The Trails games don't stray far from their core formula, thankfully after three games Trails still remains entertaining. Set in the future the world of Trails Fusion offers a much more technological and mechanical backdrop than the previous games. Also, the newly added story told through a pair of AI finally attempts to explain why your doing what your doing. Even with all that said Fusion in many ways still just feels like a large expansion pack with a fresh coat of paint. However, if you already enjoy this series you're sure to still have fun.
The gameplay for Fusion is exactly what you'd expect from Trails. You ride your various motorcycles on a 2D pane in the three dimensional world. You are able to accelerate and brake as well as lean forward and backward. Thankfully, Fusion offers a new tutorial within each section of the campaign as the difficulty increases. These help to teach you some of the advanced moves you'll need to progress. There are eight sections ranging from beginner to expert difficulty. For the most part the difficulty curve seems fairly smooth but the jump from hard to expert is still quite daunting. You can always take a break from the campaign mode and play with up to four players simultaneously with the returning super-cross tracks.
As you progress you'll unlock bikes, gear, and money. This game features several standard motorcycles as well as a couple more wacky choices. You have the rabbit which is a simple bicycle, the TKO Panda which is an ATV, and even a cat riding a unicorn. Also this is the first trails game that lets you perform tricks while playing FMX tracks on the new Foxbat bike. There are two different currencies in Fusion which is completely unnecessary and overly complicated for such a simple game. Many of the most exciting items requires the premium currency. You can also create and download user made tracks anytime if you wish to see what crazy thing the community can come up with.
This is the first game in the series to feature a story-line. As you play through the various track in the campaign mode you'll hear two distinct voices. George never talks to you directly but instead makes broad comments and warnings. They are often quite ridiculous and are frequently followed up by SynDI. SynDI talks directly to you and will frequently gives hints about why things are the way they are. She'll mention the re-spawning, the events the lead the world to its current state, as well as the people that built her. She is also very encouraging and interested in your progress. It can be a little bit difficult to put the pieces of the story together which I guess adds an air of mystery. Sadly, every time you crash or reset it interrupts the AI voices and they don't always repeat themselves.
No doubt there is fun to be had playing Fusion even if it feel just like a thematic expansion to the previous game. The new FMX mode is a fun way to show off and offers a different kind of challenge. The new story elements are amusing but doesn't have a strong enough presence to really be memorable. Other than that this is the same trails you know and love. If you're new to the series it is as good a place to start as any as long as the futuristic theme is appealing. The developer RedLynx has a formula that works and not much reason to stray too far from it.