Fail Hard lives up to its name - in a good way!

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Yes, it's the classic side-on trick-motorcyclist game, but with pseudo-3D, rag-doll physics and rendered environments - and it's extremely polished, with good attention to the audio in particular. Never mind that it's infuriatingly difficult and that the freemium purchases go overboard....

From the Store description:

* Experience the evolution of becoming the greatest stuntman in the world.
* Make it big in the stunt show business and don't back down even from the most dangerous of stunts and jumps.
* Take yourself to your limits and beyond by facing the challenges of physics bending stunts.
* Collect coins to upgrade your equipment to enable the biggest and most entertaining feats ever attempted.
* Rise from the bottom as an promising up-and-comer to true stardom.
* As a stunt man it's trial and error that counts 

Features:
* Different and fun stunts with amazing obstacles and multiple goals in each level.
* Smooth and intuitive controls.
* Earn 3 stars on each track to brag to your friends.

The bike and human body physics - the former for when you're heading into a trick, the latter for when you slam into an obstacle and end up in a crumpled heap - are first class. Here's a walk-through:

Fail Hard screenshot

A fully rendered pseudo-3D environment throughout - plenty of fun detail at each stage...

Fail Hard screenshot

A barrage of tutorial levels are followed by ever more outrageous and harder 'career' levels... Note the bottom-of-screen ads - these go away if you make any in-app purchase, etc.

Fail Hard screenshot

Talking of which, these range up a stupidly high £40. They start more reasonably - can't we just stop this practice now, developers? No one's ever going to go for these top amounts unless they tap it by accident - or maybe that's what's being hoped for?

Fail Hard screenshot

Brake and throttle pedals work even in mid-air - something do with angular momentum of the engine, no doubt....?

Fail Hard screenshot

There's plenty of production value here, with a range of two and four wheeled vehicles to jump in and generally juggle... As you'd expect, collecting coins through normal play lets you gradually upgrade.

Fail Hard screenshot

Following each failed stunt, the game's title hits home with some truly agonising impacts and limbs thrown every which way, accompanied by sound effects, 'oohs' from the onlookers and so on. It's a lot of bone-crunching fun!

Fail Hard screenshot

The levels in each pack are presented well and, as you'd expect, you work through each one, trying to get the full three stars....

Fail Hard screenshot

From a humble moped, you'll eventually upgrade to jet-propulsion....

Fail Hard screenshot

... and the environments go from the back yard to the big city...

Fail Hard screenshot

Failing hard indeed. Another crunching impact....

You can grab Fail Hard here - it's certainly worth a download, or at least it is if you have better hand-eye coordination and/or more of a feel for how to do moped tricks and stunts than me!

Source / Credit: Windows Phone Store