Gameplay: In Urban Trial Playground, you are put through a series of stages and are suppose to dodge obstacles, perform tricks, attempt not to crash while on your motorcycle. When I first saw some footage of this game, I expected it to be like excite bike for the NES, in way. And even though I believe it is similar, the game play has one major issue. The controls are really wonky andGameplay: In Urban Trial Playground, you are put through a series of stages and are suppose to dodge obstacles, perform tricks, attempt not to crash while on your motorcycle. When I first saw some footage of this game, I expected it to be like excite bike for the NES, in way. And even though I believe it is similar, the game play has one major issue. The controls are really wonky and directions are a bit unclear what to do. In the game, you are suppose to perform tricks by driving at high speed of ramps or by jumping. However the controls are the bicycle movement really awkward and usually result in crashing. I will admit, it is funny to see your guy face smack into the concrete, however after many attempts with unclear directions, it gets really frustrating and you start to notice that its the control layout that is the problem. You got your accelerate, brake, reverse and all the movements you expect out of driving a motorcycle, however the transition to the joycons doesn't always work out and definitely feels really odd at times. Now, i eventually did get used to these controls after a good amount of time, but it takes much longer than it should. However, once you get the hang of it, it's pretty enjoyable for a little while. The gameplay doesn't really change much or offer any other challenge. There are a ton of levels to pass so there definitely is a good chunk of game here, but it gets repetitive really fast and you can start to lose interest. There is an option that allows you to play with a friend through many of the games levels, it's not a four player co op mode, but a neat little option if you have a friend over.
Performance: In handheld mode, I noticed that the screen resolution looked kind of blurry and fuzzy. I then thought to myself, that's really strange, maybe the resolution would be improved while docked. Well, I was wrong. Shockingly, the resolution is barley improved at all even while docked. There is still a weird blurriness on the screen that looks almost identical to the resolution while in handheld mode. That is absurd, I can understand that some games have lower resolution in handheld mode because its not extremely power, but looking almost exactly the same while docked? I'm not going to sugarcoat it, it looks bad. I really hate to say this about a game, but it's the truth. I'm sure this was most likely not the intention of the developers, but people aren't going to be fond of a game that looks like a TV covered in plastic covering. I really don't like being that harsh, but people must know the truth and I hope the developers will fix this issue. Now let's talk about some of the glitches and bugs are in this game. The only glitch I have discovered so far, is the frame rate issue. Sometimes the game looks like its running a decent 30 frames per second and then suddenly the frame rate drops a lot. This doesn't occur in every single level, but in a good amount and it's not like a little buffer, its a full giant frame drop that really becomes an eyesore. When you're trying to accelerate as fast as you can, you do not generally want a massive frame drop.
ETC: As you play though more levels, you can earn some in game currency. This currency can be used to cosmetically redesign your biker and bike. With the biker, you can buy him or her some new shirts, pants or shoes. They don't affect the game play at all, but it's a nice little choice to have. Now the way you customize your bike, does affect the game play a lot. You can buy a good amount of new bikes that have different level stats. Of course the best ones are the most expensive so save your currency! You can also customize the paint job of your bike, this only adds a new look, nothing else is affected.
Overall: Overall, this was a game I truly wanted to enjoy because it reminded me of an updated version of excite bike, however the ending product was a game that felt rushed and needs some patching up work. That doesn't mean I didn't enjoy the game at all, I did have some fun, but what's there gets repetitive. I feel like this game should be really fun and enjoyable but I guess the developers need to address some issues. I give Urban Trial Playground a 5 out of 10. I guess if you are a little kid and want to drive a motorcycle for a few hours then I recommend this game, however if your not then I would double think your decision to purchase. Unless there are some serious patches released. If there are patches released that address these issues, then I think Urban Trials Playground could be a much better experience.… Expand
Urban Trial PlaygroundYour Score0 out of 10User Score
