When comparing Time Rifters vs Trackmania Turbo, the Slant community recommends Trackmania Turbo for most people. In the question“What are the best games on Steam with a level editor?” Trackmania Turbo is ranked 9th while Time Rifters is ranked 28th. The most important reason people chose Trackmania Turbo is:
While not necessary for the game and a bit limited, there are some painting customization for the available cars, which allow for a more individualistic look, though this only goes so far as most cars do look the same no matter the color.
Specs
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Pros
Pro Rarely seen gameplay mechanic that combines multiple playthroughs
Each level is played through multiple times with every new playthrough adding previous playthroughs alongside current one. This is done 4 times trying to complete as much of the level as possible. It essentially creates a solo co-op experience and allows for lots of strategical planning forward.
Pro Vibrant aesthetic
The game has simple, clear, blocky levels and uses bright colors. There's an Iron Man inspired hud, but that can mostly be ignored unless you want to check out the score. Important information such as enemy count is displayed on the walls of levels and there's no need to keep track of health or ammo.
Pro Good weapon variety
The game has 6 different weapons that each has a progression system associated with 5 upgrade categories - Spread, Focus, Rapid, Punch and Acid. It adds another level of strategical depth as weapon upgrades have to be planned for.
Pro Level editor and Steam Workshop support
You can create your own levels to challenge yourself and your creativity. It feels really cool playing through levels you made, although you know what to expect.
Pro Cars can be easily customized to your liking
While not necessary for the game and a bit limited, there are some painting customization for the available cars, which allow for a more individualistic look, though this only goes so far as most cars do look the same no matter the color.
Pro Robust track creator extends the gameplay
The track creator in the game allows for creation of just about anything one can imagine. What is even better is that players can share these tracks online, which means unlimited replayability due to always having a plethora of new tracks to race on.
Pro Crisp and clean visuals make for a very arcade-like feel
The graphics have a very arcade-like feel to them that stands out as something that has been designed with this in mind. The colors are bright and the tracks each have their own look, thanks to the locales they are placed in. The whole of the game will run easily at 60fps no matter the platform, which helps to keep the arcade-like feel while also looking sharp, thanks to no dips in the framerate. Overall this is a slick looking racer that performs solidly.
Pro Local and online multiplayer allows the game to be accessible no matter the preferred way to play
There is split screen local multiplayer as well as online multiplayer. Both of these allow players to play with their friends whether they are in the same room or online somewhere else. This makes for convenience, which is always nice to see.
Pro Over the top track design keeps the gameplay exciting
Cars dropped from a helicopter to begin a race, tracks with numerous loops, jumps, twist and turns, this all lends itself towards how over the top the gameplay is. It is not based in reality at all, but the game offers a bunch of arcade-crazy action that is just superbly fun.
Pro Simple in nature but focused in design
The looks, as well as the gameplay, may be seen as a bit simple, but this all plays into the core of the game. Trackmania is designed to do one thing, and one thing well, race time trials. So while it does not feature over-complex customizations or graphical effects, its track design and overly fun gameplay are what makes the whole thing stand out. This all means that the game is easy to grasp so that anyone can understand how to play. Of course this does not mean the game is easy, the difficulty is quite challenging, which just adds to the charm and overall appeal.
Cons
Con Abandoned support
Currently the game does not work with the retail version of the Rift, a DK2 (beta Rift model) and older drivers will be necessary to play the game. There has been no word from the developer if this will be fixed.
Con Short
While there's definitely potential for multiple playthroughs to try and get a better score, the base game has just about 2 hours of gameplay.
Con Basic looking cars are boring
There is not much to differentiate between cars, while not really the focus of the game, having a few more unique looking cars could not hurt.
Con Music is a bit "samey", which can get old
The music in the game is basically techno with thumping beats. The majority sounds pretty similar and it may become grating for those that spend a ton of time in the game. While not overly bad, it definitely gets old after a while.
Con No personal servers for PC
This means that online games will be dependent on the developers servers. There will be no way for users to create their own servers that can house their own rules or tracks. Earlier releases allowed for this and it does seem that the console release has held the game back in this regard as dedicated servers are how the consoles work as well.
Con Can be excruciatingly difficult
This is a time trial game and it shows, players will need to reset after reset each course in order to learn the track to get the best times. One mistake and that record is gone. Only pure perfection succeeds here. Some may enjoy this type of challenge, other though will most likely get frustrated.