Buy Trackmania Turbo

Ever wanted to know how being f*cked by karma is like? Trackmania Turbo give the perfect answer. Remember how fun jumps and loops were? They're not anymore. Controls and car physics are often frustrating. The game also has less features than the others TM and online multiplayer is already almost dead.

I miss the golden age of United...

just a pain in the ♥♥♥ for all TM-veterans
poor console port
even though they have done right with the new environment quite a bit

- no custom music
- no custom vehicle skins
- no custom horns
- no customizable trackparts
+ controller support for the new editor
+ great music
+ double drifter KOOP

Note: If your biggest problem with TrackMania Turbo is the Uplay implementation, stop reading now. I'm not a fan either, but this review will do nothing to challenge your opinion.

And so we begin...

Read through the negative reviews and you'll begin to see a pattern emerge. A depressing, banal pattern. A group of people so deeply ingrained into their own cosy society they fail to see the forest for the trees.

TrackMania Turbo does not let you customise your avatar. Shocker! Nor does it let you customise your car, your name, your horn or your server. I mean, strictly speaking, it does let you customise three of those things, but not in the same way its predecessor, TrackMania 2 did. You'll unlock new skins and stickers as you progress through the game, and hosting a multiplayer session supplies you with more or less all of the options you'd reasonably expect from a game of this type. Happy times, right?

But wait. This isn't good enough for the snivelling elite. "Why can't I choose my OWN avatar?" they cry. "What if I want to assault players' ears with some Katy Perry while they drive?", "Why am I unable to smear their screens with ugly and pointless UI elements, just so I can enjoy a modest sense of authority?". The previous TrackMania game was undoubtedly far more open in terms of customisation. The reality is, however, that most of it was trash. I'm sorry, but custom horns and car skins are NOT that exciting and the majority of private servers looked as though someone had just eaten a phone book and promptly thrown up over the screen. Enough of that bullcrap about consoles dumbing down PC games, TrackMania was in desperate need of a clean up.

And that's precisely what Nadeo have done. They've scraped off the scum and revealed a sparkling core underneath. Let me describe said core.

Put simply, TrackMania can be described as a hotlap racer. The aim of the game is not to outwit your opponents in a head-to-head battle, but to master the track. This goal is enforced by the fact you're not actually able to collide with other cars at all. In both single player and online, other racers are essentially ghosts, forming vague representations of your opponents and their efforts to set low lap times. To put it simply, your biggest enemy is yourself. You'll repeat tracks over and over in quick succession, tapping the reset/restart buttons whenever the slightest mistake is made and slowly but surely, edging your way ever closer to perfection. Once you complete a lap (or several, in multilap events) your time will be awarded and your position displayed; bronze, silver or gold in single player and your rank versus other players in online matches. Then you'll hit the restart button for the thousandth time, because you know you can do better.

In many racing games, this style of play could rightfully be considered dull, but not here. You've probably noticed via the promotional material that TrackMania tracks are out of this world cer-ay-zay. Drifting? Check. Blistering high speeds? You got it. Twists, loops, ramps, quarter pipes, magnetic tracks, jumps, wall rides and nail-biting close calls with brick walls? Par for the course, my friend! This is the true essence of TrackMania. The beating heart. The reason you came. And the same can be said for all TrackMania games. They're fantastic. The single thread that runs through the series, the one unifying theme that ties the franchise together... is the track design and the ability to create your own tracks. That hasn't gone anywhere. It's present in TrackMania Turbo and quite possibly better than ever.

On the subject of unity, another point of contention seems to be the apparent separation of the player base. This is probably going to come across as patronising, but... yeah, that's kind of the nature of sequels. The general idea is that most players switch over, new players join and only a few stragglers are left behind. If you really want to whine about separation, direct it at the previous game. You know, the one that split each environment into individual releases. The truth is that TrackMania Turbo has done more to fix the separation issue than it has to worsen it. The more people move forward and pick it up, the more unified the community will be.

Now, I'm not saying this is a flawless game. I have a modest, slowly growing list of issues I'd like to see addressed with a patch, but I had a list for the previous game too. A fairly sizeable list, if I'm honest. However, stepping back, taking a look at what really matters and focusing your attention on those central suppliers of enjoyment is all it takes to prove that ALL TrackMania titles are games worth playing. TrackMania Turbo being no exception.

