TrackMania Sunrise Review

It is not that I dislike more elaborate games, but in a time where realism and immersion seem to be most popular, Sunrise is a relief to play. Impossible speeds, impossible tracks, and impossible stunts create possibly the finest arcade driving available.

It has little in common with typical racing games, and considering its title, one screenshot should reveal the concept: it's about maneuvering your vehicle through loops and half-pipes without flying out the track, while being as fast as you can and still have the shortest and smoothest line through the track with the least amount of errors. Things such as extra controls, damage or collisions would only complicate matters because that’s not where the focus of the game lies; your main opponent is the track, then time and then everyone else. There isn’t much else to tell except that you'll have to experience the rush of flying through a cleverly designed track yourself. I think it is pointless to ask if this is "fun," the question is was it done right? Thanks to enjoyable physics and a great track editor Trackmania is not just a good idea you'll love but get bored with in a day or two. Nadeo gives you the tools to create tracks, participate in online play, give you a varied single player campaign and different gameplay styles. Both racing and track building are integral to the game and its success.

Besides the expected improvements--such as mouse driven interface, better menu organization and general polish--Sunrise features three entirely new environments. Each one corresponds to a different vehicle with a different racing style. Island presents you with stable and responsive racing cars racing around vast and wide open tracks; Bay is the place for slower, “bouncy” (as in higher suspension) vehicles, where tracks are more technical with a lower degree for error because it has sharp and fast corners; Coast comes closer to real-life physics and offers slow paced driving with heavy and sluggish cars-- precise stopping and turning is essential. Common in all three styles is the imaginative track designs which you can try to copy or surpass with the included track building tools.

Editing and planning new tracks is as another game in itself and is actually one of the single player game modes. It will take you a minute to get acquainted with the interface, but once familiar, with a few clicks you can start creating whatever comes to mind. At any time you can instantly test drive your work-in-progress, then go back and make corrections and additions. The only requirements are starting and ending points, the rest is up to you.  You can make each track it as long or as short, as high or as low, as you desire and this time even add affects which will be triggered during actual races. A new feature called Media Tracker allows camera changes, text or images to be activated in-game for everyone. For example, if a tricky section of the track is approaching and you want to help the racer, you can put a text or a sign giving quick instructions as to what is coming next, such as a very large jump with a narrow ending. An intro and outro for your map can be also added which are displayed at the proper time for all players.

There is also a timeline based editor where you save, edit, benchmark, view or combine your replays. If you wish, you can race through a track a hundred times, save a hundred replays, and then edit them all at once as if a hundred people actually raced at the same time. This is especially useful for directly comparing different times set by yourself or others, or for making interesting game videos. Nadeo even included a powerful paint editor used for customizing your vehicle. It's extremely versatile an easy to use--of course  you can create completely custom brushes, stickers, images or skins and simply import and use them.  It took me five minutes to put the 2404 logo on my vehicles.

Graphics

I found Trackmania to be a nice looking game.  Sunrise is a few notches above that, partly because of more graphical features, partly because of more lush environments. Everything now is built over water, and watching nice pixel shaded reflections is certainly better than seeing endless desert and snow covered hills in all directions. There is a lot more scenery around and inside the tracks, such as buildings, trees, sign posts, and boats. Add to that large scale maps, four different times of day, modern looking sports cars, it’s sometimes hard to find your way through all that glamour. The original game had none of it, and the only thing you saw was the track and where you were supposed to go. Often I need to test drive the map to orient myself first, despite the numerous road signs pointing the way around me; however both layout and density depend on the track author, and at least now you have an option on how to decorate.

Multiplayer

Online play is identical to what you can do offline, but you are setting and beating records in real time along with other people. Changing positions, lap times, and ranking are instantly displayed on your screen as it happens, so at any time you know how well you’re doing against the rest. It's a more personal experience than other games because everyone has their own avatar, description, sounds and images, all of which can be easily seen or accessed through the menu. You can talk or spectate at your convenience without restriction and whenever you wish return to racing and record breaking.

A great feature is that other players automatically download your files when you happen to be playing in the same room. Since tracks are made with blocks and data which everyone already has, they are small in size and again are automatically used each time you join a server. Best of all you don’t notice any of this happening, you just join a room, load a map, and see tracks and custom content like it’s always been on your hard drive.

Conclusion

The idea behind the game is very simple and unchanged from Trackmania, and like all simple ideas you'll get enjoyment out of it in minutes. Unlike most such games Sunrise is packed full of features and what you get with it--besides a unique solo experience--are tools to effortlessly create custom content and share it and enjoy it together with everyone else. It is less than a year old and the community has already made an incredible amount of tracks and vehicles, and Nadeo released a free expansion pack. A few months ago the original Trackmania was updated to Sunrise's features and graphics engine, so most of what I said in the review applies to it as well. Whichever version you pick up expect quick and fun gaming in an unusual way.

Reviewed on A64 3200+, 1GB PC3200 DDR, LeadTek 6600GT 550/1125