 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
TrackMania DS
- Nintendo DS
- Price: $29.99
- Genre: Racing
Common Sense Media says
Ingenious, compelling race game lets you build racetracks.
Parents say
Kids say
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that even though the "E" rating suggests the game is fine for
young players, the construction of the tracks requires some sophistication that younger players won't have. Kids as young as age 4 can race, but to appreciate the full benefit of what this game has to offer, it is best played by kids 6-up.
What's it about?
Ever since the early days of video games, allowing the gamer
to make his or her own game has been a sure road to enjoyment. With TRACKMANIA DS,
Atlus provides you endless ways to put the pedal to the metal by permitting
anyone to build and share their own arcade racetrack creations.
There are over 100 short, single player races in three
environments already programmed into the game. Race by using the D-pad to steer and the 'A'
button to accelerate. As you win, you accumulate Copper, the game's cash, to purchase car
skins and unique track parts. You can make tracks in two ways. You can use an
editor interface to click and drag parts to the touch screen. Or you can simply
take your stylus and draw on the touch screen. You can share your tracks
wirelessly, and play wirelessly, too.
Is it any good?
Trying to finish first in all of the single player races is
a true challenge in itself: unless you're really driving to perfection, you
won't be Number 1. And the Extreme difficulty mode is killer hard (in a good
way)! After purchasing parts with your income from racing, you can add tunnels,
make loop de loops and add tilted portions to your track creations. You can even add
blimps and trees to make your environments more life-like.
There are some challenges with the game, however. If your
vehicle flies off the track, it doesn't automatically re-emerge where it left
off. You have to begin the race all over again. You should be able to choose from
a small variety of cars right from the beginning in the single player races;
but you can't. Finally, if you accidentally erase the starting gate or finish gate
from the track editor, you sometimes can't find the pieces in the toolbar below. And you
can't save your track without them. Yet it's just so much fun to make, race on,
and share your own tracks that you'll forgive the glitches in TrackMania DS. Instead, you happily work
around them.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about the tracks they've made. Does a short
track or a long track work best? Why? If you were going to make a race track in real
life, where would you put it? Why?
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| Platforms: | Nintendo DS |
| Available online? | Available online |
| Genre: | Racing |
| Developer: | Atlus |
| Release date: | March 17, 2009 |
| Price: | $29.99 |
| ESRB rating: | E for (No Descriptors) |
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