. At the beginning it was disappointing, 2 controls? Really? One angled top screen view? Really? What have I gotten myself into? A load of fun and control is what I found. Quickly it became clear this is a different form of game than the open world wanderer, more of a classic older console game. But that does not matter. Ubisoft manages to pull it off, with a seemingly limitless range of tracks, obstacles, jumps, humor and tomfoolery that they are known for.
Did I mention the music? The sound couples with the action nicely while I found myself leaning, tilting, stretching up and down to launch the jumps and hit the landings. In the easy mode of the game, play was forgiving and let me retry when I lost control and crashed – which initially was often. In fact, the after effects of a crash are disturbingly a highlight of the game. How many ways can they find how to show a bad landing with bike and body parts everywhere? Limitless, well close. At the end of a track there is always something to smash – a fun surprise.
After a few hours of play I went back to the training and trials, which were hard to master but an important part of the game. The trials helped learn about pulling flips and dives in my ride. The more I practiced and rode the more I learned controls and more views in the advanced game.
A few hours later I was still listening to the music and perfecting runs in more and more tracks. The graphics are very good, background, bike and rider. Actions are smooth and responsive, technically this game nails it in all aspects. The multitude of courses, the range of rider options and bike customization opens up creativity and personalization.
But, most of all the game is fun, I mean a lot of fun. At the beginning I was doubtful with what I thought were limited view angles and controls but the game play won out and showed its value.
Hours passed while I explored and enjoyed the Ubisoft sublet humor, music, with me twisting and turning, flying off jumps and nailing landings. It didn’t get tiring, it was a light and relaxing experience. Trials Rising started out a little slow but after enough play and understanding, the game, pleasant music, fun and a fresh approach to a style of game we’re all familiar with. This one will occupy some space on my console for a long time to come.