What an utter disappointment. No dedicated servers, no local or Dedimania leaderboards online, no customization of cars or nicknames, no way to hide your opponents, only 100 players max, a dumbed down console port that treats its users as a bunch of ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ and on top of that forces you to install and always log onto Uplay.

I've been playing ALL Trackmania games since the first game came out 13 years ago. Trackmania United is by far my favorite, though Trackmania Stadium 2 ain't too bad either. Trackmania never really was a $60 AAA game; it's a fun game which you can jump into and play for 30 mins and then alt+f4 back to reality. It's a chill game series but has the ability to let you practice for hundreds of hours to master the fine physics to become the best. Trackmania Turbo is not that kind of a game.

Trackmania Turbo is mediocre, and it disappoints in so many areas. This is the first game in the series that forces you to install a third party client called Uplay. Why this nonsense? Not any particular reason, it's apparently just how Ubisoft deal with all their games. You can't opt out from it at all. You gotta make a separate account and then log into both Steam and Uplay every time you wanna play the game. It sucks. Another thing is max 100 players. This isn't impressive at all if you've played the previous games where there have been 700 players online on one server fighting for the podium. PCs can handle that. Stop forcing PC gamers to follow the console limitations.

I really looks as if they just took the shell of the previous games and add some restrictions and removed some freedom and customization. I'm requesting a refund but might buy it at the summer sales if it's like 85% off.

Don't waste your money.

A lot of people have the wrong idea about Trackmania Turbo. They are seeing it as a sequel to Trackmania 2 (also known as ManiaPlanet). The fact of the matter is that TMT is infact, NOT a sequel. It is merely a spin off for consoles, except that the developers brought it to PC so we wouldn't miss out too.

If you approach TMT as a side project, and not a sequel to TM2, then it is a very fun, enjoyable experience. It has all the stuff that is required for fun times with friends and other players online. Up to 4 player splitscreen, Double Driver mode (where two people control one car), and, of course a single player mode and track editor.

For those of you who are freaking out about the 'consolified' editor, calm down! The classic editor is still there, to access it, start making a new map, and then you just need to move your mouse up to the top of the screen (so the menu bar shows), and click on the cog/gear, and choose the classic editor :)

For video makers, the video editor is still there, too. It's accessed the same way (via the menu bar's cog/gear) on any of the main menus.

Physics-wise, Nadeo seem to have tweaked the handling of existing environments (Canyon, Stadium, and Valley). None of the tweaking has rendered the environments bad to play, and they still retain their exclusively different handling styles.

I can't give a complete coverage of optimization, as my system is fairly powerful. However, I have not had any performance issues at all, and no crashing either. However, it's running the exact same engine as Trackmania 2, so if you can run that, then you probably won't have any troubles running this!

Sadly, you cannot paint your car in a detailed way in this game (like in Trackmania 2). This, again, is because it is a spin off side game for consoles, that was also released on PC to keep us happy. I won't complain - they could have not released the game at all for PC.

All in all, this is a very solid fun game, and is worth picking up if you like fast-paced, skill based racing.



Final rating: 8/10 (two points lost for track complexity limit, this could have easily been disabled for PC!).

THIS ISNT TRACKMANIA! THIS IS AN ABORTION!
I'm sorry - Its a typically Ubisoft product.
Once again you destroyed another legendary game franchise.

There was a big scene and community about TM for years, but now its gone.
-NO DEDICATED SERVERS
-NO DEDIMANIA PLUGINS ETC.
-NO CUSTOMIZATION (HORN, AVATAR, ETC)
-TRACKBUILDER IS CRAP

Why did they change the most important things we loved in TM?
What were they thinking?

I'm just pi*sed - nothing more to say. really pi*sed. It hurts to see my favorite racing game of all time getting rap#ed from these devs. You owe us something ubisoft. It was a big mistake to buy one of your products - every release you did in the last years speaks for itself. I hope people realise what kind of games you are producing - there is absolutely no passion to produce a game with an active community that lives longer than 6 months, I am not a f**king cow! I'm just a gamer who wanted to play TM - but I can't have fun with this one :-( A VERY SAD DAY FOR ME

P.S.: I would change my rating and review once our old TM is back and the missing things are implemented again

Trackmania Turbo was supposed to bring some fresh air into the series. The environments seem fun even though it's basically just the previous 3 environments plus a new one, but the COMPLETELY console focused gameplay ruins it, especially when playing the Rollercoaster Lagoon environment with keyboard instead of a controller. In addition to that the UPlay requirement completely disconnects TMT from the previous games, which means I can't really play with some of my old friends anymore.

