TrackMania 2 Canyon

Trackmania 2: Canyon brings back all the landmarks of the series. Easy and powerful editor, intuitive and fast gameplay, local and online multiplayer and tons of nice tracks. Additionally this chapter offers gorgeous lights, decent graphics and a great network full of official times, and ghosts, to confront with.

Aside from improved visuals and the (admittedly rather welcome) handling changes, there's no radical departure from the TrackMania formula here. If you read that as a criticism then, well, maybe you've already overdosed on previous releases. For everyone coming fresh to the track, TM2 is a rapid-paced, rapid-restart extravaganza and still an absolute delight.

A game that captures that rarest commodity in gaming: joy. It's an experience where comedy, camaraderie and personal improvement are tied together in one glorious whole. It's also a game that hasn't even got off the ground yet, as its community get to grips with the track creation tools and the potential for re-designing the environments.

Offers just enough tweaks to the formula to make it worth the download. Visually, it's not the prettiest racer out there, but the lighting can be particularly gorgeous at times and the system requirements are very reasonable. As the community settles in again, the amount of content will only grow from here given the excellent creation tools included.

Faster, bigger and more addictive than its predecessor, TrackMania 2: Canyon is the ultimate arcade racing game. With tons of crazy tracks from Nadeo and its passionate community, online races up to 200 player, world ladders and the in-game social network called ManiaPlanet, the hardest thing to do in TrackMania 2: Canyon is to stop playing it.

TrackMania 2: Canyon offers exactly what you're waiting for: many hours of arcade racing.

Trackmania 2 builds on the strengths of the predecessors and offers even more fun, experimentation, races decided by milliseconds and a powerful track editor. There's fun for months in it.

Canyon serves as an excellent continuation of the series, and if you loved it before you won't be disappointed.

If you expected some sort of a revolution with the new Trackmania, the first few minutes will prove you wrong. Canyon is a continuation of Nadeo's consistent way but with a new graphics engine and an addition of the ManiaPlanet system. Speed freaks will spend hundreds of hours with this game, perfecting their skills and advancing in the world rankings. It's a very good, sometimes perfect, arcade game, accesible for casual and hardcore gamers alike.

There are not many games out there that make drifting so enjoyable. But bear in mind that Trackmania may throw you off if you're a fan of traditional racing games. It's also a pity that the puzzles from the previous game in the series are now gone. [October, p.60]

Trackmania 2: Canyon is a must-have for racing fans who do not necessarily expect pure realism.

It's a game about community and sharing and Nadeo does a good job of wrapping up the whole of the Trackmania experience – local multiplayer, online competition, track and car editors and worldwide rankings – into one package.

TrackMania 2 can be frustrating, but still motivates to go on. Definately worth the price despite lacking content.

It is impossible to resist Trackmania 2. Simply put: Nadeo has developed one of the best PC games of recent years.

It's a great package for fans of the brand. There are many classic elements paired with some new and improved features (editor, content sharing, driving itself have been overhauled). It's anyway a multiplayer game, solo guys should look soemwhere else.

Great fun, if not exactly the step forward we were hoping for. New players will have a fantastic time gunning for best times and whizzing through the air, while old Trackmania legends will either take to the new challenge, or wonder why it's just the very same experience all over again.

Almost everything you'd want of a TrackMania, but as a TrackMania 2 it leaves a lot to be desired, and hopefully fixed. [Holiday 2011, p.76]

If you're looking for a high-fidelity racing sim, TrackMania isn't for you. If you're looking for a way to express yourself with custom-designed race tracks without having to invest months of effort, this is the game you're looking for!

Great in singleplayer, incomparable in multiplayer Trackmania 2 brings competition to a whole new level. If the game editor was better there would be no other flaws. [Nov 2011]

Brilliant budget priced arcade racing that recalls a simple, better gaming time. Be prepared to wear out the race reset key as you make the thousandth attempt at a perfect run, if just to show off your racing mastery to the world.

Nadeo trims away the unnecessary to make TrackMania 2: Canyon an arcade racing experience that is as focused as it is brilliant. Selection of tracks is a bit uneven, but the good ones are great. Simplistic yet complex racing that really comes alive in online mode.

A streamlined front-end and more clearly spelled-out progression would probably go a long way. But if you're up for digging around and find the idea of a driving game that's a little left-of-center exciting, TM2 is kind of incredible.

Although there isn't anything particularly innovative for the series, there are clear improvements in some areas and in general it's still immensely fun.

TrackMania 2: Canyon does everything you can expect of an arcade race game and much more. It's easy for starters and still offers a big enough challenge for the more experienced players. The editor is easy to use and gives players the chance to show off their coolest creations.

It's just a great idea, updated to modern standards and with no other intention than being extremely fun. And it succeeds in it.

TrackMania is back, and just as fun as ever. The new environment will no doubt be a hit among both new and old players, though it does feel a bit disappointing to go from seven environments in TrackMania United Forever to just one (so far) in TrackMania 2.

TrackMania 2: Canyon is an exciting arcade racer that fluctuates between the highly accessible and the extremely complex.

TrackMania 2: Canyon builds on the series' basic but aggressively addictive racing formula without hamstringing its newcomer-friendliness or sacrificing the over-the-top vibe of its zany track designs.Highly recommended for fans of adrenaline racing.

Trackmania is back! Except it's the same old game once again, only more beautiful and somewhat more refined. Racing online is especially fun and addicting, but why is there only one environment and only one single player mode? The fact that this has about the same amount of content as the free Trackmania Nations is disappointing. [Feb 2012]

Canyon may well become the definitive version of this smile-inducing stunt racer, but unless you're already a veteran it may be worth waiting a while before taking this sequel for a drive. [Issue#115, p.100]

A prettier but more generic experience overall. Still fun, but somewhat lacking in the skill department. [Dec 2011, p.62]

Quotation forthcoming.

Mice seem to have got at the game modes and vehicle selection but despite the paucity of options this is still one of the most original and fun racers on any format.

I liked the sense of accomplishment I felt after completing a complex level, and online play is entertaining. Racing game fans won't find the same type of gameplay in Gran Turismo, as the arcade style gameplay leans more toward the casual crowd.

Fans of TrackMania Nations and its Stadium course, in particular, will have a hard time adjusting to the heavy, drifty handling that is, for the moment, the only way to race in TrackMania 2.