TrackMania DS

Nintendo console exclusive

TrackMania, the series of racing games focusing on fun and frantic racing, now makes its debut on the Nintendo DS. Far from hardcore driving simulations, TrackMania is based on the fun and the spectacular aspect of racing. With TrackMania DS, you drive at mind-blowing speeds on incredible tracks made of jumps, loops, turbo boost pads and many other crazy design elements. Just like the renowned PC version, TrackMania DS offers a track editor that lets you create your own unique and exciting tracks from hundreds of different design blocks, giving the game near-infinite replay value.

Released: 2008
Platforms: Nintendo DS Windows
Genres: Racing
Developers: Nadeo
Publishers: Focus Entertainment
Country: France
Age ratings: PEGI 3 ESRB E
Languages: English

About

TrackMania DS is a racing video game developed by Firebrand Games. It was published by Focus Home Interactive in Europe and released for the Nintendo DS on November 14, 2008, and in the United States by Atlus USA on March 17, 2009. The game received generally favorable reviews from critics.

Keywords

gravity
time limit
online
user generated content
anti-gravity racing
challenges
polygonal 3d
licensed soundtrack
checkpoints
downloadable content
difficulty level
leaderboard

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

TrackMania DS features gameplay similar to that of the other titles in the TrackMania series and also features a comprehensive track editor. It supports single-player and multiplayer play and contains more than 100 tracks and three game modes ("Race", "Platform" and "Puzzle"). Of the seven environments available in the PC version only three are featured in the DS version: "Rally", "Desert" and "Stadium". With TrackMania DS, players can share tracks with other game owners, but there is no online connectivity.

Development

Firebrand Games was contracted to develop the Nintendo DS version of the Trackmania series. Nadeo, the main developer of the games, was not involved in its day-to-day production with the developer. Most of the tracks in the game were developed by Firebrand Games' designer Clive Lawrence, but TrackMania fans in Europe were also worked with to help develop some of them.

The game was published by Focus Home Interactive in Europe and Australia. After a year delay, the game was released in North America by Atlus USA.

Reception

The game received an aggregate score of 75/100 on Metacritic. Eurogamer's Tom Bramwell praised Trackmania DS for its graphics, while noting the lack of online multiplayer or track sharing was a "missed opportunity." Both Bramwell and IGN Australia noted that track visibility was inherently a challenge because of the small screen on the Nintendo DS, making racing less intuitive than it would otherwise be.