Alright, here’s the lowdown on this recently released (April 16th) racing game from Nadeo. First things first, this game is FREE from Steam! So there aren’t a lot of reasons not to at least give it a try.

Gameplay-wise, it’s a hoot. Essentially you are racing against ghosts of three set times on each track (these are preset for each level). You beat the times for Bronze, Silver, or Gold and get the respective medal. [PK: A bonus set of medals are unlocked later based on the author's best time.] There are a few different types of tracks which pose different approaches, and difficulties vary the gameplay further. Multiplayer is also available in which you can race your friends on even more tracks, some which are not available in solo play.

Race – Just as it sounds: get the best time. This is a Sprint (from a starting point to an endpoint).
Endurance – Race, but with a looping track. Get the best total time in a Circuit-style.
Obstacle – The tracks will have quite a few obstacles, as the name implies. These vary from pillars to simply tracks trying to make racing difficult.
Acrobatic – Tracks with jumps, ramps, and sideways racing.
Speed – As the name implies, all about speed here. The tracks are especially built for high-octane racing and quick reflexes.

The game includes a replay editor (which you can also use to export to video as well), a track creator, and a car painter. The editing is extremely powerful. The track creator alone has dozens of pieces to lay down, not to mention elevation can be controlled. The options are wide-reaching and in the right hands they would undoubtedly be extremely powerful. The car painter has enough depth to it for some pretty crazy designs, and with some work the car is there for your creativity. A solid community exists behind the series who share tracks and custom paint jobs. There are some amazing works out there.

This is just a rough cut of the intro of a short Acrobatic track and a replay of the same track.

These pictures and the video don’t do this game justice whatsoever. It looks absolutely stunning. For being a free game it is extremely well made and I commend the developers for their work. You truly feel like you are the one burning rubber in that Indy car, tearing through the air towards the finish.

Have a good one!

You can find Trackmania Nations Forever on Steam or for the direct link, check it out here!