TrackMania – PC – Review

Games are always supposed
to fun and entertaining.  Some of the games released today are entertaining but
lack the “fun” ingredient.  It’s rare today to find a game that is challenging
and fun at the same time.  TrackMania offers gamers a solid, racing game that is
full of challenge but at the same time bursting with fun.

The basic premise of the
game is your controlling a racecar in some of the craziest and wildest tracks
you’ve ever experienced.  If anyone has ever tried out electric slot cars,
remote control cars or even the new mini RC cars, TrackMania offers a similar
experience.  You’ll experience giant jumps, insane turns, and tracks set in
unique locations such as a castle, the desert or on ice.  You’ve got to keep an
eye out on the track, because you never know what could be coming up at the next
corner.

There are three different
car models and three different modes of play.  There are the Snow Car, Rally Car
and American Car (think Muscle Car) models with each car model being track
specific.  This means that you can only use a Snow Car on snow track and a Rally
Car on a rally track.  The three different gameplay modes are Solo, Multiplayer
and Network.  The Solo mode contains an additional three gameplay modes, Race,
Puzzle and Survival.  

The Race mode allows you to
race a track and obtain the fastest time on the track.  There are three
different rankings that can be obtained, Bronze, Silver and Gold.  The better
your time, the better the ranking.  There are several different
levels/difficulties in the Race mode.  You unlock an additional level when you
finish with a Bronze ranking.  During the race you will notice a ghost car that
you’re competing against; this is the time that you have to beat in order to
unlock the next level. 

Survival mode allows you
race against other computer-controlled cars.  In order to advance in the
survival mode you have to beat at least one of the computer-controlled cars.
Depending on the number of cars you defeated, you can skip some of the survival
races.  So if you beat three cars in one race then you can skip two survival
races.  But if you only defeat one car (let’s say you finished 3^rd
out of 4 cars) then you unlock the next race.  The survival mode is a
one-sitting type of game where if you exit the survival mode you have to start
it over from the beginning each time. 

But the one mode I was very
impressed with is the Puzzle mode.  This mode allows you to test your building
skills by having you finish building a track as if it were a puzzle.  You have a
limited number of pieces to finish the track with but the possibilities are
limitless on how you can put the track together.  Once you’ve built the track
you can then race the track to see if you can finish the track in the required
time.  If you do, then you’ve solved the puzzle.  This is a very entertaining
part of this racing that is sure to please racing and non-racing fans.
Multiplayer mode allows you compete against eight other players.  All of the
players can race on the same computer since it’s a race against the clock.
Which player has the fastest time wins the race.  The network mode allows you to
play online against other players over the internet or on a LAN.

The tracks are where the
real fun and entertainment are within the game.  Each track has their own unique
layout with no resemblance to any real-world tracks.  One track might have you
racing outside a castle, while another track has you jumping over canyons in the
desert.  One awesome aspect of the game is the ability to change the tracks to
your liking.  If you don’t like a particular jump, then you can go in an edit
the jump.  You can change almost everything on the track around to your
specifications.  There is a huge assortment of map pieces available in the
game.  You can also create tracks for other players to download from the
internet.

TrackMania is a gamer’s
treasure that is full of gameplay goodness.  Racing fans shouldn’t be
disappointed with the frenzied gameplay, either in the solo mode or over the
internet.  Non-Racing fans will enjoy the game for the puzzle mode and track
editor.  Hard core and casual games all have something to enjoy in TrackMania.

Gameplay: 8.0
The controls are well done and precise for TrackMania.  The cars tend to float a
little during the races but it’s something that you will get adjusted to
easily.  You control the cars with the arrow buttons on the keyboard; up is to
accelerate, down is the brake, and left or right controls the cars.  The zero
key honks your horn, but it’s rather useless in the game.  There are no
collisions with the other cars on the tracks.  You also have up to eight
different camera angles to use during the game.  I found the default camera
angle the most useful. 

Since the premise of the
game is wacky, insane races on unbelievable tracks, racing simulation fans will
want to look elsewhere.  This is pure, adrenaline-producing fast, fun and
intense racing action.  It reminds me of racing games from years ago, where it
was about having fun racing your cars instead of tweaking ever aspect of your
car.  Since the tracks are the star of the show there will be some instances
where your frustration level will rise.  There were several tracks that I had to
race over again consistently because I would run into a problem during the
race. 

Unlike other racing games,
once you’re off the track you probably won’t be able to find a way back on to
the track.  This will cause you to start the race over again.  If you take a
corner wrong, or hit a ramp too fast your car might run off the track.  Most of
the tracks had barricades that prevented you from entering the track again.  But
I found myself starting the race over and over again just to try and finish the
track.  I kept thinking to myself “I must finish this track,” and I would play
the same track twenty to thirty times before I completed it.  Finding a game
that is challenging yet fun is hard to do in today’s gaming market.  For me it
was challenging and fun, for other gamers it could be downright frustrating.

