Wait for the Drop
Can you review Trackmania 2: Canyon? I don’t know but let’s find out together. At its core Trackmania is an arcade racer with a block based track editor. That may not sound so special and doesn’t look that special if you haven’t played it. A review of a game like Trackmania inevitably leads to something of a review of the community. The community provides the best and the bulk of the content for the game so it is only fair that it received its due share of credit and criticism for how the game feels at the end.
Even without the community there are a lot of great things to say about this game. The gameplay itself is relatively simple. You drive around a track with other cars, though there are no collisions, and try to post the best possible time. You can restart the race at any point, and most matches come down to shaving just a few second off you time. For a $25 download only racer, this game looks and sounds phenomenal with great sound effects, crisp textures, and some top notch lighting. Menus are simple to navigate and look good, and the ladder point system, how your global rank is tracked, is addictive and keeps you racing into the wee hours of the morning. The track pieces are well designed and allow for a very wide range of tracks. The game is easy to customize with custom horns, car skins, and even textures. While the block editor itself is not horribly complicated, making a good course is still very difficult. It’s unfortunate that there really aren’t any tutorials for this game as it primarily focuses on the player learning as they go.
The community of Trackmania cannot be ignored as they provide so much great content. It may take some time to find a server, I would recommend the GiantBomb Official Classic, but once you find a server with the maps you like the fun never stops. Games move fast, never staying on one track to long, and for some reason the dubstep that permeates so many servers goes really well with the flow of the game.
I really can’t recommend this game enough. It is one of the most interesting and unique games that has come out so far this year and worth a pickup.
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