It’s been a good few months since Ubisoft and RedLynx dropped a downloadable content pack for Trials Fusion, but the latest pack entitled ‘Fire in the Deep’, promises to be the biggest yet. But does bigger mean better?
Well, on first viewing the Fire in the Deep content looks pretty reasonable. Coming with 11 new single player events, a shed load of new challenges, a couple of nifty bits of gear and most excitedly, some new achievements it should really be a decent way of spending a few hours.
Kicking things off are the medium skilled tracks, all of which are more than completable even for pretty novice riders. The Vestibule sees you moving along the top of a moving train in an attempt to make it to the finish in the quickest time possible. It’s a good opener but other than the odd change in perspective, doesn’t really bring an awful lot new to the Fusion party. It does however set the story for what is to come. ‘Primordial Peak’ however brings about the fire content beautifully. Literally blasting you from the frying pan straight into the fire, the second timed track that is available sums up the theme of the download immensely.
Both Tectonic Jolt and the next track available, Section -47 see you go even deeper into the Earth’s crust and the chance to experience an underground lab, filled with the full force of lava flows and explosions. The latter of the two tracks also includes some neat traversing of lifts in order to complete the level and it’s these two medium levelers that you’ll probably gain the most enjoyment from. The final medium skilled course takes you out of the lava factory and onto the rooftops as you presumably attempt to escape certain death! All are easily completed and for the most part i would expect the vast majority of Trials players to be able to earn a silver medal on all these middle levels fairly simply.
There are also three ‘hard’ tracks included in Fire in the Deep; Bottom Dweller, Deeper Underground and Iron Incendiary. Those who have read my previous thoughts on the Fusion DLC packs will know that this is usually where I begin to struggle. However, either my riding skills have increased exponentially in the last few months or RedLynx have taken pity on those of us who usually struggle with anything above par, as all three ‘hard’ tracks were completed pretty swiftly, mostly within a few minutes of the countdown timer. Yeh, maybe I don’t have gold medals hanging round my neck to show for it, but bronzes and silvers are shiny enough for me.
The final timed track on offer is one for the most experienced, most hardened of riders only. Charred Remains sounds about as scary as it looks and anyone other than the most skilled will even struggle to unlock its potential.
Finally the FMX course this time round, Manic Miner basically does what a well scripted, well designed FMX course should do. It’s full of big jumps which give you the opportunity to show off your trick skills perfectly and whilst it isn’t particularly lengthy, a lovely twist at the end gives you a few seconds to really rack up the big points. However, whilst the skills game that was present in Welcome to the Abyss is still my favourite course ever found in a Trials title, that means the fire breathing skills dragon that is Circles of Hell is a little disappointing. It’s here that I’m slightly concerned RedLynx may have run out of ideas as it brings nothing other than trying to ride a flaming bike as far as possible, without stopping, until the flames that lick up from the wheels prove too much. It’s not particularly skillful and I’d have loved to have seen the devs come up with something just a little more challenging.
Of course, new tracks also mean new challenges and whilst I’m not one for spending too much time searching around trying to complete them (just getting to the end of each course is a task in itself for me), the 27 new challenges on offer will look to keep those hardcore riders busy for some time yet. As should the extra cheevos that come bundled with the DLC, if you are that way inclined.
So, is Fire in the Deep the best content pack for Trials Fusion? Well, I wasn’t particularly enamored with the Riders of the Rustland first pack that dropped, but since then both Empire of the Sky and Welcome to the Abyss have seen much improved content each time. Fire in the Deep is quite easily on a par with my previous favourite tracks found in the Abyss and whilst the skill game and FMX offering this time round aren’t quite as clever as previous, the addition of a few new tracks, especially for those lesser skilled players, makes it more than a worthwhile purchase.
Season Pass holders should be all over everything that Fire in the Deep brings and even if you aren’t one such holder, you shouldn’t be too disappointed with the latest content Ubisoft and RedLynx have brought us.
