The Ruins Of Civilization Make For Some Sweet Ramps In Trials Frontier [Review]

If I’ve learned nothing else from science-fiction shows like Firefly and Cowboy Bebop, it’s this: If society crumbles, even a little, we will revert back to a Wild-West mode of life.

I’m not sure why that is. Maybe it’s just more simple. Maybe it’s more practical. Odds are, though, that it’s just a cool motif for a story, and if you can get some spaceships or motorbikes in there, too, it’s like a bonus.

Trials Frontier, the latest in publisher Ubisoft’s physics-driven racing game franchise is out now, and it takes place in a rustic, post-apocalyptic world. But if you don’t care about that stuff, it’s also the series’ first appearance on mobile. And it’s free to play. And it’s really, really good.

If you’ve never played a Trials game, here’s how it works. You drive a motorcycle through a series of perilous courses, and you have exactly four controls. You can speed up or slow down, and your rider can shift his weight forward or backward.

It doesn’t sound like much, but it means everything. The weight mechanic means that you have almost complete control of the bike and also that you are going to crash a lot. Because your wheels have to land just so after a jump. So the game becomes about anticipating where your wheels will need to be to land flat on the track and then making sure they do with your weighty-shifty stuff.

The weight mechanic means that you have almost complete control of the bike and also that you are going to crash a lot.

Frontier has a plot; you talk to folks and do missions for them to collect parts to upgrade your bike and build better ones, and the writing is as good as it needs to be to justify you taking your bike in search of new jumps and crazier flips. The requisite free-to-play trappings are also in place. Racing requires fuel, and fuel refills over time (one unit every three minutes; early races take five units). You have coins to buy upgrades, but you also have jewels to make those upgrades install faster, get extra spins on the Prize Wheel at the end of each stage, and buy parts without having to win them from that wheel.

It all sounds really annoying, but it never interfered with my time with the game. You get a free gas refill every time you level up, so that limit was never a problem. Gems are in great supply, and you can still drive your bike around while you’re waiting for the mechanic to put the new wheels on it.

Don’t think about that too much. Just enjoy it.

Game Name: : Trials Frontier The Good: Fairly non-invasive free-to-play mechanics, extremely fun gameplay, and a cool setting. The Bad: Sometimes the physics are too accurate, and you’ll be popping the slightest of wheelies and hit your head on a pipe and crash. And that’s just mean. The Verdict: It’s a very successful transition to mobile, and it will have you “just one more race”-ing for hours. Buy from: App Store – Trials Frontier – RedLynx

[rating=game5]