Trials HD

Xbox 360 Arcade

By Scott Bartley / Tuesday, October 27 2009

Trials HD is one of those ridiculously simple, yet highly addictive games that show up once in a while to totally consume your life.

Available as a download via the Xbox Live Arcade, Trials HD perches the gamer atop one of those noisy little two-stroke trials motorbikes with a vast array of obstacles in your path – it’s your job to get to the finish line on the other side of those obstacles without falling off. Much.

Controls are simple, there’s a throttle, a brake and the movement of the rider’s body (via the left stick on the controller) to provide balance. Through careful application of these three basic inputs we can fling ourselves merrily over all manner of hazards ranging from tractor tyres and wooden planks to fire-filled pits and explosive barrels (of which the slightest touch will send your ragdoll corpse flying across the screen). Not only do you have to ride up vertical planks and leap bottomless chasms, you’ll also be required to duck your head under dangerously low bridges and balance yourself on one wheel at certain points during the game. It’s all in a days work for your average trials bike rider, I guess.

The courses get progressively harder as you work your way through the main part of the game, unlocking new bikes and extra challenges along the way. Your friends’ best times are niftily displayed at the end of each run, providing much-needed motivation to try and better your time.

Of course, while the early stages are quite good fun (it’s hard to beat soaring through the air while pulling triple backflips like a Crusty Demon), once you get to the Extreme courses near the end of the game things get considerably more difficult. In fact, I’d go so far as to say it’s been some time since a game frustrated me so much I genuinely wanted to throw the accursed controller through the TV. Needless to say, I never managed to get further than the second stage of the Extreme difficulty level for fear of killing my TV in a moment of rage-induced hysteria.

Once I’d calmed down enough to try the other game modes I found a number of much less stressful side games – like jumping through as many fiery hoops as you can in one go, for instance.

We whole heartedly recommend you give this game a shot, it’s simple to learn, lots of fun and, let’s just say, quite challenging.