The first XBLA Summer of Arcade wasn't just hot, it was on fire. With titles like Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2, Braid, Bionic Commando Rearmed, Galaga Legions, and Castle Crashers, I really couldn't imagine it getting much better. In fact, at the time of the first Summer of Arcade, I didn't even have a 360. Sure, I was able to get BC: Rearmed on the PSN, but the others, and the rest of the exclusives to the XBLA, are what got me interested in the system more than anything else.



And since I got a 360 later that year, and have picked up a pretty good amount of XBLA titles (all of which I've enjoyed), I was looking forward to another powerhouse lineup for this years Summer of Arcade for me to blow my money on. But when they released the list, the only title I really found myself excited about was TMNT: Turtles In Time Reshelled... and that was more due to my memories of playing that game at elementary school skate nights while ignoring the girls and wasting whatever money I could get out of my parents. (Which actually sounds quite a bit like high school... and even college... minus the skating. Unless you count one incident where I bought rollerblades and went to all my classes in them until I snapped a wheel off trying to jump a bench.)

When I found out that 'Splosion Man was from Twisted Pixel (who did The Maw, which is one of the best 3D platformers I've played since the N64/PSone), I bought it on release day and have been very glad that I did. But I've never been great at fighting games, in fact I think the appropriate phrasing would be: I completely suck at fighting games. I still haven't read up on Shadow Complex, outside of what I saw from E3, and that didn't really impress me. And aside from Burnout Paradise, I've never gotten into racing games, despite numerous tries; and I've never messed with the Trials flash games, so why get an HD version you have to pay for? So I figured I would just hope for something better from next years Summer of Arcade, and just buy the two titles I had any sort of interest in.



But, seeing the overwhelmingly positive review/response to Trials HD on Dtoid, I decided I'd give it a try... and I'm stoked that I did. It's not a racing game at all! It's a fast paced platformer with a level editor and customizable bikes/riders. Honestly, after some time with the game, it feels like something that honestly belongs as a part of Sony's "Play, Create, Share" initiative/genre. Like LBP, the levels are fun, fairly short, and creative. Like what I imagine ModNation Racers will be from demos and videos, its fast paced and easy to control. And like both of them, it has a level editor and a marketplace of sorts to download new ones from other users and hopefully more from the developers as well.

One of the things which I love about platformers is how frustrating they can be, but how addictive they still are... and when done well, there is a certain level of frustration and repitition needed to complete a level, challenge, or world. In most genres, however, that same "frustration motivation" seems to be higher and much more explosive within me... so, I often find myself putting down the remote so I don't put it through my TV, instead. Trials HD manages to walk that fine line of being challenging to the level of anger, yet still fun to play, like a rockstar. Even though it's frustrating, it's still fun to watch the crash. And even when you get stuck, you can easily jump to the last checkpoint or to the levels beginning... no pause menu or navigation required. Hell, with the controls being as simple as they are, you quickly find out you can pull some pretty sweet stunts with ease; and when you mess up a huge landing, it's almost worth starting the level over just to see the crash and get a sick laugh.

It's honestly a ton of fun, and once you hit the medium and hard levels, it goes from pure fun to extreme frustration... until you get the controls down with the new bikes, then it's back to fun again. That learning curve is something that steadily increases, making earlier levels easier, yet still fun to play with new bikes (each one needing a different strategy and control style per level). I've had it for a week now, and, although I haven't played it as much as I would like, I've had a great time with it.



If you're on a budget and don't want to spend $70 to get all the Summer of Arcade titles, just to get $10 back sometime this fall, I'd recommend Trials HD above all the others I've played so far. And, in case you decide to be a big spender, my second place award would probably go to 'Splosion Man.