Trackmania: Power Up! review

This is one of the more sane track layouts you'll see.

When we were young, we all had our favourite toys. Whether it was Lego or Meccano or action figures or radio-controlled cars, everyone had their own preferred plaything. What must have surely been the most fun was when childhood imagination combined disparate playthings - two toys that were never designed to work together were combined with enormously exciting results. After all, when you're seven, ideas of GI Joe taking Barbie hostage or putting My Little Pony up in front of a firing squad are the best things ever, and far more constructive uses of your little sister's toys than she'll ever come up with, right?

In Gear

You'll want to stay at the front of the pack in survival mode - you'll skip stages and avoid disqualification.

No matter what your personal experiences were, the fact is that two simple ideas fused together can be much, much better than one. Imagine Trackmania as a toy box of not just four-wheeled fun, but also puzzle-based construction. It's like an official exam in Scalextric, challenging your driving abilities as well as your track-building ones. It takes about ten seconds to understand the premise of the main game: build a track from point A to B, using a strictly limited amount of track sections, then race along it as quickly as you can. If at first you don't succeed, improve either your driving or your layout.

Upon its initial release, Trackmania was well received, thanks to being so easy to pick up and play, and now it's back with additional tracks, improved netcode and a new racing challenge: survival mode. It even looks a little more attractive too.

Get a Grip

Expect to catch some serious air. Frequently.

Anyone who fancies themselves as a track architect may find construction a little fiddly - I'd much prefer if everything was a little more mouse oriented - but it's still a relatively simple task to rotate, raise, lower and drop track sections into place, weaving your tarmaced creation through checkpoints or underground, and adding ramps or bridges where necessary. After you've chosen your desired layout, racing arcade-style across it is a little joy all of its own. Trackmania features three vehicles, a feisty rally car, a temperamental but powerful Mustang-style vehicle and a 4x4 that sticks to the tarmac like a particularly unlucky example of local wildlife.

Each of these vehicles handles noticeably differently, but all of them stick two fingers up at the precise laws of physics and let you throw them around as you wish. Each is easy to drive but harder to master and the often... how can I put it?... utterly insane track designs you are forced to work with or endure ensure things are never too predictable.

Feeling Tyred

Multiplayer can be something of an anticlimax and isn't particularly social either.

Now, I have some reservations about Trackmania, the most significant one being the difficulty of the game. Or, more specifically, the lack of difficulty. When playing through the dozens of courses on offer, either simply as a racer (one possible option), both as a track builder and racer, or as a competitor in a knockout race with the AI, it's difficult to really foul things up. Having a few warm-up challenges is fine, but Trackmania has you cruising for far too long and suddenly you realise you've completed half the game without having to think too much.

Ideally, this is where online play should paper over the holes. Being able to exchange original track designs and challenges with other players is a bonus, but it's racing against them in real time that will get most people's interest. Trackmania's original netcode was a bit unreliable at times and there's definite signs of an improvement here. However, not being able to collide with your competitors means you're essentially reduced to multiplayer time trials. It's not as exciting as it could be.

Construction Complete

It might look small, but it’s got it where it counts.

Trackmania is still enjoyable. The core concept is a good one and being able to design and share your own tracks will extend the lifespan of the game, as long as other users participate. At present, the online community is visible, but it's hardly expansive. Without it, Trackmania is good entertainment for a few afternoons, a short game not due to a lack content, but simply a lack of serious challenges.