The Trackmania series has provided me with hours and hours of entertainment (and frustration), since the original dropped in '03. The old games gave you multiple environments, a variety of solo modes, and fewer bugs, to name a few features. These days, the series is a far cry from what it used to be.
At launch, I couldn't complete an online race because the game wouldn't register my car crossing the finish line and that still occurs with regularity. There are still, almost three weeks into launch, server issues, and it's just not the game it should be. One of the series' strengths has been its track editor, allowing users to create an infinite amount of tracks. All of the tracks users create should be easily accessible through the game's menus. They're not. On the track exchange site, https://trackmania.exchange, you can't upload replays because the site is waiting on Nadeo. There are some features such as water that was in the series previously that isn't at the moment. Apparently that will be added at some point.
It's still addictive trying to find that perfect line to shave milliseconds off the clock but the game isn't what it should be or what its predecessors deserve. People who buy games these days on release should receive a wage, as we seem to be the ones who actually test them.
Gameplay 3.5/5
Graphics 4/5
Sound 3.5/5
Difficulty 5/5
Originality 2/5