Monthly Archives: February 2009

TrackMania Nations Forever

I found TrackMania Nations Forever on Steam when searching for free games. Expecting it not to be very good, I didn’t play it for months. Today I finally tried it and was very impressed! As soon as I played the first course, I was reminded of the PC game Stunts. If you’re not familiar with that game, don’t worry. I’ll explain the game. There are four difficulties, each with fifteen tracks. Only the first five tracks of each difficulty are unlocked by default. Finishing a set of five unlocks the next set. There’s also an additional difficulty with only five tracks; these are locked and have high requirements.
You race alone or against ghosts. There is online races, but even then, you’re basically racing ghosts. You can’t physically interact with other cars. While you’re driving, you can respawn at anytime in case you get stuck as well as restart with the press of a button. Some tracks require you to complete multiple laps, but most are one lap in length. In addition, a lot of courses involve tricks such as driving off ramps and aiming to fly through holes. There’s also a level editor in it, which I haven’t tried yet.

 
TMNF looks great. The textures aren’t very amazing, but the models are very nice, and the lighting is also great. It’s not going to drop anyone’s jaw, but it does look very slick. There’s even a mode for 3D if you have the red and blue 3D glasses.
The game is very enjoyable. You can play in short intervals, and it’s very fun. With many tracks, online leaderboards, and a pricetag of zero dollars, there’s no reason to not try this game out! You’ll be in for a treat.
And if anyone does try it out, add me to your TrackMania friends list! It uses a separate list than Steam. I’m MrUser!

Ace Attorney Opera

Griffin McElroy just posted on Joystiq that Takarazuka Revue, a theater troupe in Japan, is performing an Ace Attorney Opera! They’re currently rehearsing, and the show will open at the end of February! Normally I would just share items in Google Reader, but I think this deserves a little more attention!

Super Magnetic Neo (DC)

Super Magnetic Neo is a 3D platforming game for the Sega Dreamcast. It’s a classic platformer in the same vein of games such as Super Mario 64 and Gex: Enter the Gecko. The game is definitely focused on jumping as well as collecting assorted small, spinning things. What makes this game a little different than other 3D platformers is the magnetic gameplay element. Your character can run, jump, produce a positive magnetic field, and produce a negative magnetic field. Enemies are all (at least so far) polarized, so you can either make enemies fly off or attract them, sucking them into a cube on your head and then turning them into small pellets that you can throw at things. The magnetic mechanic is not only for fighting but also for the platforming element. Throughout the stages are pads that are also polarized. Producing the same polarity field than a pad you’re standing on will shoot you into the air perpendicular to the pad. This allows your character to reach great heights and also to propel through the air. Similarly, you can produce the opposite polarity magnetic field than a pad to be attracted to it, useful for attempting to land on pads when you’re moving past them. I’ve enjoyed what I’ve played of it. Super Magnetic Neo isn’t amazing, but the magnetism mechanic does give it a little something extra to warrant some attention.