Trackmania Turbo takes a good chunk of what was fun in the previous parts and turns them into something that is barely any good. Customization is now limited to paintjobs only, and not even different paintjobs per environment. Thanks to Uplay you can't change your nickname in ways you could do it before, and stuff like horns, avatars, custom car models/skins are all gone. Dedicated servers are also gone, which means that servers (or rather lobbies) can only be hosted on Nadeo's services, giving the host barely any control over how the server works and also eliminates things like Dedimania.

Overall Trackmania Turbo is really disappointing in a lot of aspects that made the Trackmania series so iconic and fun.

As a veteran, I am disappointed.

But since there is a demo out there, I'd recommend people to try it before making a choice on buying this game.

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Edit: I'm gonna add some more stuff to my review since it has caused quite a discussion.

The main reason why I dislike Trackmania Turbo is because it leaves the existing Trackmania community behind, a lot of community driven features are not present in Turbo, the multiplayer doesn't allow for custom servers. The number one community feature just gets dropped for some lame-♥♥♥ wannabe server system, allowing for no customization at all, no jukebox, no plugins, no dedimania to compare your times against the world and the server itself. What is Trackmania without record-hunting? Leaderboards exist, yes, but they're practically useless.

Turbo doesn't allow saving/editing replays for videos or exporting tracks to upload them on stuff like TMX, one of the community-heavy features that made Trackmania as big as it is today and effectively killing off those communities (for this game at least.)

The game itself is okay, but the fact that Nadeo disregards what made Trackmania such a success is simply outrageous.

This is a pretty hard review to make, because Trackmania Turbo really isn't a bad game at all. Nadeo did a great job at optimizing it, with even my potato managing a smooth 60 frames at lowest settings. The game still looks great, even with the options cranked down. It is nice to see that they made sure it would run on lower end computers. The aesthetic, while goofy at times, is still pleasing and definitely is welcome change up. They even managed to mostly hit the addictive nature of the series, with the "just a little faster" mentality really showing through. Unfortunately though, the game bleeds compromise.

I don't want to be the type of person to say that devs should make their games exactly like the previous installments. Fans can really stop Devs from trying something new or creating a creative game from an existing title. Series that produce new games with only some new levels and a fresh coat of paint are walking a fine line. Racing games are hard to make creative sequels for though. There is only so much one can change in a racing game without compromising what makes the racing game unique. Nadeo did a good job with Trackmania 2, changing up the pace a bit with a rally mode, among other things. Turbo though, appears to completely changed up some core concepts of Trackmania to an unwelcoming degree.

Alot of the fun came from Trackmania's extremely unique take on racing. The cars where responsive to an unrealistic degree, and gripped the track like a magnet. The challenge, especially in later levels, would be maintaining speed in an increasing chaotic and cramped track. You had all the tools though to floor it, the question was did you have the skill. It was an idealized version of racing, where cars never skidded out, and one could restart at the push of a button. Wanted to go 600 kmh on a completely vertical curved portion of a wall? Why not? I have yet to play a game that approaches driving exactly the way Trackmania does.

Turbo appears to have gone the route of its contemporaries though, and features a more realistic idea of driving. The cars have weight, and will do more normal car things. In doing this, they have made the game feel less precise. It is not to the level of weight of Need for Speed or Burnout have, but appears to be a mix of these games and classic Trackmania. It feels more precise than alot of it's rivals, but, unfortunately, is kinda easy like them as well, and has mechanics that could have been approached in a more Trackmania way. For example; I don't mind added blatant drifting to the game, but here it is incredibly simple. I expect a technique that allows one to cut off such large amounts of time to be a challenge to pull off, but it isn't at all. In the previous games drifting was difficult to control, and would only save time if one really understood how it worked. Here it seems to be thrown in because it is expected, or because it looks cool, not really to be an advanced technique to help one on the quest for the shinnies.

