Trackmania for the Wii is fast, beautiful, varied and a bit too hard for everyone to appreciate its unique aspects.
+ Great, fast racing
+ Incredibly varied imaginative tracks
+ Plenty of challenges which will keep you busy for quite a while
+ Track Editor is a time-consuming fun house
Negative
- Almost too punishing
- Repetitive looping music
Trackmania for the Wii is a very good racing game. In fact so good it grows on you so much that you may not want to stop playing it. It's one of those games that offer so much and keep offering you more. The game looks simple but it is beautiful, fast and full of options but it's so difficult that it will intentionally blow away anyone but those looking for a seriously challenging racing game. There are countless hours in be lost in this game, and even if occasional repetition kicks in, there are more than a few ways to get rid of it.
When it comes to the amount of different types of modes in the single player mode, Trackmania gets a gold medal. The single player is rich, with three distinctive types of modes which vary so much that you'll definitely like one more than the other. The first mode, the Race Mode is the biggest, longest and most replayable mode of the trio. In this mode, this time-trial only based game offers plenty of different challenges which start off with five practice rounds for each of the six different types of terrains which the game spreads on. In each race you race ghost opponent AI in very short tracks which in the beginning boil down to less than 30 seconds long which you'll get your wish for longer tracks later on. You need to race as fast as you can in brilliantly imaginative tracks of all sorts to win a medal from gold to silver and bronze. Once you have enough medals you'll unlock easy, followed by medium, hard and extreme difficulties. Events will become longer, the tracks much more challenging and the medal times are sometimes even inconsistently difficult that can put off anyone. Each track may require perfect curving, turning and sometimes even speed to get around some of the most challenging tracks, but the checkpoints are useless here and don't do much to help you get back into the race once you spin out. By pressing 'C' you'll restart at the latest checkpoint, but by the time you do, any AI opponent would have had a good slip by that time. Out of the bunch this is possibly the easiest mode (it's also a default mode).
The second unlockable mode is the Platform Mode. In this mode, going as fast as you can does not count. These races are much harder and longer than races. In this mode you are required to reach the finish line, not before the time runs out but with the least amount of retries as possible. Passing through checkpoints is vital to avoid restarting from the very beginning but this mode can become so difficulty and sometimes infuriating that it turns anyone off unless perfected driving techniques and incredible luck are applied to the job. The third unlockable mode is the Puzzle Mode. Its name says it all. In this mode you will combine an incomplete circuit and race to the finish line like in the Race Mode and earn a medal not depending on how well you constructed the circuit but how well you race to the finish line. Besides those, there are multiplayer options and online available, as well as a time-consuming and deep Track Editor. Despite its slight steep learning curve, once you get passed that this mode proves to be incredibly fun. Assemble your own track in any of the six terrains available, record your time and with the ability to share your tracks online; what more do you want?
Trackmania is not your everyday street racer or deep driving simulator. If you've never been in touch with the successful PC games of this series, you may have never played quite a game like this. This simple looking racing is actually so difficult that completing it completely seems like an unlikely task but really dedicated players. There are six different areas with each having a different car to use. The cars are restricted for that particular area only which helps in order to achieve high speeds in the speedy island challenges, high speed and cornering in Rally events, a luxurious and pleasant drive around the beautiful sunset Coast events and more than that. The difference in steering, speed and almost everything else of each one is clear. And you can't change the car type either. Each car has multiple skins to use and a few more unlockable from the shop. Other than that there is nothing else. There is no way of increasing performance or adding body kits and body parts whatsoever.
This racing game never plays by the rules of realism. Tracks feature high speed lanes, enormous loops and jumps and the totally unrealistic physics that the car literally bounces on the water's surface if landing on the four wheels. The racing is fast most of the time, but there is more than just that. Drifting is kept to a minimal, but there are a lot of tight turns which require a lot of precision and patience. The majority of the tracks don't let you dominate them in a single try, so you'll have to retry a lot. Thankfully you can restart the race instantly at any time and luckily there are absolutely no loadings when pressing the 'minus' button. The loading that loads the race though could have benefitted if they were shorter.
Outside of racing, Trackmania for the Wii is easy on the eyes. The menus are attractive despite being plain and simple. The menus that involve the single-player modes are at least as fast as the wind while some minor longer loadings hold the profile section. The background visuals are really good, well varied (from each area) but what really strikes are the incredible amount of very different races you'll race in. Everything looks simple, but doesn't lack particularly important details but there is very little going on. The cars look as good and solid besides the fact that there is no damage or almost real physics. The music is a notch down. The sound effects which basically including the roaring engine are quite good and believable. On the other hand the frequently looping soundtrack gets repetitive and overstays its welcome easily, but on a whole note it's passable.
Trackmania: Build to Race is a successful racing game. It offers a ton of variety across 6 different areas and enough content for starving players that it will last for more than a few weeks. The higher than average and often punishing difficult may limit the appeal to arrive to the amateur players, but that shouldn't hold anyone to try this; as Trackmania's translation from the PC is the Wii is a successful one.
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Graphics = 8.4
Despite its simplicity in almost everything here, this game offers really good visuals. Plenty of variety as well.
Sound = 7.5
The looping music gets granting after long stretches of time, but at the very least its ok. The sound effects are better.
Presentation = 8.3
Clean, easy and fast to navigate through menus. Good controls and camera. Instantly starting a race with the start of a button is something every racing game should have.
Gameplay = 8.6
If you're new to the series, you'll find this to be like no other experience. The level of challenge may sometimes seem like a trip to hell, but the fast racing, amazing variety in tracks and such should keep you from giving up, if you're up to the challenge.
Modes = 9.0
There are more than 20 hours of gameplay here. From single-player to the amazing Track Editor to the multiplayer and online; there is a lot. And the variety of the impressive imaginative tracks is incredible. Great deal for your money.
OVERALL = 83 / 100
Trackmania for the Wii is fast, beautiful, varied and a bit too hard for everyone to appreciate its unique aspects.