Nadeo has a long history with Trackmania titles, and while some of them were successful, others were complete failures, like they were trying to find “their place under the sun” for years. They finally gave up on that, and thankfully turned to what they know best and what was the most logical solution for them – they used the “essence” of what makes Trackmania fun, then upgraded and published it.
And so Trackmania Turbo was created, a title that confirms that Nadeo discarded all “bells and whistles” and desire to be something it’s not, and they published the best classic race of player against time, or other players’ records. Time is constantly against you and that is what Turbo is going for. The game doesn’t try to please everyone anymore, and therefore not everyone will like it.
The good old race is divided into four segments: Canyon Drift, Valley Down and Dirty, Rollercoaster Lagoon and International Stadium. They are more or less the same, apart from the surroundings and the types of vehicles you control. Sometimes it’s carting cars, sometimes it’s buddies, and sometimes it’s Formula 1 cars, or something resembling them. And the well known motives of Trackmania are back – crazy tracks created by the wackiest minds at Nadeo, divided into categories of different difficulties. All of them have their own wiles, curves, unpredictable segments and lots, and lots of fun.
The campaign has a total of five leagues, each having ten events divided onto different tracks, so you have to complete a total of 200 tracks to complete them all. Someone thought it was a good idea to add on an extra lap on the final track of each segment, which will be especially frustrating if you’re after the best score. As if it weren’t enough to drive over a 1 minute track all over again, imagine what it’s like on 3 or 5 minute tracks.
The driving itself is demanding, but fair, in keeping with Trackmania tradition. That means that you can certainly achieve the best score if you practice the map, but sometimes you can do it with some luck. But luck probably comes along once in a hundred re-runs of the same track, while knowledge and experience give you the best chance to constantly improve your score. Even the unpredictable parts of the track can be “tamed” over time, which is definitely one of Trackmania’s advantages -there is always a chance to improve and overcome some seemingly impossible obstacle.
Beside the solo mode in which you progress through all tracks on your own, multiplayer is a much more interesting mode, especially in split screen, a.k.a. Hot Seat. Multiplayer clashes allow you to play with a vast number of other players worldwide, but only local multiplayer gives you the ability to know who you’re playing against, cheer for your favorites and compete between each other. In case you’re not especially competitive, Trackmania offers a large number of fun modes you can try out, among which Double Driver is especially interesting – a mode that gives you the option to have one player control the acceleration and the other to turn left or right. It demands coordination but also leads to hours upon hours of good fun.
Of course, when you get bored of tracks Nadeo has to offer, you may try some of the hundreds (and there will certainly be thousands) created by other players. You may try creating a track yourself, using a track creation tool that even features a “random” mode. It’s important to state that you don’t have to worry about unusable tracks being published in this manner – before they are accepted all tracks must pass through player validation.
Visually, Trackmania Turbo is “previous generation” to a fault. If you’re looking for awesome graphics, good effects and textures, you won’t be able to find them here, but in that case Trackmania isn’t a game for you. The more pressing issue is that Nadeo can’t seem to fulfill the full potential of Trackmania, and that clock is ticking. When the game first appeared, it was something new and fresh, so not fulfilling it was something that could have been overlooked. This is furthered by the fact that tracks begin to look alike after playing for a while, and this raises the question of how long will Turbo remain interesting to the players.
But besides that, the latest Trackmania is a game that belongs in the budget end of gaming, so in that regard there isn’t much to reproach them for. It offers enough entertainment for its price.
Author: Stefan Starović
Trackmania Turbo
Pros:
- Fun, especially in multiplayer
- Going back to the roots and what made Trackmania good
Cons:
- Unfulfilled potential
- It can become monotonous and generic over time
