In essence the Trials series exists in a myriad of different forms, and chances are you've played a few different versions of it already on some random flash-based website - y'know, the whole 'man on the bike must get across the level' setup? The series really hit its stride on the Xbox Live Arcade, taking something that was initially huddled around in offices and classrooms and putting it online. By challenging the world to get the best times across a myriad of sadistically-designed levels it became a mainstay of nearly every console owner's game library, with certain final level-names like Inferno ushering in a wave of gritted teeth by the very mention of their name. In terms of gameplay the main hook that'll keep you coming back for more is the physics engine, in that aside from acceleration and braking you're not really controlling the bike as much as your rider's weight distribution. This year's Trials Fusion would introduce a trick system to your limb-flailing antics, but for the most part unless you mastered it you'd end up over-spinning and face-planting the raceway every time. Over the years those among us who can look at Trials without collapsing into a pile of tears are few and far between, for the majority we're still trying to get our rider over the top of some random insurmountable vertical surface for the 100th time.
