Trackmania has made its name on, unsurprisingly, the crazy things you can do with the track builder in the game. The DS version of the game aims to be a smaller version of the original that you can take with you, which is a noble concept, but how does it fare in execution? Portions of this new video might be familiar, and that’s because we’ve seen the parts with the cars turning on the DS and such before. This new trailer, however, shows off a lot of game footage, most importantly what looks like a very intuitive track editor. It’s also pretty cool to see a racing game on DS running this smoothly, though the footage is all off-screen, so I’ll be the judge of just how smooth it looks once I see it in action.

You can check the video out on the new teaser site, but you should also click through to look at the press release and gallery of screenshots. Enjoy!

TrackMania on the Nintendo DS, the First Video!

The most fun and exciting driving game over the past several years is now heading to the Nintendo DS. Far from a hardcore driving simulation, TrackMania is based on the fun and the spectacular aspects of racing. In TrackMania DS, you will drive at mind-blowing speeds in hi-octane racers on incredible tracks made of jumps, loops, turbo boost pads and many other crazy design elements.

TrackMania DS not only has a fantastic solo campaign with three great game modes and over one hundred original circuits – it also comes with an incredible 3D track editor that allows you to use the stylus to intuitively create your own tracks from hundreds of different design blocks. Players will be able to test and improve their unique creations in real-time and even to share them with one another, giving the game infinite interest and replay value.

All this is illustrated today with a video that shows all the potential of the game and the quality of the adaptation for the Nintendo handheld console.

Published by Focus Home Interactive and developed by Firebrand (developers of “Create & Race” for the DS), TrackMania DS is due for release on Nintendo DS at the end of 2008.