Graphics: 8.0
The graphics in TrackMania are very well done with impressive details on the
cars and stages.  While the game doesn’t pack the graphical wallop of let’s say
Gran Turismo 4; TrackMania is presented in a nice, slick, smooth presentation
that won’t disappoint.  There are only three different types of cars – Snow Car,
Rally, and American.  Each type of car has several different templates or color
schemes so most of the cars look similar to each other.  The are some graphic
tricks included in this game that I wouldn’t have expected, such as cloud
reflections off the top of the cars, to leaving tire marks on the tracks during
the race.  This isn’t to say that I wasn’t expecting the graphics to be horrible
it’s just the fact that us gamers are always looking for eye candy to make us
“Ooh” and “Aaah.”  There are also three different backgrounds for the races:
Snow, Desert and Rally (countryside setting).   Each of the backgrounds have
their own unique look and graphic effects from snow falling to leaves falling on
the tracks.  You will notice each track still looks similar to each other.  The
only big difference between the tracks will be the background graphics and the
layout.  The frame rate is very solid during most of the races.  I noticed that
on the rally races that the frame rate wasn’t a solid as it was on the Desert or
Snow tracks. 

Sound: 7.0
The sound effects for the cars are good but the music just didn’t seem to fit
the game.  You can barely hear the sound effects of the cars, such as the tires
squealing and impact of the cars when they landed after a jump.  The background
music would drown out the sound effects during a race.  Each different type of
stage (Snow, Desert and Rally) had it’s own unique music that would repeat
itself over and over again.  The music ranges from guitar-based rock to
quasi-dance club music.  The music tracks are catchy tunes but nothing that will
have you looking to download.

Difficulty: Medium
A fun game is supposed to keep the difficulty high enough for a challenge, but
still fun and entertaining.  In TrackMania you will notice the difficulty levels
up just enough to keep you coming back for “one more try.”  The biggest
challenge in the game, when you race a complex track, is keeping your car on the
track and finishing the race.  You want to take the track full speed to see how
far you can jump or how fast you can go through the loop.  But if you go too
fast, then you will probably run off the track and have to restart the race.
It’s up to you, take it slow and cautious to finish the race or wild and crazy
to have a fun time.

Concept: 8.5
We’ve probably all read or heard about such-and-such racing games providing so
many numbers of tracks and cars.  Ever year we always expect more and more out
of our racing games, but TrackMania tries to raise the bar.  To me it would be
hard to find something in this game that shouldn’t please everyone.  How many
times do you get a puzzle game included with a racing game?  Then in addition to
the puzzle game you also have the ability to race other players online.  But
wait, now you also have the ability to edit every single track that you can race
to your liking.  Then to make everything even better, the game is actually FUN.
You find it hard to quit playing the game because you want to finish every track
or have the fast time.  The entire idea of TrackMania is a pleasant and welcomed
addition to the world of gaming.

Multiplayer: 8.0
Having two different Multiplayer functions in the game is a nice treat.  The
standard Multiplayer mode allows you to compete against eight other players on
the same PC.  As mentioned above the goal is to be the fastest driver with the
best time.  The online version of the game is very similar to the Solo mode but
with three different gameplay modes.  Most players online are playing the Time
Attack mode, which is similar to the standard Solo mode.  However gets the
fastest time wins the race, but this time there is a catch.  You can set a time
limit for each match and the player with the fastest lap time during that
allotted time is the winner.  This is a fair option to all gamers since it
rewards the players with the fastest time, which can be obtained by anyone.  The
other modes are Round and Team.  Round mode has all players starting a race at
the same time and the player the crosses the finish line first is the winner.
Team mode plays similar to Round mode but this time the team that crosses the
finish line will earn a point.  The team with the most points then wins the
match. 

But none of this would
matter if the game didn’t play well online and it does.  The game plays almost
exactly the same online as it does offline.  I played several matches against
gamers in Europe and I didn’t notice any lag during the game.  The servers were
never completely full so you shouldn’t have a problem finding a game.  You can
also create and host your own game.  Probably the biggest challenge for the
online mode was creating a user account.  The game has a Serial Number that has
to be entered in order to create a user account online.  So don’t lose the
Serial Number (by the way my copy had the serial number on the back page of the
instruction manual)!

Overall: 7.9
Fast, fun and entertaining gameplay is what gaming is all about.  TrackMania is
another welcomed addition to our world of entertaining PC games.  From the great
graphics, fun gameplay, and amazing concept, TrackMania provides a might punch
in a small package.  However, the repetitive music and repetitive gameplay might
leave some gamers looking for the brake pedal.  TrackMania should provide enough
entertainment value to keep gamers driving for a long time to come.