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Game Review

Trackmania DS

  • Studio: Firebrand Games, Nadeo, Focus Home Interactive
  • Platform: Nintendo DS
  • Game Type: Racing

Trackmania is a PC racing game where the main objective is to complete course as fast as possible racing against “ghosts” to earn medals. These causes have jumps, speed boosts, banks and loops in them giving the game a variety of obstacles to throw at you. Trackmania DS is the handheld version of the game available for the Nintendo DS.

The game has over 75 tracks that are normal time trials as well as this it has 15 Platform tracks where you challenge is to complete it without falling off the sides or between jumps and counts the number of times you have to return to a checkpoint. It also contains 15 puzzle tracks where you build the course from the pieces provided.

The main problem with the game is the length of the tracks most tracks can be completed in 30 seconds or less, and it only takes one or two tries at early tracks to get the gold on them. The other problem is to do with the actual design of the tracks. unlike most games with this many courses in Trackmania DS there are only three types of courses; Stadium – driving a F1 type car on track, Desert – driving a NASCAR on highway and Rally – driving a rally car on a castle. Apart from looks there is hardly any difference between the three track types.

The platform tracks is where I got the most enjoyment out of this games, It was even fun failing at these tracks because most of the time it was about just missing a jump or going too fast and then falling in a hole in the floor. Puzzle mode is frustrating making a 3 dimensional track on the DS was not that intuitive and the standard view made it so you could not see small changes in the height of the track. I can see this being much easier on a bigger screen and with mouse controls. This is also the reason why I did not go into Editor mode that allows you to make your own tracks that can be shared with your friends.

Trackmania DS Promo ImageThe multiplayer mode is extensive allowing you to play with people without the game or even with only one DS. You can set the difficulty level of the tracks and play on any you have unlocked.

The main problem I have with this game is that it seems unfinished, there are times when the vehicle will fall through the floor while it is on the edge of the tiles or slightly change direction because the is a one pixel bump in the road. These are problems that should of been solved during bug testing and can sometimes ruin your enjoyment of an otherwise fun game.

Overall I would say that this game is just worth a rental if you either enjoy fast never remove your finger from the accelerator racing or a fan of the PC version wanting to play it on the go. Cool Minus.

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About The Author

Shaded Spriter

A 23 year old accountant, that watches too much television and always sees the good in anything he watches. While not watching television he spends his time playing board and roleplaying games in gaming societies in the North East of England.

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Article Information

  • Posted: Wednesday, February 11th, 2009
  • Author: Shaded Spriter
  • Filed Under: Review
Tags: , , ,

Comments

One Response to “Trackmania DS”
  1. David Quinn Q-Dog says:

    not much on racing games, but i can’t help but love my DS. And i can see the touchscreen being put to good use by smart companies for level design etc.

    nice review man!

    February 17, 2009 at 11:16 am

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