Trackmania Nations ESWC

In what might be an unprecedented gaming-industry development, Nadeo has created an entirely new version of its Trackmania series for use in the Electronic Sports World Cup 2006. This completely free version of the arcade racing game gets rid of the classic settings such as the desert and city and places the entire action within the Trackmania stadium. The game includes a whopping 100 levels -30 beginner, 30 advanced, 30 expert, and 10 pro. An included level editor lets you create your own marvelous tracks with 110 building blocks, including ramps that go fully vertical. You can practice all the tracks solo or compete in time trials against up to eight players on the same machine. All the tracks also are available for Internet play against racers from around the world.

Starting a game involves creating a profile, in which you select the name and nationality of your car and driver. Sixteen nations are represented (though Germany, France, and the U.S.A. dominate numbers in online play), and if your country isn't, you can always go into Paint mode to create a car that reflects your national pride. We offer a warning for all those wishing to race for other countries: be sure you know the language, because messages will arrive in the local tongue, and you'll be placed by default into online matches against representatives of the same country, who, again, chat in their native language. Starting a LAN match against local opponents or venturing into the Internet game is quite easy, though we didn't figure out to import our own created tracks into the online play, which was part of the fun of the original Trackmania. However, for a free racing game with stellar 3D graphics and online multiplayer action, Trackmania ESWC stands head and shoulders above any competitors.