Trials



Trials is a series of videogames made by Finnish company Red Lynx based on the sport of, well, trial. Your goal is to ride your bike from point A to point B in a 2D track (which is everything but plain and straight). Has several releases:


 * Trials Basic (Java)
 * Trials Pro (Java)
 * Trials Construction Set (PC)
 * Trials Mountain Heights (PC)
 * Trials HD (XBLA)
 * Trials 2: Second Edition (PC)
 * Trials Evolution (XBLA)

Tropes that appear in these games:

 * Two and a Half D: Every game from Trials HD onward displays courses in 3D on a 2D plane.
 * Evolution takes this Up to Eleven and allows you to create pathways which turn the course's track line. You can still only go from left to right, though.
 * Character Customization: HD introduces it, and Evolution fleshes it out some more.
 * Color-Coded Multiplayer
 * Difficulty Levels: In Trials HD, tracks are rated Beginner, Easy, Medium, Hard or Extreme.
 * Exploding Barrels: Oh, are they aplenty.
 * Every Bike Is A Pinto
 * Fake Difficulty: Averted. All the tracks are possible using the correct bike. Still, some are quite tricky...
 * Kaizo Trap: Double subverted. You win if you cross the finish line on both wheels no matter what, but on some courses in HD (and damn near all of them in Evolution) your rider is unceremoniously destroyed, maimed, or tortured once he clears the stage.
 * Level Editor: Trials HD and Evolution both include one.
 * Nintendo Hard: The Extreme tracks. The less said about Inferno, the better...
 * Old Save Bonus: If you own Trials HD (and have unlocked achievements in it), you can get 2 shirts and a secret bike in Evolution.
 * Press X to Die: In HD and Evolution, the Y/Triangle button instantly throws the rider off of your bike. This is actually used often in some of the bonus minigames, such as the Ski Jump from HD.
 * Piss-Take Rap: Prepare to be graced with one of these every time your start up Trials Evolution.
 * They Killed Kenny Again: The rider is almost always killed after he completes a track in HD and Evolution, but once you start the next race, he's back on his bike as if nothing happened at all.
 * Unexpected Gameplay Change: Some of the skill games. One has you commanding a Flying Saucer, while another is essentially a Mad Marble Maze.