In reality, it just ends up feeling boring and, again, uninspired. Fusion places a heavy emphasis on a new futuristic setting which, in theory, could have worked okay. Unfortunately, challenges are one of the few welcome additions to the tried-and-true Trials formula. There are three per level and they range from “Always hold the gas pedal down and don’t use the breaks” to “Don’t lean, ever” to “Perform 10 flips without faulting.” These objectives are tough even on the earliest of tracks and should help extend Fusion‘s replay value beyond the monstrous amount of time it will take to rack up Gold and eventually Platinum medals. Now, it’s worth stressing that levels can be made significantly harder by going after new optional challenges. There’s a lot of stuff going on in the background, some of it eye-catching, but the visual design this time around is a downgrade. The difficulty and complexity of levels ramps up a bit slower than I would have liked as a returning player, but the bigger issue for me was that they feel less varied, less interesting than those featured in Trials Evolution. Getting up to that point - the point at which Trials is at its absolute best, becoming less of a straightforward motorbike racing game and more of a methodical, notoriously difficult platformer - will be a smooth ride for long-time players who have maintained most of their muscle memory from prior installments. The motorcycles you’ll drive and hop across crazy puzzle-like environments feel as tight as ever, but if you hope to best the hellish post-credits Extreme levels, you’ll need a mastery of the game’s precision controls. To be clear, more of the same in Trials‘ case is by no means a bad thing. MSRP: $19.99 / $39.99 physical release with Season Pass (Xbox One, PS4) Trials Fusion (PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One) Trials Fusion represents all of these things, and more - occasionally to its detriment. And there will be bitter leaderboard rivalries as you fight to shave milliseconds off your best times. There will also be moments of immense frustration made bearable by the eventual satisfaction of clearing that one particularly devious obstacle. Yes, there will be a stupid, amazing theme song you’ll hate yourself for letting get stuck in your head. There’s nothing quite like Trials and, after several games in the popular racing/platforming series, fans know what to expect from developer RedLynx: more of the same.
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