Intelligent Design
Having not played Trials HD, I entered this with more than a little trepidation. My only real experience with the franchise had been watching vids of people trying to crack the game's dirty secrets... Which was enough to lead me to the trial of Trials Evolution... Which was enough to lead me to the game.
The game. Well, the mechanics are a dream, the gameplay is simple and immediate while also managing to pull off a depth and complexity that ensures that, even at its most basic, there is always challenge. That said, the levels are both short enough, and engaging enough, that playing through them incessantly in an attempt to get the Gold (maximum medals, most unlocks towards the next license grade) remains consistently fun, both for the player and for any spectators...
For my part, this consisted of my Japanese flatmate getting a cursory explanation of the controls and what I was doing, then providing a constant, gleeful backdrops of "Aaaw"/"Yeah" as appropriate (though I must admit much more of the former than the later...)
I should also touch on the level endings. They are brutal. And hysterical. Though probably not in that order. On completion of one of the early levels (itself an active battlefield that you enter from an amphibious landing craft), you ride into a bunker. The camera flicks to a bomber passing over head, unleashing its barrage of bombs. The camera cuts back and, well, you know...
I haven't looked into the level editor stuff yet, but that's mainly because my experiences with NWN all those years ago left me with scars that ache at the thought of code, so it is not something I look at generally.
In spite of that, though, I unreservedly recommend this game. It is fun. No, it is FUN. And that is the purpose of a game, no?
