Developer: RedLynx
Publisher: Ubisoft
Platform: PC, Xbox One, PS4
Tested on: Xbox One
Trials of the Blood Dragon – Review
Trials has been one of Ubisoft’s longer running series, and has always been a quite popular one. Even though the original Trials games have a relatively realistic graphical style, things tend to turn rather crazy the further you progress in the titles. This time Ubisoft decided to simply get rid of the realistic vibe and combine the well-known mechanics from the series with something totally ludicrous, namely the Blood Dragon universe that was first introduced as a mod/DLC for Far Cry 3. Trials with guns, a grappling hook and platforming sections might not be such a bad idea after all.
Story
Unlike the other Trials games, Trials of the Blood Dragon incorporates a rather lengthy and decent storyline. You’ll be following the children of Rex, the protagonist of the original Blood Dragon game. It seems that Rex, his wife and two children originally formed a very happy family, until his partner passed away. Slowly drowning in his own sorrow, he decides to fight the war from the first game all alone, all while leaving his children behind. Sadly the children, Slater and Roxanne suffer another blow when their father also passes on. Nonetheless, they follow in their father’s footsteps and also become Cyber Commando’s who are part human, part cyborg. The world is still in peril, as the Vietnamese still threaten the safety of the entire planet and it seems that Rex’s offspring are America’s best bet of turning the tide.
Overall the story is relatively simple but for a Trials game, you certainly get a bang for your buck, as it has its fair share of plot twists and a reasonably high story value. For a game that’s pretty much all about balancing vehicles and some platforming, the story is well intertwined with what is going on, onscreen.
Graphics
The in-game graphical quality of Trials of the Blood Dragon might not immediately blow your socks off, but it does have a certain appeal, and does feel very much in sync with the original ‘Blood Dragon’ game. The colorful environments and the rather unrealistic retro-futuristic 80’s kind of vibe makes this game very amusing to look at.
Other than the normal in-game style, you’ll also get animated cutscenes, which are again very much in the same style as the game itself, but they add some extra visual banter to the equation. Sometimes random odd looking sequences will interrupt the series, even very peculiar looking advertisements, such as the ones you could see in the original Robocop movie might make you grin before you know it.
Sound
Trials of the Blood Dragon is fully voiced, adding a bit of extra quality to the overall picture, but it’s the music that tends to steal the show. While the voice acting is superb, it’s the soundtrack that will get you in the proper mood and perhaps your adrenaline running. Of course, in a game like this too much adrenaline might not always help you reach the finish line, but the tunes sure are captivating and catchy.
Gameplay
Trials of the Blood Dragon is essentially still a racing game with special mechanics and physics. Nonetheless, the developers tried to add some new components to the game, that would suit the Blood Dragon setting perfectly. From now on, you will also be able to control other vehicles, shoot your way through enemies, use your trusty grappling hook to overcome obstacles and last but not least disembark from your vehicle and do some old fashioned platforming, with guns.
The overall goal of the game is simple, namely reach the finish line of each stage, preferably within the timeframe that is given to you, with as few ‘deaths’ as possible. More than often you will find yourself riding a bike or motorcycle, but an R/C car or a jetpack will not be a strange sight either. Most of the time it’s just driving around, but as the game progresses you’ll also have to shoot at obstacles and enemies, or swing over gaps after using your grappling hook. The latter proves to be a fun, as well as annoying tool. Sometimes these grappling sections go without a hitch, while at other times they prove to be very frustrating, if you want to clear these sections within reasonable time.
As mentioned above, some levels will have platforming sections, or will completely consist out of platforming. While these barebones mechanics do work properly for Trials of the Blood Dragon, they feel a bit imprecise and out of place for the game. Don’t misunderstand us, they are fairly nice and allow a change of pace from time to time, they just feel a bit inferior to the rest of the game.
Things tend to be rather easy to learn, but quite hard to get to the top of the rankings. If you want to beat your scores, you’ll have to learn some stages by heart, if you don’t want to repeat certain mistakes. Timing, the perfect speed and tilting your vehicle in the proper angle when landing all contribute towards success, and in the long run to higher scores. While the game itself may only last two to three hours before you complete all the levels, the game does hold a lot of replay value if you want to do things better.
Conclusion
Trials of the Blood Dragon does a great job in stirring up the Trials franchise, to present something to both fans of the series, as well as the fans of Blood Dragon. You’ll be treated to a fun and captivating storyline, with all the quirks of Far Cry 3’s Blood Dragon expansion/mod, and the mechanics and physics of the Trials games. Simple to learn, hard to master, but amusing altogether.
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