The first big point to make is the glaringly obvious fact, that I mostly skipped over initially due to being new to the franchise, is the fact that TrackMania has been around for years as a PC game and has a huge following. This is not that game, this is a very mainlined and consolized version of that game. The core gameplay remains mostly the same from what I gather, but many of theThe first big point to make is the glaringly obvious fact, that I mostly skipped over initially due to being new to the franchise, is the fact that TrackMania has been around for years as a PC game and has a huge following. This is not that game, this is a very mainlined and consolized version of that game. The core gameplay remains mostly the same from what I gather, but many of the things that long term fans of the series have come to expect (like dedicated servers, and crazy customization features) are not present here. The PC version is (disappointingly) fundamentally identical to the PS4 and Xbox One versions of the game, with next to no additional features added for PC. It is also very locked down so there is little chance of it even being modded to include some features of the old games.
So now that's out of the way lets talk about the game that actually is there. In a sentence It's Fantastic. The mechanics and controls are extremely tight, performance is solid, the graphics are beautiful, and the soundtrack stands out as exceptional. The core gameplay (albeit mostly unchanged from previous games in the series) manges to find the perfect balance between fun and challenge without causing a great deal of frustration, which is exactly what you would want from an arcade style action-racing game like this.
There is a lengthy single player campaign, with a Trials-like medal system, with an appropriately stepped level of difficulty (Although the lack of a tutorial, throws you right in the deep end). The Bronze Medals are generally reasonably possible to get, often within the first couple of tries, Where Silver Medals require a decent amount of skill and effort, and Gold Medals are a step up again and require you to basically Master the track. As the campaign is gated by the number of medals in each category you have, If you want to see everything you will have to go for gold, however I think this should be achievable for most people who are dedicated to the Game.
There is also a local multi-player mode (a rarity in games these days), with both competitive and co-operative modes. I have not had a chance to try these modes yet, however I'm sure it'll hold up, if the rest of the game is anything to go by.
The online multi-player is also really fun. There are multiple modes, The ones I have tried are Race Mode, and Time Attack Mode. They are basically what they sound like, everything said above still holds mostly true for this mode, except this is competitive against other human players. I have been having great fun playing the Race Mode where you race with a group of others around selected user created tracks (see below). My biggest problem with the multi-player mode is the simple lack of fun (English Speaking) rooms to join, this could be a problem that'll fix itself as the game gains popularity, and it could also be very specific to the PC version.
Now for the user created tracks, this is where the game really starts to fault, Ubisoft have somehow managed to mess up pretty much everything around the user generated tracks. There is no easy way of browsing them at all. There is no way of playing them single player, and no reliable way of even saving them for people to see. This can simply be described as a "Hot Mess", and there is really very little excuse. Something as good as the steam workshop may be a little much to ask, however at least something half competent would have been much appreciated, If Nintendo can manage it on WiiU with Mario Maker, I'm sure Ubisoft could have figured something out for PS4, and Xbox One. I really hope that Ubisoft fix this at some point, to at least a usable standard because this is my biggest problem with the game.
In Summary, However, TrackMania Turbo is a great game all round and I recommend it to anyone at all interested in an Arcade like action-racing game, or even if you just like the visual aesthetic or concept of it. I understand the annoyed long term fans of the series, however this game has at least a couple of things that the older games don't, and that is much improved graphics and accessibility (even if it means some dumbing down). This was originally announced as a spin off, so lets hope that a PC only TrackMania 3 is also in the works somewhere, with much better graphics and all the features all the hardcore fans love. However until that day (that day may never come), We have this, which in my opinion is far from a "bad" Game.
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