Here's some lovely footage of Trackmania 2 shot by some folks on the beta, spotted on RPS. The absurdly smooth driving skills make us think that it might be a well-programmed bot doing the driving in this one. Every turn is nailed with unflinching perfection, which means we're free to coast along and enjoy the gorgeous new environments.

Like the first games, Trackmania 2 will ship with powerful editing tools that will let players create and share new tracks. The first game, TrackMania Nations Forever, is free to download from Steam. The sequel is due out later this year. Check out the official Trackmania 2: Canyon site for more.

Nadeo's International Project Manager, Edouard Beauchemin has shared new Shootmania details with PC Gamer. We fired questions at him before having "one more go" on the upcoming Trackmania Canyons at Ubisoft's Summer Showcase. Three hours later, I left the booth.

Shootmania is an ambitious user-driven sandbox of an FPS. Users will be able to create their own gametypes and maps in a few minutes, similar to how the Trackmania community create their own unique courses. I asked Edouard whether Shootmania will feature some form of persistent levelling system similar to the ones featured in most modern FPSs.

It wont. According to Edouard, "A whole experience system could have been implemented into Trackmania, but a game based on skill is more interesting for the people we like to play with. With Shootmania, it's the same thing. It's based on skill. There are no RPG mechanics. We want to make it as pure as possible."



"Trackmania is the purest arcade racing game we could come up with and we hope to do the same with Shootmania – the purest FPS that could come up with."

Shootmania is set to be an instantly gratifying experience: "It's going to be a pure run and gun game. Go through it, bring your friends and shoot! Even for weapons – we limit it to a few so you don't have to think about buying the right weapons at the start of the game. You'll come with a gun in your hand and you'll start shooting. It's got a fun spirit. You're not pretending that you're a sniper from the US army. You're there to enjoy your game."

I asked Edouard if he's nervous about the team's lack of experience in other genres.

"It's the question that everyone is asking. We're asked ourselves first. We've been asking it since 2005 when we started to work on Shootmania. We're extremely pleased with how it looks and plays, and the possibilities you can have in the game."

More on Shootmania, Trackmania 2: Canyons, and the upcoming Questmania soon.

Nadeo, creators of the Trackmania series, along with the upcoming Shootmania and Questmania title have been speaking to PC Gamer. Edouard Beauchemin is aware of the recent trend in the profitable free-to-play model, but says it's not the best option for the upcoming Trackmania 2: Canyons.

Speaking at Ubisoft's Summer Showcase yesterday, the international project manager said: "Free to play is so fashionable at the moment. People come up to us and are like 'Make Trackmania 2: Canyon's free to play' and we're like 'No - Trackmania Nations. That's completely free-to-play. You don't have to pay at any time. And we're still looking at 700,000 different people playing the game each month.

"We prefer to call Trackmania 2: Canyons “Free to Stay”. You pay at the entrance and then you stay for as many years as you want. Unlimited content you can download for free from anywhere. You only have the in-game currency that you exchange with your friends through the in-game economy.

"The spirit is good because you're not saying “Oh! That person stole my item that I paid one Euro for. Give it back!” It's fun. It's a game. You pay 20 Euro and you enjoy it."

The UK/US pricing for Trackmania has not been annouced yet. €20 converts to £17.54 or $28.29. We'll have more on Trackmania 2: Canyons soon. Until then, take a look these amazing screenshots and read our latest feature.

TrackMania's best courses looked like lumps of concrete spaghetti. They were a mess of gravity defying banks and loops, broken up with ridiculous jumps and a hundred different ways to hurtle to your death. The latest TrackMania 2: Canyon trailer shows that the sequel will be staying true to the bendy madness of the original.

These new screens prove it's going to look outstanding. Get a closer look below.

For more news on TrackMania 2, keep an eye on the newly launched TrackMania 2 website. The game's due out later this year.

TrackMania's best courses looked like lumps of concrete spaghetti. They were a mess of gravity defying banks and loops, broken up with ridiculous jumps and a hundred different ways to hurtle to your death. The latest TrackMania 2: Canyon trailer shows that the sequel will be staying true to the bendy madness of the original.

These new screens prove it's going to look outstanding. Get a closer look below.

For more news on TrackMania 2, keep an eye on the newly launched TrackMania 2 website. The game's due out later this year.

The sun-bleached canyons, the cars polished to within an inch of their MOTS, the cunning use of the word "Turbo" 47 seconds in. As pointed out by RPS, there's plenty of reasons to get excited for Trackmania 2, even though there's no confirmed release date as yet.

For more on Trackmania 2, read our full preview in issue 227 of PC Gamer UK, on sale May 11.

The sun-bleached canyons, the cars polished to within an inch of their MOTS, the cunning use of the word "Turbo" 47 seconds in. As pointed out by RPS, there's plenty of reasons to get excited for Trackmania 2, even though there's no confirmed release date as yet.

For more on Trackmania 2, read our full preview in issue 227 of PC Gamer UK, on sale May 11.

The first Trackmania was a free-to-play blast of fresh air in the racing genre. Beneath the straightforward visuals and insane, topsy turvy tracks it was a surprisingly competitive game. Global and local leaderboards provided plenty of reason to keep re-running the tracks, and a the approachable level editor spawned some utterly bonkers creations. Judging from the teaser trailer above, the realistic new look hasn't compromised the avant garde course design. There's no release date yet, but the official Trackmania 2 site says it's coming "very soon!" You'll find the first screen of TrackMania 2 below.

The first Trackmania was a free-to-play blast of fresh air in the racing genre. Beneath the straightforward visuals and insane, topsy turvy tracks it was a surprisingly competitive game. Global and local leaderboards provided plenty of reason to keep re-running the tracks, and a the approachable level editor spawned some utterly bonkers creations. Judging from the teaser trailer above, the realistic new look hasn't compromised the avant garde course design. There's no release date yet, but the official Trackmania 2 site says it's coming "very soon!" You'll find the first screen of TrackMania 2 below.