This kinda sums up the game though. It is simply a gentrification of an already established series. Past installments have been completely community run. Nadeo lays out the frame work, and the community goes nuts. Here though, with the addition to a console port, Ubisoft has appeared to have forced Nadeo to turn it into every other game, with mechanics vaguely reminiscent of past titles, but mostly missing the mark. The car customization is laughable, and really doesn't feel like you are being creative in the slightest. The lack of community servers is sad, and even pc ports of other console games often have this. It has lost the community driven attitude of the past games, with only the track editor really remaining. Every decision has appeared to make the game more generic, to entice more people to try out the series. Only when one stops to sit though does one wonder why it was done in the first place. Why is there a random track option? It is a neat concept, but the tracks end up feeling imprecise and not very satisfying. Couldn't this time and money have been spent on something better. Apparently no

Every new feature or mechanic seems like a ploy by Ubisolf to entice more fans, but all seem to really lack depth. Am I going to spend more than five minutes with a friend on the two controllers one car mode? Probably not. I would rather race them one on one instead. It is amazing how long the last games have lasted with only a (admittingly amazing) track editor and community servers options. Here though, not only have they added a bunch of gimmicky features, but also made the game feel less skill based and more generic.

It isn't a bad game. There is nothing wrong with pretty racing games that make you feel like you are going a million miles an hour and that have drifting that make you feel like Ken Block. But to not only lower the skill ceiling of one of the hardest racing games out there, but to also completely change its focus from community driven to something else is sad. I suppose it was inevitable, with Ubisoft being the publisher and whatnot, but it is still a disappointment to see.

This is all coming from the perspective of a fan though. To those who haven't played or haven't enjoyed past Trackmania games, you should defiantly give it a go. It has fast racing, a great sense of speed, an addictive time trail mode, and gorgous visuals. To those expecting a new Trackmania game though, look elsewhere.

Oke so as a long time Trackmania fan. I have to give my opinion of this. Stated in other reviews below me this game is quite a dissapointment.

First of all, like many have already pointed out, Lackluster customization. Basicly none if you ask me. Get a bunch of medals and earn some skin for your car that looks like ♥♥♥♥. even with the Uplay ''Legendary skins'' your car will look like ♥♥♥♥. Slap some stupid sticker on your car that you CANNOT place yourself.

2nd. Where the absolute ♥♥♥♥ is the save recordings button? better yet, where the ♥♥♥♥ is the edit replay section? i love playing around in edit replay mode to try and capture some cool shots of me driving a map. Speaking of maps......

3rd. Trackbuilder,,,,,Holy ♥♥♥♥♥. The amount of console peasantry in the trackbuilder is insane, the 1st thing you will notice when you enter this mode is that you have to move the blocks you want to place with the arrow keys.....like wtf? yes...this was advanced edit mode.

4rd. Uplay. No further discussion needed.

5. No dedicated servers. Speaks for itself. No customization on servers.

If you are looking for an arcade racer game to play for 30 mins to an hour. and not deal with anything else. Yea, go ahead and buy the game. However, if you are a previous TM fan and want to customize, edit replays etc....Stay away from this! Buy it when its on sale.

I've been a longtime Trackmania fan, and this is the most fun I've had in a Trackmania game.
Trackmania Turbo is a skill-based hotlap racing game where you play in one of four unique environments on an infinite variety of player-made (or randomly generated) tracks. It's fast, it's difficult, it's technical, and it's crazy fun.

Pros:
-New environment (Lagoon Rollercoaster) feels like a remake of the Snow environment from TMUF, and it looks amazing
-Completely updated UI (It looks fantastic now. There are no 'janky' looking default font text labels popping up on the screen.
-Cool new art direction (All of the signage, scenery objects that are present in all environments)
-Unified gameplay experience (No need to close the game and open another just to play a different environment)
-Double Driver is a really fun new multiplayer mode
-New parts and smoother gameplay for existing environments
-Huge singleplayer campaign

Cons:
-From what I can tell, you can't save or edit your replays at this point. I hope this is either a planned or accidentally hidden feature.
-Less customization than previous Trackmania games (for example, no custom car models)*
*This might not really be a bad thing. I personally prefer the more coherent art style that this forces.
-You can't reassign controller inputs. The default layout is okay, but I'd prefer using the right analog stick for acceleration and brake (the default layout maps it to nothing at all).


Should you buy it?
-It's not an essential purchase if you are already invested in TM2, or if you prefer the deep customization of TM2.
If you're looking to get into Trackmania, or if you want a more unified experience, this game is worth getting. Despite the bad reviews, this game is highly appealing and very fun in my opinion, and I think you'll have fun with it too. Best "6 out of 10 -Steam" I've ever played.