TrackMania Nations ESWC

Nations isn't as full a game as Sunrise, but it is its own game, says Castelnerac. "TrackMania Original and TrackMania Sunrise are two different TM. Many play one or the other, one does not replace the other," he says. "It is the same with Nations. Original is fun, Sunrise is feeling and Nations is sport. It is not an extension, it is a full game with the best quality we ever made, with limited content, but that's not the point here."

Indeed, the actual point is to provide a bed of competition for the ESWC, which plans to allot $40,000 of its total $400,000 prize purse to a Nations tournament, offering a sole winner some $13,000. With this in mind, Nations is limited to race mode - the platform, puzzle and stunt modes are left aside for now - and includes 100 training tracks to pick through offline, online multiplayer a la both of its predecessors, and a full editing suite for making your own tracks. Use of the edit mode isn't limited or based on your progress in single-player; it's there from the start.

Are there any restrictions at all? "The only limitation is that if you have one of our TM games, you can register. Once you are registered, you can customize your identity like car paintings and avatar."

Technologically the game's a close cousin of Sunrise, but the track design is distinct. Each track is set against the backdrop of a huge, grassy stadium with ESWC and NVIDIA logos abounds. Nadeo's also hoping to include some dynamic ads to bring in a few extra pennies - something that's easy to forgive from a company that churns out so much free entertainment.

Under the game's bonnet, Nadeo's undertaken a few logical changes. "We have done the dedicated server on Linux," Castelnerac points out. The ladder rules have also been adjusted to make things a bit easier to begin with. And when you select your nation after installation - something that skins your car up in your national flag - it also sets the game up to deliver notifications when TrackMania qualifying events are taking place in your country.

But of course, for plenty of people it's just going to be an excuse to play some more TrackMania - some new courses designed for a new style of car, clearly inspired by Formula 1-style track cars. The car's low suspension means it's quite prone to flipping, like Sunrise's sports car, but it also grips the track very well. I wouldn't say it's as fast as the Sunrise sports car, but it's more technical. "The gameplay is designed for competition and to allow keyboard players to also go as far as possible," says Castelnerac. Which is just as well, since I've lost my USB gamepad widget.

The training tracks are inevitably compulsive medal-collecting fun. As you get further past the opening, really basic efforts, Nadeo tests your mettle a bit more with steep inclines, sweeping turns that defy boost pads placed before them, road angled to the left that argue with road angling right just over the brow of a hill, gigantic half-pipes and loops, jumps and boost pads. Getting those gold medals is a question of speed and positional sense. And, as ever, the instant-reset button awaits your failure.