Digital Jesters is gearing up for the release of TrackMania, its mental racing-cum-puzzle game, with the news that a special beta trial launches today in which users the world over can download a trial version of the game for free.
This beta trial – available now from http://www.trackmania.com/demobeta – includes elements from all modes featured within the full game. As its availability is limited, users are encouraged to sign up now. The beta version is good until the game's release on November 28th 2003 – a full six weeks of quality gaming for the princely sum of 'no pence'.
TrackMania is a new type of racing game, in which players create their own ludicrously dizzying courses quickly and easily using a bank of over 300 different construction blocks. These courses – which can be built in one of three breathtaking themes – form the basis for races the likes of which you will have never seen before.
This version of TrackMania allows users to play all aspects of the final game. The game's 'Track Building' mode illustrates the freedom the full game will offer for those with imaginative course designs. The 'Solo' mode allows players to tackle and race through special track-building challenges. And the 'Hot Seat' mode offers the most thrilling part of TrackMania – competitive racing across individual or multiple PCs, LAN or Internet. A dedicated Internet server will offer users the chance to compete against other beta testers, using tracks designed by the TrackMania community.
"Everyone who's played TrackMania agrees it's a brilliant fun," says Leo Zullo, Marketing Director, Digital Jesters, "so this free beta version is essentially all about getting as many people as possible playing it in advance of the full release. TrackMania is a refreshing take on the racing genre, and one that's impossible to convey without showing a video or, even better, actually playing the game. Therefore we'd encourage everyone who's interested in a slightly different driving experience to sign up for the beta version whilst they can."