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Due to a mishap involving two ferrets, half a jar of peanut butter and an unstable set of crutches, this week’s post is a few days late as well. That is, relative to my regular schedule; if you’re simply expecting a new post every 7 days, I am right on time. In that case, disregard this prelude.
I’ll preface the rest of my post with a caution that this week’s game is not for everybody. It can be irritating, frustrating and a general source of vexation. I’m willing to bet that it just won’t be fun for you unless you’re a certain type of person who has a high threshold for pain. That said, if you enjoy playing games like Riven: The Sequel To Myst with no walkthroughs or you aren’t satisfied walking away from a challenge in Tony Hawk without a “Sick” rating, then Trials 2: Second Edition may be for you. I am hoping that I have not steered you wrong with my recommendations up to this point. If you’re ready to take a chance on me, I’ll cue some inspirational music and tell you about this game.
Developed by Helsinki, Finland-based studio RedLynx, whose previous releases include Warhammer 40,000: Squad Command for the DS and PSP, Trials 2: Second Edition contains just what its name says: trials… on a motorbike! You control a masochistic individual on a motorcycle with the goal of traversing from one end of a track to another all while trying to maintain balance on your bike and pull off flips or wheelies from, ideally, a side view. Other views are available, such as first-person or action cameras, but as you cannot turn to the left or right, the game is clearly meant to be played as a sidescroller. Despite this, it is rendered in full 3D complete with HDR lighting and volumetric particle effects, and it looks great for it. If I had to make up a genre in order to label it, I’d call it a physics-based 2D/3D vehicle platformer. Game modes include Wheelie, where you will be tasked with staying on one wheel as much as possible between the start and finish line, Flips, where you gain points and additional time for the amount of flips you do between each checkpoint, and Dynamic, which sets you on courses filled with any variety of obstacles. These are in addition to the general compilations of tracks labeled as easy, medium or hard. New, downloadable tracks are being made available by RedLynx regularly as well.
Controls in Trials 2 are just about as simple as those found in Trackmania Nations Forever. The up and down arrow keys will accelerate or brake, while the left and right arrow keys will lean your rider backward or forward, respectively. However simplistic the controls are, though, finessing them to help your rider make it through the levels is infinitely more challenging. You’ll come to develop a love/hate relationship with the physics engine as it sends you spinning out of control after attempting one flip too many during a jump, or landing while leaning too far back and sending your avatar’s skull into some asphalt. Fortunately, Trials 2 lets you restart as many times as you like without having to reload the level. There are two methods; one is by restarting at the last checkpoint you passed, which come about every two or three obstacles. The drawback to this is that your timer will keep running and you will be charged with a “fault” for restarting. You’ll also start from a dead stop; losing the momentum you’d have by completing the track in one fell swoop may prove to be more frustrating than just starting the track over. The second method is by simply restarting the whole track. You won’t be charged with a fault and your timer will be set back down to zero, but you’ll have to replay the whole thing and risk getting caught up on an even earlier obstacle. Either way, you can restart at a checkpoint or the beginning of the level with one button press. I should also mention that Trials 2 supports gamepads; I find myself using my Xbox 360 controller more often than the keyboard, but I do switch off from time to time.
It’s video time. This is a demonstration of one of the middle levels in the “easy” category. I chose to show this off so you know what you’re in for right away. I also made sure not to only record until I made a perfect run, so I take a few spills along the way. This game isn’t all about looking pretty! On that note, I should say that I disabled lighting and shadows for the recording of this video; it was rendering too dark with them enabled. They look great in-game, though.
I hope I haven’t scared you off. Trials 2: Second Edition can be very fun; I’ve been playing it a lot while I listen to podcasts in the background. I think that it’s suited perfectly to be a “background game”, given its nature. But it’s very worth checking out, so it is fortunate that there is a demo available. You can find the demo as well as the full game complete with over 50 tracks, highscores and 25 achievements at RedLynx’s official website or via Steam. The full version will cost you just $9.99.