Although TrackMania has
been available on the DS
for a few years now,
Turbo is the latest
instalment for DS petrol
heads to engage in.
Sporting a variety of
whacky tracks that make
the TV series of Wipeout
look like child's play,
TrackMania Turbo DS is
the perfect solution for
a thorough gaming
experience.
From races to
multiplayer and best of
all, the ability to
create your tracks,
TrackMania Turbo is a
360 solution to not only
gaming but community
spirit. How so you may
ask? That's easy, the
tracks that you create
can be played by your
friends. And for those
older gamers... this is
as close as we'll get to
Stunt Car Racer!
At it's heart,
TrackMania Turbo DS (now
known as TM for
this review) is racing
game that boasts over
130 amazing tracks which
allows for loops de
loop, amazing jumps and
a variety of vehicles to
select from. In terms of
gameplay, TM offers the
player three modes of
play that include race,
platform and puzzle.
Race is basically
getting from point A to
B but the clock is your
enemy but with platform
and puzzle, it opens up
some truly tweaked
racing gameplay.
Platform removes the
clock and only penalises
the player if they crash
or fail to perform one
of the ridiculous jumps
or loops. This takes
away the pressure of a
clock as is perfect for
mastering the tracks.
Lastly, we have the
puzzle mode that gives
the gamer a half
finished track and using
your stylus, you need to
ensure that the track is
complete by a few choice
pieces.
Very interesting and
very fun at the same
time. Finally if you
want more control of the
environment, there is a
rather in-depth track
editor which allows you
to create and share your
TM masterpieces. This
does take some time to
master but it's
definitely worth it and
some of the tracks we
created were quite
impressive. In relation
to the controls,
sometimes console rage
comes into play,
especially when you miss
that critical jump or
don't have enough speed
to make a loop. This
does become a little
fiddly as the difficulty
increases and to make
matters worse, sometimes
it feels like the DS is
a little heavy with all
those hard and fast
turns.
Apart from
single-player, the game
contains a fun
multiplayer mode that
allows for wire DS
multi-card play and
wireless DS single-card
download play with up to
4 players. Sharing
tracks can also be done
via the wireless feature
of the DS. Tracks can
also be shared with the
greater DS community
online if that is your
style. Lastly, you can
even race other people
from around the world
thanks to the Wi-Fi
capabilities of the DS
and best of all... no
lag!
Graphically, it's a
rather good looking game
on the DS with some cool
environments that
include a stadium,
island, snow and a
coastal track. Initially
the tracks are a little
dull but as you
progress, the tracks
improve as do the stunts
and loops that you need
to race with. The sound
effects contain all the
grunts of the cars and
there is an ambient
style of racing
soundtrack that sounds a
little DS but it does
work.
The biggest change in
this instalment of
TrackMania for the DS is
the inclusion of online
options that really
makes this a community
based game. The car
racing is decent and the
controls are well mapped
on the DS. Although the
track editor does take a
little time getting use
to, the DS stylus is the
perfect accessory for
this. If you're after
some whacky races than
you've definitely come
to the right place. It's
a fun game from start to
finish that has tons of
racing replay value!
