The Trackmania series of racing games is built around one simple, elegant rule: Find the absolute fastest way to get from point A to point B.
There are no stats to decipher, car modifications to tweak or even much to master in the way of physics – only the unyielding drive to find the perfect line, flaunting your prowess on a particular track.
Trackmania DS is the latest in the series, and this Nintendo DS portable version mostly nails the charm and addictive nature of its big brothers on PC. There are plenty of tracks to unlock and master, a functional level editor and even track-based puzzles to solve. But running in circles alone gets old, and with no online multiplayer mode, your chances of really enjoying Trackmania DS come down to whether you have friends in the same room with you.
(Trackmania DS will be released March 17.)
There is no competitive racing in Trackmania – at least, not in the traditional sense. Every level is essentially a time trial, with gold, silver and bronze medals awarded for beating three different target race times. There aren't any computer opponents to race against, but if you'd prefer not to cruise along a barren track, you can opt to have "ghost cars" appear alongside you.
These computer-controlled ghosts will always travel the same path, and finish every race at the gold, silver and bronze completion times – they're designed for tracking your progress as you race toward the finish line. You can't collide into them or affect their driving, but mimic their maneuvers and you just might improve your own performance.
Falling behind or falling off the track happens rather often, as the game's camera is positioned directly behind your vehicle, and the road ahead is often obscured. Tapping the Y button will allow you to quickly restart a race, which is tantamount to offering nicotine addicts a carton of smokes and looking the other way. Tracks barely three minutes long would take me half an hour to complete, as I kept compulsively restarting to perfect my technique. The slightest adjustment to your course can dramatically affect your speed, forcing you to discover the most efficient way to complete a track – often through trial and error.
There are three distinct race types: Stadium, Desert and Rally, which will see you driving Formula 1 cars, 4x4s and Minis respectively. You don't have to complete races in any particular order; collecting medals unlocks progressively harder tracks. Stadium tracks are the bread and butter of the Trackmania series, featuring fiendishly complex circuit tracks with all manners of jumps, loops and hairpin turns. Desert racing adds pitfalls, perilous inclines and track obstacles to the mix, while Rally races are largely concerned with fighting to gain mastery over the hyperactive Mini, to say nothing of off-road elements and constrictive, serpentine trails.
You can create your own tracks with the game's built-in editor. It is surprisingly robust, allowing you to save and trade up to 60 custom levels. Using the Nintendo DS' touchscreen, you need only draw the path you'd like to create, and the game will figure out the general layout of twists and turns for you. Adding jumps and more complex track features will require a bit of extra wrist work, but correcting any errors or adding extra features is all quite intuitive, once you've gotten the hang of manipulating the camera.
Trackmania DS also features Platform and Puzzle modes. Platform mode requires that you travel from one end of a track to the next, dodging various holes and pitfalls. Hitting the X button will allow you to restart from the nearest checkpoint, which is helpful, as these tracks are usually quite long. There is no time limit on Platform tracks; medals are awarded for retrying as little as possible.
Puzzle mode is the oddest of the bunch, as it makes use of the track editor. Presented with an incomplete race course consisting of a start point, an end point and a few checkpoints, you're tasked with creating a track that connects them all. You'll then be required to race on the track you've built, with medals awarded for speedy completion times.
Earning medals will also reward you with coppers, Trackmania's currency. You can use coppers to purchase more than 100 new tracks, new skins for your cars and new items and objects to use in the game's track editor.
Trackmania lends itself to glorious multiplayer competition – provided you can actually find someone to race against.
As fun as the single-player modes can be, the Trackmania experience is primarily about shaving half a second off of a friend's (or a complete stranger's) best lap time, thus ruining their day. Few handheld experiences are as satisfying as watching an opponent become utterly flummoxed by expert control on mind-bogglingly complex tracks. But when you're constrained to local games, the opportunity to find opponents to race against drops dramatically.
There are two multiplayer modes in Trackmania DS: a
Hotseat mode, which will see you passing a single DS among a number of friends, and a local Wi-Fi mode, which can be played a single copy of the game – although you will only be able to play in the Stadium environment and won't be able to use custom tracks if you and your racing pals only have one cartridge between you.
Let's be realistic: Your odds of getting four friends with four copies of the game and four DSes in one place for a dedicated racing session aren't very high. That's where the lack of online gameplay really hurts.
Trackmania DS is a great game. But racing time trials and designing tracks starts to lose its appeal when you don't have anyone to share the experience with. If you're having trouble convincing your friends to buy the DS game, remember that the PC version of Trackmania is incredibly popular – and free.
Images courtesy Atlus
WIRED Loads of content; intuitive; robust track editor makes for near-limitless racing opportunities
TIRED No online play; camera is occasionally frustrating
$30, Atlus
Rating: 
