Trackmania-Nla

"...a great product...The game scores on every front and gives an already crowded genre a new boost.  Gamer.nl
"A fine racing puzzle and track building package.  Games Master
"...a very worthy addition to both the series and the DS's catalogue of racers...  Games(TM)
"From time to time a game really creeps out of nowhere and takes you by surprise... Trackmania is one such gem.  Official Nintendo Magazine
"...[an] impressive DS debut for the hugely addictive - and rewarding - TrackMania franchise.  Pocket Gamer
"...a very worthy addition to both the series and the DS's catalogue of racers...  Games (TM)

Worth Playing 9 of 10
I'll admit that I was a bit apprehensive about the idea of porting the PC racer Trackmania to the DS of all systems. I mean, it's not exactly the system that you think of when it comes to popular racing titles -- or racers at all, for that manner. Sure, it has Mario Kart, but really, that's about it. Imagine my surprise then, to learn just after an hour or two of playtime, that Trackmania might actually be the best racer on the system, and one that gamers shouldn't miss...We'll start off with the visuals, which are surprisingly effective on the small screen. Trackmania DS doesn't eschew the 3-D visuals of the PC title for something in the 2-D realm. Instead, it does a pretty accurate job of porting things over, with a pretty incredible job of capturing the draw distance needed to accurately portray the over-the-top tracks for which the game is already known...Trackmania is a game that's all about besting your previous score and attempting to get a gold medal on every available track, and the developers absolutely know this. It's simple enough to back out to a previous checkpoint or even an entire stage, allowing the player to start over to get the best time or quickly go back to fix a previous flub. The load times are nearly nonexistent (as they should be on a cartridge), so it's not frustrating or annoying to go back and try again, which really keeps up the addictive nature of the core gameplay...I'd definitely suggest Trackmania DS to anyone who was or is a fan of the PC title, and while the developers haven't managed to bring over every single detail to this handheld port, they've managed to really capture the essence of Trackmania to provide a great portable method of getting your fix. If you've never played Trackmania before, then Trackmania DS is absolutely worth checking out. Any Trackmania vet knows that this title is worth picking up, but I'd highly encourage any racing fan to also give it a go. - Dustin Chadwell

WorthPlaying.com 9 of 10
I'll admit that I was a bit apprehensive about the idea of porting the PC racer Trackmania to the DS of all systems. I mean, it's not exactly the system that you think of when it comes to popular racing titles -- or racers at all, for that manner. Sure, it has Mario Kart, but really, that's about it. Imagine my surprise then, to learn just after an hour or two of playtime, that Trackmania might actually be the best racer on the system, and one that gamers shouldn't miss...We'll start off with the visuals, which are surprisingly effective on the small screen. Trackmania DS doesn't eschew the 3-D visuals of the PC title for something in the 2-D realm. Instead, it does a pretty accurate job of porting things over, with a pretty incredible job of capturing the draw distance needed to accurately portray the over-the-top tracks for which the game is already known...Trackmania is a game that's all about besting your previous score and attempting to get a gold medal on every available track, and the developers absolutely know this. It's simple enough to back out to a previous checkpoint or even an entire stage, allowing the player to start over to get the best time or quickly go back to fix a previous flub. The load times are nearly nonexistent (as they should be on a cartridge), so it's not frustrating or annoying to go back and try again, which really keeps up the addictive nature of the core gameplay...I'd definitely suggest Trackmania DS to anyone who was or is a fan of the PC title, and while the developers haven't managed to bring over every single detail to this handheld port, they've managed to really capture the essence of Trackmania to provide a great portable method of getting your fix. If you've never played Trackmania before, then Trackmania DS is absolutely worth checking out. Any Trackmania vet knows that this title is worth picking up, but I'd highly encourage any racing fan to also give it a go. - Dustin Chadwell