Graphically, TrackMania looks good. Let's be honest, the game doesn't exactly rewrite the state of graphics in racing titles, but it doesn't have to. The game looks good doing what it does. Texture work is very clean; although a few spots look a little rough (this mostly occurs in ground areas like grass and dirt roads). Minor problems aside, everything else in the game looks excellent. TrackMania offers three different environments: snow, desert and countryside. Each has it's own distinct feel and comes with its own nice graphical touches as well as their own unique attributes. When playing in the countryside, you'll have to contend with wet roads and mud tracks while in deserts you have to deal with loose gravel roads. A few more environments would have been nice, which is another complaint on a very short list. Cars are modeled a little better than in most arcade racers and show off some nice special effects as well.
Sound is okay and does it's job by filling dead air with something to listen to. The title track is a little annoying, but the rest of the in-game music is bearable. And, it just wouldn't be a racing review without me harping on it a little more, but the option to play your own music in-game would have been welcome.
