Trials Evolution (XBLA)

[Dipstick]

So is it worth the $15? I'm a huge fan of the first game, but I worry that this game is more of the same, even with the multiplayer mode.

Why would more of the same be a bad thing if you liked Trials HD so much? Evolution is just a more polished version of Trials HD. Is it worth $15? Absolutely. You'll have all the tracks you'll want to play until you're blue in the face, especially with the level editor being just mind-blowingly crazy.

I'm also surprised at how fun the multiplayer is. It's a different focus on the game; it forces you to NOT be OCD because you can't mash on restarts every time you make a mistake, and it makes being able to perform in the here and now that much more important. The one weird thing is how restarts count against you in Supercross, but not in any of the Trials playlists -- so there's spots where you would want to respawn where you wouldn't in SP to avoid taking the fault.

[epmode]

The new track sharing section is worth the price by itself. I'm still surprised that Microsoft even allowed it.

[TobalRox]

This is also the first 400 GS XBLA game I believe.

[Pineapple]

This game is the business. The default tracks seem much more numerous than in the original Trials and the amount of originality is awesome. I couldn't even get up to the hard tracks after a few hours because I was having so much fun replaying each level as I got to it. Awesome job with the designs. Controls feel a bit more responsive to me now, although they may not have changed them at all. The little license levels are nice for getting reaquainted with some of the different things you can do, and a good refresher course for things you're about to have to get good at real quick. Played a little multi with weeman and Bacon and that was a blast, definitely what Dipstick says about it making you play differently is true. Even something as small as the names of your friends showing up when you're trying out a track is fun, it fills even the first run with a sense of urgency as you see their names flying past when you screw up or falling behind when you hit a sweet spot. The level editor seems like it'll take some getting used to but seems to be very robust, I can't wait to see some of the things people come up with. And that opening theme song that plays before the start screen... I'm sure it will get annoying eventually, but right now it's awesome, got me very hyped when I turned it on. A++ so far.

[Josh]

Didn't you get "ghosts" from your friends in the first game?

Related. I'm stuck on the first game on a couple tracks. Should I fuck with this one, or wait for a sale?

[jyoung]

This one's all about multiplayer and sharing tracks. If those two things interest you, definitely pick it up.

If not, you'll be cool with Trials HD 'til you finish it up.

[Josh]

I care about neither of those things. I either play so late that none of you are awake, or in the midst of most of your workdays.

[epmode]

Sharing tracks isn't person-to person this time. There's a master server and anyone can grab content, even if they don't have a Gold subscription. Track filesize is very small (10kb) so you can easily keep a lot. Each custom track even has its own leaderboard.

As for the editor, every Redlynx track was created with the in-game editor so it's definitely powerful. I swear I'm not being paid for this post, it really is amazing to see something like this on Live.

[Brand X]

Didn't you get "ghosts" from your friends in the first game?

You got the ghost of the closest person to you, not every one of your friends on the track. There are a bunch of settings for different types of ghosts in this one, by default it shows everyone of your friends who has raced that track, which I found really really distracting. I switched it to how the ghosts were in Trials HD, but that's just my preference.

Overall this game kicks as much ass as the first one, and like Pineapple said, just has more variety. I find it to be a lot easier, I was able to breeze through the hard levels with no issue, just need to go back and gold/platinum them all. I can't wait to see what people come up with in the track editor, it's kind of insane the number of options and how deeply you can customize tracks when you're creating them.

[Chux]

Sharing tracks isn't person-to person this time. There's a master server and anyone can grab content, even if they don't have a Gold subscription. Track filesize is very small (10kb) so you can easily keep a lot. Each custom track even has its own leaderboard.

As for the editor, every Redlynx track was created with the in-game editor so it's definitely powerful. I swear I'm not being paid for this post, it really is amazing to see something like this on Live.

I want to buy it, but even if I didn't like it I'd want to support the idea.