Previewed: April 20, 2004
Previewed by: Travis Young

Publisher
Enlight Software

Developer
Nadeo

Released: June, 2004
Genre: Racing
Players: 10
ESRB: Everyone

9
8
7
10
8.9

System Requirements

A few years later the PC got their own version of this game called Stunt Driver, but rather than replicate the arcade experience Spectrom Holobyte (anyone remember those guys) included a stunt track editor that essentially gave this game eternal life. Over the course of the 2-3 years I actively played Stunt Driver I created nearly 200 tracks and some of my fondest racing memories.

But that was nearly 20 years ago, and while I still have those floppies full of track files lying around (somewhere), I never dreamed I would get to have that much fun on my PC again…until now.

TrackMania is the hot new arcade racing title about to hit the US from overseas courtesy of Enlight Software. One glance at the box had me flashing back to those wonderful days spent designing, laying out, and then racing my own custom racetracks, because just like the games that obviously inspired this latest racer, TrackMania is just as much about designing the tracks as racing them.

I was recently given the chance to preview this upcoming title, but rather than a traditional build-copy I was sent the entire European release that has been available for quite some time now. The upcoming US release is going to have even more features and online support, so what you are about to read is my experience with the version currently available. While we normally don’t score previews, since this was a full retail copy I’ve gone ahead and included my scores, but we will be doing a full review of the US version when it does ship so look for updated information and new scores in June.

Despite this title’s emphasis on track design there is a substantial game with multiple modes awaiting the casual arcade racing fan. Yes, this is arcade racing so leave your steering wheels and pedals under the desk and break out that gamepad. You can probably muddle your way through this game with a keyboard but a nice analog gamepad like the Saitek P2500 works wonderfully.

Solo gamers will want to tackle the Series races where you can try to break records, earn medals, and collect “Coppers”. As you complete each race in a series the next event unlocks. You can race each event as often as you like, trying for better medals and more prize money. The included tracks get increasingly more challenging the deeper into the game, and you will need to watch your speed on critical jumps and maintain straight racing lines on elevated tracks with no barriers where one slip can knock you out of the race.

The Survival mode is a very cool concept. It presents all of the tracks in a BINGO card style interface. You are allowed to choose from 2-3 randomly selected tracks spread across all three environments. Your goal is to place at least 3rd out of the four cars or trucks to advance to the next round. If you place in first or second you are allowed to "skip" tracks of your choosing in the next selection phase. You keep racing until you come in last place or retire from a race.

Puzzle mode is quite clever and actually makes a game out of the track editor. You are given the start and finish lines and a selection of track pieces and you must connect the two ends using only those pieces available to you. There are multiple solutions to each track puzzle and once you complete the track you get to race on it. The trick is that in order to get the “best time” on a puzzle track you have to create the optimum route and drive like a pro.

Creating your own tracks is wickedly addicting and totally fun. The track editor couldn’t be easier with an intuitive interface that allows you to pan and rotate the screen and lay down sections of track. Anyone with any experience in the “roller coaster construction set” genre will feel right at home here. There are also plenty of unique track pieces that you can purchase from TrackMania shop using your prize money (coppers), and some of the very rare pieces must be unlocked in the Puzzle mode.

One interesting twist to the reward system is that prize money can only be used to buy blocks for the environment they were won in. There are three environments, Snow, Rally, and Speed, so if you win a bunch of coppers in the Snow races you can only use that money to unlock building blocks for snow tracks.

TrackMania offers multiplayer support for up to four people on one machine (taking turns) or you can play on a LAN or over the Internet. You can also share your track designs and create custom challenges and share those as well. Considering the game hasn’t officially been released in the U.S. yet, I was surprised to find no less than 50 people online at any given time when I wanted to play online. The community seems very strong at this early point and should really take off in June.

Visually, TrackMania is surprisingly good. Even though you are racing on tracks that resemble roller coasters more than NASCAR ovals there are some really great textures, not only in the track pieces, but the environments, and even the subtle details on the cars. You’ll see the trucks and muscle cars careen around corners bouncing on independent suspension, and the animation whips by at solid framerates.

The audio presentation is merely adequate. There seems to be only one theme song per environment so by the time you race the ten or so races in each environment you will be sick of the music. Thankfully, the options allow you to turn down or turn off the music. The engine effects are pretty much all that’s left and those sound really good, whether it’s the high-pitched whine of the rally car or the throaty roar of the General Lee look-alike.

TrackMania is one of those games that will sit on your hard drive longer than anything else in your game collection. It’s easy to pick-up and play when you have a few minutes or a few hours. I’ve had the game for nearly two weeks now and I’ve honestly played it every day, even if it was just to do one or two challenges or tinker with a track design.

I haven’t really explored the online gameplay thoroughly, but I have raced about a dozen or so races and the performance was outstanding. We even had one guy who was on dial-up and it didn’t even bring down our overall performance.

Suffice to say, there is a whole lot of game here and that is just the existing European release. The North American version of Trackmania will contain enhanced Internet play, a unique avatar system, a new survival mode, ghost competition cars and 60 new building blocks such as tunnels, land transitions, signs and turbos.

Guaranteed to delight and entertain all who play, this is one of those rare games that is fun for the entire family. Whether you are looking for a quality arcade race experience, challenging puzzles, an in-depth racetrack design tool, or all of the above, TrackMania is one game you won’t want to miss when it drives into stores this June.