Double Jump Gaming News

Trials Fusion

Do you ever wish you had more games to play with your friends when they come over? Well look no further! Grab a friend, grab a PS4, PC, or an Xbox One and get ready to play Trials: Fusion!

The Trials series first came to console with with Trials HD back in 2009 for the Xbox 360. Since then, there have been multiple iterations, but there have only been two official, console successors: Trials Evolution in 2012 and Trials Fusion in 2014. Although this game has been out for a while, it still holds up as a solid multiplayer game made by Redlynx. Trials Fusion is based around physics-based traversal. If this seems confusing to you already, that’s because it kind of is. The best examples of this type of game are the flash games that everyone played in high school, where you had to make your dirtbike rider and his trusty steed ride over weird obstacles to get to the end. This is basically a triple A title version of that.

Trials is very unorthodox compared to the other games in my column for one reason: its multiplayer is not the main focus of the game. The game has fun, fleshed out single player for the friend who owns it to hone his/her skills. The levels start relatively easy, then, as you progress, they get increasingly difficult. There are hints along the way to make sure you don’t fall flat (too often). The single player is the meat of the game, but definitely not the reason why this game is on the list.

The multiplayer of the game is conceptually simple. You and up to four of your friends can choose the races, the amount of times you compete in each race (called ‘heats’), and whether or not you can bail finish (I recommend having this ALWAYS turned on. After that, you pick the type of motorbike (and even ATV) you wish to ride to victory on. That is about all of the variety when it comes to different options for multiplayer. Surprisingly, this is enough to make spending a couple of hours playing the game fun and interesting.

Since the game is physics-based, there is an actual learning curve. I would recommend either everyone playing this to have some experience beforehand, or everyone to have none at all. If one or two people have experience and the others do not, it makes it exceedingly difficult for the newbies to keep up, and then it is no longer fun. That being said, be sure to coddle the newbies for a little bit to help them get acclimated to the controls. As for the controls, they are very simple. The player can use gas, brake, left and right, a reset button, and the right stick for tricks in the air. That is all that is used to play the game. Tricks do nothing in the multiplayer, so they are essentially just for those cocky players in the front of the pack. The reason this game has such a learning curve is due to the physics that the developers built into the game. You can bunny hop, flip, gain more air time, ride upside down, skate on water, and even hang off of a ledge using the bike! All of these different moves are needed in order to finish, once the races start getting harder. Plus, it also puts the players who have experience at a much higher advantage, so I cannot stress the importance of making sure the new players get some experience before showing them the true wrath that is experience.

As for why this game is on my list, it is easy. Even though this article is about how awesome and fun the multiplayer can be, the single player really is solid. These two combined, plus challenges and unlockables make the game a really fun time and something that is easy to come back to again and again. The price point may seem a little high at $20, but that’s because the game has been established as a popular title, and it shows. The production value of the game and the amount of fun that can be had is immense. The multiplayer rounds can be over a hundred races before a winner is declared, so that means there is a lot of time to get used to the controls; This also gives anyone the chance to win, making the game interesting and fun for everyone involved. This game has been on my list since the day it came out, and I hope that it can make its way onto everyone’s console! Go out and grab a friend or two, and may the best racer win!