https://us.bsdforever.com/collections/bsd-revolution/products/revolution-hub

Review: Trail Boss BMX

"the new controls become second nature in no time."

5 Sep 2019

Pines 2

Review by Fred Murray

It's a fine balance when you're creating a video game for such a niche crowd as BMX riders. Anything too far from reality and core riders will rightfully criticise, but head too far in our direction and it can shut off interest from the everyday 'Joe Bloggs'. It's the same in most fields of interest and that's something that Adam Hunt's original game, Pumped BMX managed to master so well - on the face of things it was just a game focussed on timing, much the same as other titles with the side-on view. I'm sure I even saw a similar title which involved making a penguin jump and slide through icy mounds. However, the winning formula for Pumped was its level of accuracy on tricks and the style they were executed in. A turndown looked like a properly clicked turndown, and a table looked like it could have come from a Mike Aitken video part. In fact, Adam even went to the efforts of incorporating real-life riders into the Pumped world, and not only that, he also had Pro riders like Lima test the trial versions so it would feel as close to the real thing as possible.

Pines New 2208X1242 25 07 2019 04 24 57
Woodland 2208X1242 09 07 2019 10 25 35
Birch 2208X1242 09 07 2019 11 01 21

With his newly released venture, Trail Boss, Adam wanted to take things further and bring the game into a 3D world with the ability to carve through trails and berms, skid, manual and transfer over different lines - pretty much the essence of trails riding. A massive step up from the 2D format! Upon initial impressions, the game controls were going to take some getting used to, not because of how they were laid out, but just that there was now a lot more going on to control and also the fact that I'm well into my 30s and any games after Half Life seemed like they needed a PHD in gaming to understand. For any kid though, Trail Boss would be instinctual. With the tutorial levels at hand though, it was a quick process to get into the swing of things.

Adam's vision of ripping through trails and berms certainly worked out with that being a major factor to the challenge, with some skinny and fast setups requiring a lot of concentration. As a rider the motions and physics of it all seem very familiar though and you can tell that the game has come from the mind of someone who has hit a lip or two in their time. Talking of lips, that was one challenge that Adam had to come up with a solution for - as in real life, transferring between lines requires you to hit the lip of the jump at certain angles - something that he has worked out perfectly. In fact, the transfer challenges are probably some of the most fun you can have in-game. And don't think you can just transfer wherever you want... you'll also have to negotiate trees, bushes and branches from the surrounding landscape, painstakingly constructed by Adam himself. Upon the first few plays it's obvious how much care and attention went into the construction of the levels.

But has the new version lost any of the special recipe that made Pumped BMX so appealing? In short, no. If anything it makes Pumped seem primitive. You may find yourself at first steering off course as you try to pump through the next jump on Trail Boss but that muscle memory soon wears off and the new controls become second nature in no time. A true make or break factor for a video game. And the tricks? Well, as with Pumped, these look just right with every movement looking like a well executed version of the real thing. Coming straight out of a berm and hitting an alley-oop 360 table transfer is so satisfying it keeps you wanting more. I originally thought I'd be the wrong person to review a video game, but being in my early thirties and instantly enjoying Trail Boss is testament to what a great job Adam has done.

Get Trail Boss BMX for iOS and Android.

Related Video

Trail Boss BMX - Official iOS / Android Trailer

The New BMX Video Game - More Info

Previous

How to build a BMX video game

Discussing BMX video games with the guy behind 'Pumped' and the all new 'Trail Boss'

Next

Related Content

Gilly Posh

Shovel Work

"Grab a shovel, stick it in the dirt, build your own fun" - Magilla

1 Sep 2014
adam roye for Dig high res

Re-Print: Adam Roye - Creating A Cult

"I like shit that's a little fucked up" - A true BMX artisan speaks his mind

15 Sep 2014
ENNS POOLS ADJ

Jason Enns' Pool Obsession

"Everyone wants to ride them and no one wants to do the work. It’s like trails. When there’s knee-deep water, no one is around."

16 Oct 2014
hawk-lacey-kennedy-hoder

Re-Print: First Encounters

Recognise these guys? Our earliest photos with some of the best in the game…

2 Oct 2014
HOLY FIT VAN STEW 1

VAN HOMAN HAS SAVED US AGAIN

Seven Facts About Van Homan’s Holy Fit and Criminal Mischief Sections You Probably Don’t Know

5 Sep 2014
Wichita-crew-IMG 6358-BB

When Austin Isn't Enough - The Road To Wichita Falls

Just a good old fashioned BMX road trip

22 Sep 2014
ECLATX DIG BNB-1-of-2

Scare BnB in Austin

Éclat meets Muck Man - Does not end well

14 Oct 2014
chase joe looking at footage gig

Friends Til The End - Chase Hawk and Joe Rich

A photographic journey with lifelong friends: Joe, Chase and Washington concrete...

