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Trackmania
One of the PC's most wackiest racing games has arrived
on the Nintendo DS and the Nintendo Wii that definitely creates a new
league for this popular racing series that features larger than life
jumps and a track editor that easily allows the gamer to create their
own unique challenges.
Features
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3 solo modes (Race, Platform
and Puzzle) and nearly 200 progressively difficult spectacular
tracks.
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6 environments and 6
completely different vehicles to drive and play; Desert, Rally,
Island, Coast, Snow and Stadium.
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An incredible 3D track
editor and hundreds of available blocks to create your own tracks
simply using the Wiimote.
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Play in mulitplayer with up
to 4 friends on the same console, or compete with players from all
around the world using Nintendo Wi-Fi!
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Share your craziest tracks
with your friends using Nintendo Wi-Fi.
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Earn Coppers by winning
medals in solo or multiplayers, and unlock new tracks, blocks and
skins!
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Play as you want: Pad,
Wiimote, Nunchuk or Wii Wheel!
At its core, Trackmania is a racing game
but unlike traditional racing games where you must get from point A to B
in a realistic driving world, Trackmania is more akin to the
outrageousness of stunts and things you would expect to see in the
Guinness Book of Records. Nothing is more fun than hitting turbo and
watching your car reach insane speeds as it loops the loop or flies over
a ridiculously high and long jump.
At times the gameplay is frustrating,
especially when you crash or don't judge a jump properly as your car
sores in the air or does a 360 loop but it's all part of the fun. The races also include a variety of
goals to complete and prestigious gold medals to collect but
sometimes this is easier said than done. Apart from racing others or
ghost cars... there is a weird puzzle mode that is akin to a casual game
but does help break things up a little. Just be warned, some of the
puzzles may make you think twice... or thrice!
As you do progress, the levels
become more difficult but thankfully the learning curve is
relatively low. Only on a few occasions did I suffer from game rage and
had to slam down the Wiimote... but what game doesn't have this? In
terms of controls, you can use the Wiimote to play in the traditional
Wii sense but it also supports a classic controller configuration which
is more fun in my books.
The
gameplay of Trackmania is quite diverse which range from
traditional F1 tracks to more almost Super Mario type worlds of
colourful islands and crazy jumps which sometimes require perfect timing
to land your vehicle. Although it's fun as a single-player game, where
the title does shine is via the multiplayer which boasts 4-player split
screen (awesome on a 50" LCD) or up to 6-players via the Nintendo Wi-Fi
Connection.
Another cool
aspect of the game is the track creator which is a breeze to create your
own tracks that can also be shared with the community. As the PC had an
awesome Trackmania community, some of the tracks that I have seen are
quite impressive and actually put a certain number of the original
tracks to shame. Creating tracks with the Wiimote is perfect as well.
However with 200 tracks included in this game... you might not want to
put your skills to the test until you've finished the game.
Graphically, the Nintendo Wii version is a little lacking
from the PC version but even so, it contains enough detail to keep
things interesting. The backgrounds are a little lacklustre and Spartan
but overall, it works well. The soundtrack is classic Trackmania and the
sound effects are great, especially all the crashes and sounds of race
cars.
In the end,
Trackmania works quite well on the Nintendo Wii and although a fun
experience in single-player, multiplayer is where the game finds its
feet for us. However successfully finishing the single-player game will
give you an edge on the competitors. The gameplay has been dumbed down a
little from the PC game but it still works with the Wii controllers.
Definitely a fun racing experience!
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