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.