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Trackmania 2 Valley

SCORE: 91

I remember when I first heard about ManiaPlanet at a Ubisoft press conference. My reaction to it was lukewarm at best. The racing games looked interesting but not that impressive. Fast forward to the release of Trackmania 2 Valley on the Personal Computer. After playing this racing game I am officially impressed.

Trackmania 2 Valley is different from Trackmania 2 Stadium in a couple of ways. The first and most important is we are outside a lot more. Trackmania 2 Valley has that feel of driving through towns as well. The dirt sections of this PC racing game make me think of logging camps. All the logs and trees I crashed into may have something to do with that.

The goal in Trackmania 2 Valley is to get to the finish location with the quickest time possible. Some of the races in Trackmania 2 Valley are lap races. So we have to make so many circuits to win. Those are generally my least favorite. I prefer the tracks with the finish lines.

Why do I prefer those kind? I can finish them with the car on its side, upside down, or some other odd angle. The kicker is it counts too. So if I made a mistake and wound up upside down near the end, I can still finish the race. Which for my racing skill is absolutely perfect.

When you get bored with racing the tracks the developer made, you can go into the editor and create your own. This is the best part of the TrackMania franchise in my opinion. I love creating tracks and racing them. Or letting the community race them. We kick around ideas and try things as a team too.

Online is one of the features of Trackmania 2 Valley that competitive gamers will enjoy. The usual goal is to get the best time on a certain race track. Think you can beat others playing on the same server? Maybe you can, maybe you can't. You will not know unless you give it a go.

Trackmania 2 Valley is different enough from Trackmania 2 Stadium to warrant interest among the gaming community. Families will notice Trackmania 2 Valley looks as good if not better than Trackmania 2 Stadium. The sounds are comparable. The environments are different enough to give it a different feel. Now we are only waiting on a reviewable copy of Trackmania 2 Canyon.
- Paul

Graphics: 96%
Sound: 87%
Replay/Extras: 98%
Gameplay: 90%
Family Friendly Factor: 85%

System: Personal Computer
Publisher: Ubisoft
Rating: ‘E’ - Everyone
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