Rock, Paper, Shotgun

Apparently all gaming news must now be released at 5.03pm, when I’m trying to make my tea. One of 900 emails that just arrived in the same minute includes news of ShootMania Storm, the new game from Nadeo, they of TrackMania fame. As the title somewhat suggests, it’s an FPS, and as it doesn’t, it’s an online multiplayer that will apparently be made with the same ethos as their arcade racers. And it seems it’s one of two new games from the team, the other being Questmania, their approach to an RPG. Blimey.

Read the rest of this entry »

I can’t say I stuck with Trackmania 2: Canyon because I, uh, didn’t stick with Trackmania 2: Canyon. It was fine! But it was also basically doing the same thing as I’ve been doing in a half-decade of preceding Trackmania games, except with prettier graphics, no choice of cars and a mad menu system. Others have stuck with it, however, and have been making the very best of its most impressive feature: the track-builder tool. While the below video is, realistically, pure promotion for the game, it also makes me go ‘ooh’ and ‘wow’ and ‘cor!’ and ‘wouldjalookitthat’ and ‘BLIMEY’. Especially for the guy who managed to replace cars with toilets.

Basically: the community is slowly making the game into the game it should have been, and then into the game it could never otherwise have been. I salute you, virtual architects and paint scheme-designers.
Read the rest of this entry »

Trackmania 2 Canyon is available right now as a digital purchase straight from its very own official website. It’s the game with an obscene amount of player-controlled cars racing around thousands upon thousands of physically impossible tracks. The game uses Nadeo’s own ManiaPlanet system for updates and downloads, which is why it’s only available direct from the website. That may change but don’t count on it. As we reported previously, despite Ubisoft being the publishers they have stated that there will be no always-online DRM check. John checked exactly how the game does work offline and his findings are below, along with a launch trailer.

Read the rest of this entry »

What’s educational about it? Well, it teaches you about the game, I suppose. It shows you how there’s a bunch of customisation options, and how the game’s editor allows you to build elaborate race course for the cars wot go fast. Most of all though, it teaches that Trackmania is basically crazy. And that is why we love it. (It’s the bit at 1:35 which really sums up what the game is all about, I think.)
Read the rest of this entry »

We’ve just had word from the electronic beak of Ubisoft. It says: “You’ll need to register online once when you install the game. You’ll then be able to play without an online connection.” So there you have it: Trackmania 2 is free from always-on tyranny! The game is out on the 14th. I am gonna race so fast.

Anyone else got any exciting DRM news? I’m all out.

Nadeo’s excitable racing-game sequel, Trackmania 2, will arrive next month, Ubisoft have announced. Pre-ordering types will be able to get their hands on it before then, however, because the beta – which is accessed via pre-ordering – will start on August 17th. Pre-orders cost $24.99 or £19.99. UPDATE: abhishek notes in the comments below that Nadeo have said the game is “unconfirmed” for Steam, and any news on that will come “later”. A bit of an odd decision there, but it seems to be due to Nadeo’s own launch of Maniaplanet and their own updating software system – a topic which seems to be causing a fair bit of upset for PC titles not making it onto Steam of late.

Anyway, it’s been too long, Trackmania. I can’t wait to go hurtling around your impossible racetracks.

Our eagle-eyed internet informants have spotted Trackmania 2 footage – actual game-being-played-by-a-dude footage! – and I’ve posted it below. Might be one of those Soon To Be Zapped typed situations, as we don’t seem to have got this from Mr Ubisoft directly. It looks suitably slick, and just about mad enough to be Trackmania.

And yes, I used the same screenshot again, wanna fight about it?
Read the rest of this entry »

Trackmania 2′s E3 Canyon trailer (below) is even more insane than the last one. Ludicrous sense of speed, ludicrous cartoon physics, ludicrous spewing of cars over vertiginous chasms, ludicrous ludicrousness. If this is genuinely representative of the kind of game we can expect from Nadeo’s latest, then I will be a happy racer. Go take a look.
Read the rest of this entry »

Ha. Trackmania 2 is going to be glorious. Watch the video.
Read the rest of this entry »