Here's a short post I wrote after attending the Trials Evolution UK Launch Event in London. The event ditched the glitz and glamour you're used to seeing at these type of events and went for the free bar and food approach. I wasn't complaining.

I spent the better part of yesterday evening down in Central London where I attended the Trials Evolution Launch Party. Hidden in a private room downstairs in one of London’s Après Bars, Ubisoft and Microsoft’s modest event kept the drinks coming in, whilst allowing lucky attendees a chance to get their hands on Bruschetta, Mini Burgers and, of course, give the game a thorough test drive one day before its official release.
Trials HD fans will be happy to know Evolution is bigger, better and badder. Scenery is preferred this time around, as Evolution breaks out of the warehouse and opts for more natural terrain. Graphics are sharper, and generally the tracks look and feel more awesome than ever.
The game maintains the staple 2D perspective, but camera angles are more adventureous on this second outing, and do a teriffic job of following your rider as you bend corners and pull off perspective-breaking jumps. Bikes handle as you’d expect, the key still being knowing when to lean and accelerate.

The Single Player, like HD, is split into levels of difficulty, but includes a License Test area, which allows players to practice and learn new riding techniques. Skill Games are, of course, back with all new additions. Track Central also brings limitless dev-like building tools into the mix, allowing you to create and share across Xbox Live. Seriously, look at what’s already being done.
I spent the majority of my evening trying to break the stonewall record set prior to my arrival while jumping in between the game’s newest component: Multiplayer. Available locally or through Xbox Live, the game pits up to 4 players (each in their own lane to avoid collisions) against one another in real time. The goal? Reach the finish line with fewer faults than your opponents.

Evolution's New Multiplayer Mode
The multiplayer mode, dubbed Supercross, is a series of Single Player tracks split into heats. Players must race through the set number of tracks with as few faults as possible, as these (crashing or falling behind) cost you dear points on the scorecard. Finish 1st and you’ll score a 10, 2nd a 9, so on a so forth. But beware, as the number of faults are tallied and deducted from your total score on that particular heat. This keeps things fresh, as crossing the finish line first doesn’t always land you on top of the scorecard at the end.
Sometimes the race across the finish line can be tight – enter bailouts, which are more useful this time around. Bailouts were turned on in the mode I played, allowing racers to vault off their bikes across the finish line, nicking first place in the process on occasions. This last-gasp tactic gives those with momentum an edge towards the end of the race. That said, bailouts aren’t always the best option, as triggering an early bailout and failing to cross the finish line will score you exactly zero.
These races are usually intense, and the impending dread of falling behind and being forced off screen took me back to the days of Micro Machines on the Mega Drive. It’s also a mode that’s sure to offer friends a real-time alternative to the usual setting and breaking of times on the online leaderboards.

Trials Evolution seems like a no-brainer for fans of Trials HD, the wait sure looks like it’s been worth it and like its predecessor it packs a ton of replay value for a mere 1200 MS Points. Kicking off Microsoft’s Arcade NEXT promotion, you can get your hands on Trials Evolution today through the Dashboard on Xbox Live Arcade.

- via Bit Thirsty

@rebgav: That's why I posted the full post, not just an excerpt and a link.

That guy in the red shirt has the same laptop as me. We're both cheap bastards.

@rebgav: Fixed. Sorry, I didn't realise my post was against forum rules. I usually post my write-ups on here in full as I think the GB community might be interested in them.

@rebgav: While this sort of blog skirts right against the fringe of the rules you're mentioning, given that the creator of this thread wrote the article in question, posted it in its entirety here, and it appears to be done for the purpose of sharing his experience with the GB community rather than blatantly advertising his site, we'll let this slide. In the future, it's probably best to flag and move on or contact one of us in situations like these, rather than confronting a user directly. Thanks.

@realph: As long as the writing is your original work and the intent isn't to get people to visit your site, this sort of thing can be acceptable to post on GB, as long as you're not spammy about it. Additional informal commentary on your experience at these events, like what you added in your edit, is always welcome, though.

@PsEG: Thanks for explaining this.