13 Oct 2014
Rich-Forne

Re-Print: One Question With Rich Forne

"I would consider myself creative, an artist, and I’ve had to learn some shitty lessons the hard way to get to this point."

25 Sep 2014
collapsing-the-whatever

Collapsing Into The Whatever

False possession, electricity poaching, run-ins with satanists, urban myths and more...

7 Oct 2014
terada-aw-1

Brian Terada 'Lost and Found'

"At that time I didn’t really care about getting hurt because BMX was paying my bills"

11 Sep 2014
Trail Boss Adam At Work

How to build a BMX video game

Discussing BMX video games with the guy behind 'Pumped' and the all new 'Trail Boss'

5 Sep 2019
http://www.wethepeoplebmx.de/

Latest Content

6c2 B7 Z Euk4chqdefault
Play Button

Kanode Knows - Mike Mastroni

Talking creativity, on and off the bike

18 Mar 2024
5 Cqu E Bo Ija Ehqdefault
Play Button

'LOST IN TRANSLATION'

MARWAN AYARI - DIMITRIS PAP - NICO ESTEBAN

18 Mar 2024
X Z2zqyx JS8 Ehqdefault
Play Button

JACK GRUBER | UNITED ‘A while between drinks’

Canberra and Melbourne

18 Mar 2024
Gg B Xdx Hq EB Ihqdefault
Play Button

Source BMX: New Teamrider!

Das New Rider

18 Mar 2024
R6 Yfqo Kvhiwhqdefault
Play Button

Jordan Richardson - 'SPROUT' - Eclat

Cali AM action

18 Mar 2024
D Lh0g8 D Enl8hqdefault
Play Button

RIDING HURRICANE SPOTS WITH TREY JONES

Floating pools, broken concrete slabs, and toppled stair sets

16 Mar 2024
Y6njc H Wd Zf8hqdefault
Play Button

THIRTY - KINK BMX

Sit back and enjoy 25 minutes of the really really good stuff

16 Mar 2024
HWX0v Hu O Ho8hqdefault
Play Button

LUX BMX BIKE ADVICE - How to Bunny Hop with Tim Storey

Learning the most crucial BMX moves.

15 Mar 2024
N Tx M4 R Nij8ghqdefault
Play Button
T Fs R Oz F Eoe Uhqdefault
Play Button

FIT PROxFILE: MAX MILLER

Breaking down Max's last six years

15 Mar 2024
Z Vag X0 Idso Ehqdefault
Play Button

BENNY ABEYTA - LOVE LETTER

Flat out

15 Mar 2024
Wef Hz QSP Sghqdefault
Play Button

Cadets Backyard Session

Young Rippers!

14 Mar 2024

DIG Partner stores

More Dig This

Cinema apparel 24 sring
DSCF2930

PRODUCTIVITY - ECLAT 1023 STEM

Designed in Cologne. Made in Kyoto.

31 Jan 2024
Dig2023stack

DIG BOOK #2023

NOW SHIPPING

8 Jan 2024
Wheel mill winter welcome 24 WIDE

EVENT NEWS: The Wheel Mill - Winter Welcome Jam 2024

Shelter from the storm.

19 Dec 2023
TJP WTP 22 6

SETUPS: TYSON JONES-PENI'S 22" CHAOS MACHINE

"I'm not saying the 22" will become the new standard, but it might help some riders stay on a BMX, rather than switching to MTB."

18 Dec 2023
TAMERICA tam roastin BSD 2023 mcgrath 11

The TAMerica Interview

The USA didn't know what was coming!

12 Dec 2023
Wethepeople THE SWAMPMASTER matt black 01 web

PRODUCTIVITY: WETHEPEOPLE SWAMP MASTER

Bouncy BMX Time

11 Dec 2023
Jj book cover crop

PRINT MATTERS: The Dirt in Our Skin

When BMX and literature collide

7 Dec 2023
Sniper Lever Yuma 11

ARE BRAKES COMING BACK?! - THE ECLAT SNIPER LEVER

Read what brakey boy Yuma Oshimo had to say on. the subject.

21 Nov 2023
UWS casey thumb
Uws video teaser dig this thumb

UWS: BMX ON A MISSION - EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW

A new online street contest

17 Nov 2023
Cliche Alexander DSCF1108

CLICHÉ CREW - 'SNAPSHOTS OF BERLIN'

They're back!

10 Nov 2023