TrackMania DS

The only problem is that lack of personality or vibrancy.

If Mario Kart isn't quite your thing, give Trackmania DS a try -- it's a fairly solid, very competent racing game in its most basic form, and offers up an enjoyable if basic racing experience on a handheld.

Despite these flaws, we still like TrackMania DS for being a game that doesn't take itself too seriously. If you don't take it that seriously, we think you'll have a pretty good time with this game. The lack of online multiplayer and course trading is a real shame, though.

Clever Puzzle challenges incorporate track building with racing while Platform and Race events test your driving abilities in short, fun bursts. [Apr 2009, p.85]

TrackMania DS is, without a shadow of a doubt, one of the best racing games on the DS.

TrackMania DS is a decent attempt to bring a treasured PC title to the DS, and while two of the three modes are pretty playable, it never rises above ‘competent’.

It succeeds on certain levels, retaining the pick-up-and-play charm of the PC version and providing a ton of tracks and challenges for players to tackle. Its track editor is also a triumph, and its incorporation into the game's Puzzle mode and multiplayer component is brilliant, extending the life of the title and providing gamers a reason to come back. Unfortunately, it falls short of its potential due to an irritating game camera, a sometimes-frustrating difficulty level, and a baffling lack of online play.

In this day and age, you just can't get away with not sharing user-created content online. [Mar 2009, p.95]

Although I personally wasn't too impressed with this offering, I will say that my son (age 7) absolutely fell in love with it.

The core racing, platforming and puzzling is good, albeit hindered slightly by the visuals, but without the competitive edge that the PC game offered there's little here to make you come back.

As it stands, TrackMania DS is a suitable and fun racing game. We would like to see more with a sequel, including longer tracks, a friendlier track editor and online options, but for now, it's still worth a few laps.

You can have a good time with Trackmania DS, but just don't be looking for anything close to the Gran Turismo experience.