"I like this game!" Said young me when I played the demo for the game 6 or 5 years ago.

"I love this game!" I said to myself, finally owning the game 5 years later after it's original release date in 2016, and still, to this day in 2023, enjoying the game as much as the first time i played the full game in 2021.

One can say the feeling between past me and present me is mutual. And it is! I always liked the Trackmania Series, maybe it's the thrill of burning through the track, doing all sorts of gravity defying stunts at high speeds. Of course, the main objective of reaching the goal in the shortest time possible is still paramount.

Improvement is a key part of the series, shaving off second after second for a better record. Perhaps you're aiming for an Author Medal? (Which Turbo lovingly calls a Trackmaster Medal, I have to admit, the name did stick to me!) Looking to beat your friends' records? Or are you pushing for the world record? It's all retry after retry after retry! Hey, it's a reason the words "Try hard", "Try harder", and "Try again" are spread across the game like butter to toast. The idea of trying the same course over and over just for a better time might seem redundant to many, and for others it might get too repetitive and boring. But for me it's part of the enjoyment of Trackmania.

Now, you might be asking yourself "KreL, why do you like Turbo the most out of the other games?" Well, for starters: Yes, it is a version of Trackmania2 made specifically for consoles, I think its explained pretty easily, and it might be short of some stuff present in the original TM2... But I like Turbo for being its own thing. For one, they pushed for a visual idenity so unique to the game itself that really stuck to me, and there are some times where I can say "That's the Trackmania *I* know!". According to interviews, they tried to push for a style that drew inspiration from games like Sega Rally and Daytona USA, as well as aiming for a cross between the X-Games and the Olympic Games, most evident in how the overall scope of the in-game world shows TM as this huge, worldwide motorsport event. I like that a lot!

There's also stuff thats exclusive to the game, lile the additional local multiplayer modes like Arcade and Splitscreen, which, might be ordinary stuff to some, but I had alot of fun playing it with friends. Also exclusive to this game is the Double Driver mode, where you and someone else drive one car and try to stay in sync. And yes, there is a WHOLE CAMPAIGN dedicated to it. It shows that the team also put most of its time to this game mode as well.

The music in this game is a blend of various electronic tracks composed by a variety of artists, and depending on how you play, it intensifies and lessens up, blending it further into the game. It's weird how it's a rather unsung example of dynamic music in videogames.

It's cool that they managed to fit all of the 4 Environments (Canyon, Valley, Lagoon, Stadium) into a single package, complete with a campaign of over 200 tracks. Oh, and before I forget, there's more after that, but that's all I'm giving you. I don't think it's been possible on the original TM2 yet (Environments are sold separately, e.g; You bought TM2 Stadium, you also have to buy TM2 Lagoon ). I think Maniaplanet alleviates that issue? Didn't delve much into it myself...

Overall, Trackmania Turbo does its best at what it knows best: Bringing the flagship arcade racing experience loved my millions around the globe to consoles, and adding more ways to play the game, while also keeping it fresh with a visual flair that remains unique even to this day. It's also notable for being the first TM game to hit consoles in over 7 years (See Trackmania: Build to Race for the Wii), and for what it is, I think it was pretty much worth the wait. As my first experience with Trackmania, and my introduction to the series as a whole, it really did its job very well. Might as well be my one of my favorite racing games.