TrackMania: Sunrise Hands-On

Let's get something clear: I don't mind driving simulations. I don't mind arcade-driving games. I don't mind driving cars at all, virtual or not, provided I can shoot at people out of my car. Shooting at people while driving is fun, and you should definitely try this once. What? You think I'm not giving a good example to our youth by saying this. Maybe you're right; but then, I'm just a poor Internet journalist; nobody listens to me. Now, if I were a president of a big, influential industrialized nation with an arsenal of nuclear weaponry at my fingertips? Now that would be something else. I could shoot people with the pretext of doing it for their own good. But I am not a president, not even a petty criminal, and I just can't lie to you, my faithful readers. Shooting people isn't for their own good. It's for my own good, as it restores my inner peace and puts me in perfect balance with the outside world, making me love my inner self and appreciate what makes me...ME.

In case you're wondering, I'm flying.

The key thing with flying is knowing when and how to land... with spectacular results.

Enlight's Trackmania Sunrise is a driving simulation game that, alas, doesn't allow you to engage in some driveby shooting, but it allows the player to enjoy some of the most amazing rides that defy gravity, torn between the rush to perform more impressive air loops and the need to vomit your guts out. Be not afraid, most affable reader, as this is not a bad thing at all. This game will help you obtain a different driving experience that would require heavy use of synthetic drugs in real life.

Trackmania Sunrise is the sequel to Trackmania, a charming driving arcade with colorful graphics and cleverly designed tracks that force you to perform different acrobatics with your car at full speed. The sequel seems to have even better controls than the original, with even faster action with an equally simple to understand interface.

The game features several basic modes, the main ones being single and multiplayer. Multiplayer is available via LAN and Internet, while single-player involves official campaigns, as well as community campaigns and single challenges. This means you can load and play tracks made by other gamers, or design your own tracks and test them out.

The core of the game is the main campaign, where you are allowed to drive a series of tracks and achieve a medal in order to unlock other tracks. Campaign consists of several gaming options, such as Race, Platform, Puzzle, and Survival, where the latter can be unlocked only by successful completion of other modes.

Race is a self-explanatory mode of play: you race against other cars on a number of different tracks which complexity advances with time. The game's an arcade racer, so there's no need to worry about inconsequential things like the damage model or realistic driving physics. Banging into walls at full speed may turn your car upside down or send it flying through the air, but the impact will have absolutely no consequences on your vehicle. Hitting other competitors is disabled, so you can only drive through other cars as if they weren't there. This may sound a bit strange, but in practice this proves to be rather fun. What also adds to the game's playability is the fact the controls are as simple as in the original. All you need to use to drive your car through the imaginative and sometimes tricky levels are the four arrow buttons: to accelerate, reverse, or steer right or left. These four simple controls, with the addition of brakes (space key is the default mapping), allow you to perform all necessary moves in the game. Sounds easy as pie, but you can't explore the world from the watery perspective even on the easy difficulty setting if you do not pay attention to where you land. In other words, you will land in water and shamefully drown, you idiot.

Sometimes you will be forced to make many attempts at completing a certain track, as you'll need to become familiar with it and know what to expect. The most important thing is to maintain speed, as some moves cannot be performed by driving sluggishly. (You mean like Maryland drivers? - Six) For example, you cannot jump off to another side of the bridge if you do not put the pedal to the metal. On the other hand, driving fast without knowing where you're going can have unpredictable consequences, like ricocheting off an embankment and landing squarely in the ocean. Still, I noticed I did not mind having to repeat race after race- even if I kept falling off the goddamn platform, it was always fun to give it another try. I guess the game's general simplicity and vibrant colors, together with the obvious fun factor, makes this a non-pretentious, yet very playable title. It's sad that only top-budget games draw any attention nowadays, even if they're nothing but worthless shit - games like this one should garner a bit more attention.

I am not looking forward to doing this, but my kids are watching me. Damn kids! I should have known better.

Yeah, I know I'm at the last place. I just didn't happen to bring my sunglasses, that's all. Say one more word and I'll run you over.

Other modes include Puzzle and Platform. These offer the same driving madness, only with several differences. The Puzzle mode allows you to build your own track by using up all the blocks at your disposal and putting them in appropriate places on the map. Once the map is built, you may try it out and complete it in a certain amount of time. As for the Platform mode, it's basically a solo racing mode. You race on a track, which consists of high-speed platforms, multiple loops, and such. Completing the track unlocks more tracks.

All in all, the game promises to have great replayability, and it's strange how you can never tire of driving around, flipping your car in the air and landing on the platform, then proceeding at full speed, driving up straight into the wall and up into the air again... It's really amazing. It would be advisable if you would step aside now, I need to empty my bowels once again.

Several hours spent in exploring the preview build we received was a surprisingly pleasant experience. I've never enjoyed driving off bridges this much before. I only wish cars were as useful in water as they were in the air; it's a pity you cannot turn into a submarine and sail around, shooting at the fish. What? Why the dirty look? Shooting fish is immensely fun, man. Especially the bloat fish; they explode with such spectacular particle effects.