Do you like Gundam and/or mechs? Do you like flying around in space and blowing stuff up? Do you enjoy stories about interstellar expansion and galactic civil war? If you answered “yes” to any of the above questions, then Strike Suit Zero: Director’s Cut may be the game for you. Despite being the third Strike Suit entry to release in just over a year, Director’s Cut is less of a sequel and simply more of an overhauled version of the original game that launched back in January 2013. But as we’ve come to find out, these types of enhancement titles aren’t always “enhanced” for the better. Thus, it’s time to figure out whether Strike Suit Zero hits a home run or just plain strikes out.

For all intents and purposes, Strike Suit Zero: Director’s Cut is the same game that launched last year, at least in terms of fundamental mechanics. Thus, we’re not going to spend a lot of time talking about those core gameplay elements, as that’s merely old news at this point. What we are going to do, however, is look at what all Director’s Cut has changed with the original formula, and evaluate whether or not those shake-ups have turned out to be a net positive. Right off the bat, developer Born Ready Games was sure to address two of the base title’s biggest issues: the lack of an adequate orientation mission and the slow-to-get-started shift from traditional flying to the more action-oriented, shoot-everything-in-sight-because-you-can mech sequences. As such, the developers have gone back and completely retooled the beginning portion of the game, righting the aforesaid wrongs with a proper tutorial that actually explains just what the hell is going on, in addition to more quickly getting players into the prized aspect of the title: the Strike Suit.

The Strike Suit is basically a mech-lovers dream as the gameplay, which is traditionally centered around a blend of arcade and flight-sim mechanics, gets shed in favor of an experience that is every bit as Gundam-inspired as it is action-packed. In essence, this has always been the defining component of Strike Suit Zero; thus being able to get into these segments faster only serves to help the player realize what makes the game so special in the first place. On the topic of changes in the gameplay arena, it’s great to see Born Ready fix the terrible checkpoint system of the first as well. In the base game, save points were spaced so far out that mission failure meant a loss of a solid 15, and sometimes even 30, minutes. It was poor design decision in this era of gaming, really, but thankfully, it’s also a problem that has been corrected.

Checkpoints are now closer together, remedying the issue of throwing one’s controller into their television in a fit of rage after having just lost a huge chunk of their time and game progress. Because of this campaign restructuring overall, the gameplay now merely has a more impressive fluidly, making sure to showcase what the game does so well early on, in an effort to hook players and in turn, keep them coming back for more.

But these early sections aren’t the only new additions to what Director’s Cut has to offer. There’s been almost a complete graphical overhaul, particularly as it relates to ships, too. Thanks to new, more dynamic lighting, coupled with new texture work, ships look exponentially better than they did in the original game. A side-by-side comparison further cements this notion, as the former game simply lacks detail, resolution and polish that theDirector’s Cut possesses. Of course, being able to see the battlefield and all of those sweet suits in 1080p is a welcome addition to the lineup of changes as well. In this department, of graphical fidelity and game performance, we noticed very little slowdown throughout the experience, with the action running at a silky 60FPS pretty consistently. There were some sluggish moments that seemed to occur during climatic crescendos, where the action was heavy, and the objects on screen were even heavier; but even so, to look as good as Director’s Cut does and still play quite smoothly is an accomplishment of which the developers should be proud.

Now, we started talking about ships there for a second, but we want to get back to that for just a bit. Returning players, and newcomers for that matter (though the latter won’t particularly know the difference here), should be happy to read that there are quite a few new vessels from which to choose and subsequently take into the fray. And for those wondering: yes, the previous Kickstarter-backer exclusive Marauder Strike Suit is finally available to play for any and everyone who purchases Director’s Cut. Rejoice!

Another big issue with the first game was the story — not so much the actual content, we should clarify, but rather the delivery of that plot through, at best, underwhelming voice-overs and, at worst, downright hideous acting bad enough to make one mute the game at times. Fortunately, the dialogue has been re-recorded with brand new actors, whom are infinitely more effective and believable than the former cast. The adapted story still has some holes in it, and at times doesn’t feel as space-operatic as it should, but with some improvements to the script and flow, Strike Suit is easily a better game now. Voice-overs aren’t the only audio enhancements; Paul Ruskay has gone back to the game’s soundtrack and produced a remixed album complete with 10 arranged tracks for Director’s Cut. These new songs are expertly done, but the truth is, the OST was already phenomenal. So, it’s not like it needed to be modified in the first place. Nevertheless, the aural presentation in general is just as solid as it ever was, and fans should be pleased.

Still, even with all the upgrades, Strike Suit Zero can’t compete with some of its rivals and inspirations. As much as we wanted the title to be the next Colony Wars, it’s plainly not. It sometimes feels lifeless and directionless, like a game just spinning its wheels. This leads to more than a few moments of monotony and repetition. Though if blasting the hell out of stuff in outer space is something you inherently like, the game is unlikely to really ever feel burdensome to play. So enter at your own risk in that regard.

Closing Comments:

At the end of the day, folks who enjoyed the original Strike Suit Zero may want to pick upDirector’s Cut, especially because upgrading on Steam is only a few bucks. Those who never got around to playing but have a particular affinity for space combat, missile-spewing mechs and loads of ship customization might also want to be pick up the game. The enhancements here have been extremely well done, with a more coherent and complete campaign, slicker graphics, more content and a fantastically remixed soundtrack. All of this ultimately makes Strike Suit Zero: Director’s Cut one hell of a game. Sure, it has some flaws, namely its reliance on the same mechanics that never really change over the course of its 10 hour campaign. But even so, Strike Suit Zero: Director’s Cut still manages to pull off a fun experience that blends action-arcade and simulation just enough to please both crowds.

