We here at ThinkComputers are very avid gamers. So each Friday we will be covering a game that should help you get through the weekend. The games will range from new games to classics that we still love to play. They also are not limited to justPC games either. If you have a game you think we should cover check out the Gaming Friday thread in the forums.
Today we will be telling you about the highly addictive racing game TrackMania Nations Forever. This free, yes free game can be found on steam and is all about fun. If you are looking for a driving sim this is not it, in this game you zip around the track in a formula 1 car at blazing speeds without all the technical details you would find in a sim. Interested? Read on to see what this game is all about!
As I said this game is free on Steam so go ahead and pick it up. Once you install the game you select your nation and if you are in the US your state. This way your medals, times and scores are tracked online against other users in your country and state. When you get into the game you can select solo, online or multi-player. In solo you have 5 sections (white, green, blue, red and black) all with 15 tracks each. So let’s get into the game! To start there are 5 available tracks, to unlock other tracks you need to beat the current tracks. Most of the tracks are very short, but at the same time are a lot of fun. Flying around the track in an F1 car at blazing speeds is awesome.
The controls are very easy to use, you steer with the arrow keys and that is about it. On thing that is crazy about this game is the physics, if you take a turn too fast you can fly over the edge, if you take a jump at and angle you can fly off the track. I think this is what makes the game so fun. On each track you can earn a bronze, silver or gold medal depending on how fast you complete the track. I have spent hours trying to get a gold medal on a few tracks! Another thing that I really like about this game is that in any point in the race that you want to restart you just hit the backspace key and you are instantly transported back to the starting line to start over. This is great if you mess up and just want to start over. It makes the game more fluid and fast as well.
There is an online component to the game, which I’ve tried out for about an hour or so. You can choose a server and join. Then it is just like the single player game except you are trying to beat the scores of other players currently on the server. There is a time limit and the person with the best overall score wins. I would warn you though, some of the tracks online are just insane, many of them I could not even complete!
All in all this is a great game and if you like fast-paced racing games that are just meant to be fun this game is for you! It is also free so why not pick it up and try it out, you won’t be disappointed!
