TrackMania Turbo Bringing Ludicrous Stunts To March
Stunt me good!
"I wonder why they rotated that screenshot ↑ so," I briefly wondered before realising: this is TrackMania Turbo [official site], driving sideways along vertical walls is just something cars do. If anything, publishers Ubisoft have rotated the screenshot counter-clockwise to make it less absurd. We don't have too much longer to wait for these antics and shenanigans, as Ubi have put out a new trailer to announce Turbo will launch on March 25th.
For the uninitiated (and those who haven't watched that trailer), TrackMania Turbo is an arcade racer with ridiculous physics and tracks. I adore its combination of silliness and go-restart-go-restart-go racing, the thrill and absurdity of trying to shave milliseconds off lap times by holding a tighter line through e.g. a vast loop-de-loop that'll ramp me out across a canyon. Oh, and don't mind those other cars you see, as you can't collide and pass clean through each other. The track's your biggest rival, not other drivers.
It's got an easy and great track editor too, making multiplayer often a tour of weird player-made levels you've never seen before. And as amazing maps where simply holding forwards sends you off on an adventure of choreographed stunts.
TrackMania Turbo had previously been due to launch towards the end of last year, but Ubisoft delayed it to improve multiplayer and the solo campaign, and bosh in features like a new way to challenge your pals on player-made tracks. I'm not at all opposed to delays - better a good game later than a so-so one now - but it was nice to hear quite what developers Nadeo were using that time for. Good things, is the answer.