TM:Sunrise, sequel or 'expansion'?
On the face of it, TM:S could be accused of being nothing more than an expansion pack dressed up as full release, an alarming trend that publishers have been gradually swinging towards more and more. Luckily, TM:S not only gives us more of the same, but throws in a totally new section too... so there’s plenty here worth your money.
For those of you who missed the first game, the premise of the TrackMania games is pretty simple. Take an indestructible car and hare off around a series of more and more unlikely tracks negotiating terrifying jumps, stomach churning loops and much more in a bid to be first across the line. All pretty simple, clean arcade fun. It was probably due to this apparently shallow appeal that the original was passed over by the masses, though a little time playing it would show that the game had a surprising amount of depth, once you got a little further in.
This time around, Nadeo have tweaked what little needed tweaking and added a new mode of play to challenge and frustrate just as much as the original did. You’ve still got your basic racing mode of play, along with the puzzle and crazy sections, but now Nadeo have added in a platform section where you have to get around the course in a few restarts as possible.
With so much on offer, let’s look at each section in order.