It’s hard to believe that the once flash-based game Trials has bloomed into a successful and highly popular franchise, but here we are today, sitting with the fourth major installment ready to ship on a new set of consoles. The team at RedLynx took the simple idea of a 2D motorbike game and converted it into a trial-and-error experience. Even though the formula hasn’t change drastically in the last ten years, it’s a well-conceived set of mechanics that will have anyone and everyone addicted. Having produced enclosed and nature-based tracks in past titles, the Finnish developer sets their eyes to a clean futuristic aesthetic.

The gameplay is easy to grasp; you either let off the throttle or go full blast. On rare occasions reverse will be needed, but otherwise, it’s all about holding down R2 (or RT) and hoping the unfortunate biker can make it on the other side of the map as quick as possible and unscathed. It’s all about angles during a jump as, depending where the custom-built avatar may land, he will have either a smooth recovery or a terrible one. This leads to the main goal of shaving as much time as you can off the end results to place on the furiously competitive leaderboards or just earn a better medal. There are new objective-based tasks for each stage, ranging from flipping a number of times without faulting to wheeling a lengthy platform. These are interesting ways to approach a level instead of trying to best a time, but the reward and gratification is not worth it, especially considering most of them are can be incredible difficult.

This gameplay structure hasn’t changed much from past installments with controls and mechanics more or less the same. That’s not necessarily a bad thing as it’s an addictive and enjoyable formula, but it feels like a shinier skin on top of something we’ve already become accustom to for many years now. The visual aesthetic is by far the biggest change as, instead of maneuvering through warehouses and the wilderness, Fusion now takes place in a futuristic utopia where everything is simplistically vibrant. This means no more riding over flaming canisters and giant logs, but instead they are replaced with clean white or black ramps. There are some sections of the game that will have the player driving across more nature-rich environments, but they are too few and far between. There’s just has a lavish look to the game, with a setting of animating platforms that build the track right in front of you.

This is more than likely determinate on whether or not players are familiar with the series, but I feel as if the levels are far less challenging. In past installments, it didn’t take long before the tracks became difficult enough where settling with a silver was recommended, whereas in Fusion, it will have fans breezing through anything that isn’t categorized as “hard.” With that said, compared to the last two games, the beginner levels do feel a little more evened out, not necessarily easing in newcomers to the experience. This means that for five of the eight themes, the difference in challenge is minimal, whereas past that the difficulty spikes fast.

Other than two different stages (Cactus Challenge and Rainforest Rumble), most of the environments have a similar clean futuristic template that it’s a little hard to differentiate from time to time. There are small alterations such as snow starting to pileup or having a more metropolitan setting, but really most of the game’s art feels way too similar. Fortunately, players will more than likely be driving so fast that they’ll only catch a glimpse of the backgrounds around them. It’s also a nice change of pace compared to the rather drab colors of Trials HD and nature-focused Evolution, but it’s as if they only looked outside of the box in the later levels. It certainly doesn’t help that there’s some serious pop-in issues that plague the game. These generally popup right at the beginning of a track and will even occur when you press the left side of the touchpad to restart a race. Sometimes high-resolution textures won’t load until you’re well past the first part of the course, making a cringe-worthy first impression.

The series is also very well known for its level creation and sharing capabilities, and they’re all here. If you have the time and dedication to do so, you’re able to craft tracks of epic proportions. The idea behind this new futuristic world is that, as much as each track is segmented, it’s all a part of one giant world. The editor certainly shows this off as the player is able to go from the snowy mountains in the north to the desolate deserts in the south. This is a complete editor, almost too powerful, allowing players to place and modify existing models in the environment. The problem here stems from no real instructions. It’s incredibly intimidating going into the editor, especially to anyone who hasn’t messed around with something like a game engine or 3D modeling program, yet all potential tutorials are recommended in a buried menu asking you to go to their YouTube channel. Outside of sharing your homemade tracks, there’s also a somewhat strong multiplayer component originally introduced in Trials Evolution. Here, players compete with three others in an all-for-one race against the clock in upwards of ten different levels organized by the host. Unfortunately, while this is an incredibly enjoyable part of the game, there’s no online capabilities. It’s a couch-only experience, letting only a few experience its true potential.

Another downside is that Trials Fusion suffers from an unfortunate case of long load times, not necessarily bordering on the levels of Joe Danger, but it can become an issue for those wishing to get right into a race. As a game that’s all about constantly replaying levels to the point you’re shaving off tenths of a second to ensure you’re ahead of competition and friends, it sure has excruciating long waits before jumping right back in. Restarting in the middle of a track when faulting is almost instantaneous, but if you get to the end of the track and view the results, for whatever reason, Fusion needs to reload the entire stage over again. This can take fifteen to twenty extra seconds each time, forcing you to look at a logo for far longer. This really interrupts the flow of the addictive racer, discouraging those who play to do better when they get to the results screen. This also applies to viewing which bike will be used on the course and getting into your garage.

Closing Comments:

Trials Fusion is basically what we’ve come to expect from the series, just with a shinier new coat of paint. It’s still the incredibly addictive racer that we’ve come to love, but unfortunately it has a few screws loose. With an editor that lacks the essentials of instructions, a gripping multiplayer experience that’s limited to offline play, a campaign that only gets good in the later second half, and discouraging load times, Trials Fusion is far from perfect. Fortunately for fans, there’s a lot of meat on this bone and should subside your hunger for another Trials game.