Welcome to the Future. Those words will ring in your ears every time you load up Trials Fusion, the newest of the masochist motocross games from developer Redlynx. The words seem fairly apt to begin with, especially when played on a shiny new gen console. The graphics pop with dazzling lens flare, smooth frame rates and gorgeous, incidental details whilst maintaining an overarching sci-fi vide from start to finish. However, the longer you play, the more that opening sentence begins to feel a tad ironic as you reach the realisation that a lot of what is on offer has been done before.

That isn’t to say this is necessarily a bad thing. Trials HD and it’s sequel, Trials Evolution are two of the most popular downloadable games of the last few years thanks to their ridiculously addictive ‘one more go’ quality.

In case you’ve been under a rock for the last half a decade, the games star you as a fledgling motocross rider, trying to best a series of increasingly ludicrous tracks in the shortest time, and with the fewest amount of bails, possible. That, combined with steadily ramping difficulty, the hilarious skills game such as ‘who can fling the rider the farthest’ and persistent, ever present leaderboards that pit you against your friends, even when you are online at different times, make the whole experience one that is hard to step away from.

Naturally then, Redlynx by and large have stuck to the formula that has proven previously successful. The game splits its tracks in different areas consisting of up to eight tracks each with a particular vibe (snow, desert, sci-fi etc..) and the general layout is that four to six of these are standard time trials with the last two generally reserved for an FMX track and a skill game.

FMX tracks the biggest new addition to the trials universe, where instead of being challenged with setting the fastest time possible, the player is encouraged to use the games new trick system to set the highest score. Tricks are allocated to the right analogue stick, and the direction the stick is pushed along with the rider’s angle determines the trick that will be attempted. FMX tracks are generally fast and furious and filled with death defying jumps, meaning you will have ample opportunity to string together some incredibly satisfying combos. The games physics system also extends to the tricks as well. It can be a little jarring at first, but you will soon get the hang of it.

The other new addition is the inclusion of a four wheel ATV which can be used in a handful of tracks littered throughout the single player game. The vehicle feels much heavier and weightier than the usual motorbikes and the inclusion of four wheel drive means it feels altogether different from the norm.

Thankfully though, Redlynx know where the games strengths lie. The FMX tracks and ATV tracks are but a sideshow to the time trials. These ramp up in difficulty substantially towards the end of the game and go from long sweeping jumps to tight, technical sections requiring intimate knowledge of weight distribution and bunnyhopping in order to achieve success. Believe me, when you reach the final stages you will be thankful for the games increase in maximum bails from 250 to 500, you’ll need them. Each track also now features three additional challenges as well to encourage replayability once the urge to beat your friends scores wears thin. These range from completing to the track without adjusting your posture or including a certain number of flips, to more unique silly challenges such as attempting to best a penguin in a game of tennis. Yes, you did read that right.

For those needing a break from the on track action however, the games content creator makes a fine return, allowing users the chance to make and share all manner of devious trials, FMX tracks and skill games. The content creator is just as flexible as it was before allowing virtually anything to be made given you have the time and patience. Pinball machines? Sports games? Seriously, give the multiplayer suite a search and you will uncover all manner of oddities. The only negative regarding this is the fact that the game gives little to no introduction of the creating mechanics or however everything fits together other than pointing you towards Redlynx’s YouTube channel for tips. It is a shame, as it means a lot of players will give up with the creation software before they have even started.

This isn’t Fusion’s only failing either. Currently the game feels like half a finished project, with comparably few tracks compared to previous entries in the series and a number of features on the main menus annoyingly set to ‘pyrosequencing’, which is thinly veiled spiel for ‘coming soon’, most likely as paid DLC. Fortunately there is already a swathe of unique and exciting content in the user created section, some of which easily matches the quality of Redlynx’s own efforts, but that is beside the point. Take away all these tracks created by the community and the game that is served up is a fairly barebones offering. The developers have promised no fewer than six content packs will be released over the coming year, but personally I would rather have the full game straight away, not a year after purchasing it.

None of this takes away from the fact that the actual tracks themselves, both developer and community created are as addictive as ever. You’ll laugh, scream, and probably shed a few tears as you bail a mere foot away from the finish of an extreme track, but it will always pull you in for one more go. It may be a bit on the pricey side given the amount of content currently on offer, and it may have lost a bit of it’s surprise factor being the third game in the series but when it comes down the the actual action, Fusion matches it predecessors rev for rev. If you were a fan of either of the previous games, well then you better get your helmet and leathers back on. Trust me, you’ll need them.

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