Urban Trials Freestyle Demo

Trial events are usually organized by professionals, and they require exceptional handling skills from the riders, because mistakes can be quite costly. However, while official trial competitions are exciting in their own right, a bit of additional adrenaline and danger always have the potential to make things better. To avoid actual injuries and similar situations, video games seem to be the answer to this conundrum.

Urban Trials Freestyle is an arcade game that might appear to be quite familiar to those who have toyed around with similar titles, but it turns out to be an entirely different thing once the race starts. Hence, instead of carefully designed tracks and a lot of safety equipment to keep the riders from getting injured, you are greeted by crude mock-ups that run through the heart of the city.

As such, you have to deal with everything from regular people going about their day, to cops that try to stop you from being a danger to society. The objects you climb are not very secure either, so you shouldn’t be surprised if you find yourself cheated by a weak piece of wood. Certain traps are hidden around the tracks as well, which means that the game works against you too.

When it comes to the simulation aspect, the game does not excel in any way, because the bike does not react realistically to the shocks it has to endure. There are some glitches as well, but as a whole, you can ignore most of them and focus on having a bit of fun. Unfortunately, the levels contain a lot of scripted events, so replayability is not exactly great.

However, things are better in the graphics department, especially when it comes to the environment and the 3D models. There are some problems with the camera, on the other hand, which can get pretty annoying from all the shaking, but you can easily overlook it if you are having fun. Things are not trophy-worthy in the sound department either, so you certainly won’t be amazed by anything in this regard.

All things considered, Urban Trials Freestyle is certainly not a jewel of the genre, but it is good enough to waste an afternoon with. Since the tracks are mostly scripted and quite simple, there’s not a lot of replay value in it, but you can still have some fun with the ragdoll physics every once in a while.