Trackmania: Valley is one of the latest racing titles to come out of Nadeo Studios' creative woodwork. The game puts players in the more forested, rural areas where farmland and marshes make up for a lot of the side-views of the surrounding atmosphere.
Given that this is one of the rare Trackmania titles that focuses more on a grounded approach to the stunt-based racing gimmicks of the series, it only seemed necessary to pay tribute to some of the best racing tracks made available in the game. You can check them out below, along with the links so you can grab a copy of the track for yourself and see what all the fuss is about.
River City Ransom
Based on the popular game of the same name, the River City Ransom custom track in Trackmania Valley is an easy-going city race with a few expected jumps, some manageable turns and some towering concrete structures to round out the experience. It's more about the scenic atmosphere than it is anything else, but it provides an ample enough challenge with just enough length to keep you entertained. Be warned, though, it's a seven minute ride around town... so you might want to carve out 10 minutes or so if you plan to ride through this one. Mod link.
City & Suburbs @Night
A night-time raceway that takes players through the placid still life of the rural suburbs, all the way up into the towering concrete parkway jungle of the city. This is a diverse and challenging map that's best played with friends (or against bitter rivals via the replay feature). The map has a few tricky parts near the middle and end, but this six minute run is full of really fast and dynamic moments that will keep you on the edge of your seat. The structure and pacing of the map is perfectly suited for racers of all skill levels, so it's not like you'll spend 20 minutes stuck going in circles. Mod link.
The Loop Night
This is a pretty solid track that offers players a three-lap experience through a urban highrise environment. A catchy techno track and some fast turns and low jumps keep this one fast and furious. It's a competitive track that will easily appeal to casual gamers for keeping the technical merits low, but it will surely appeal to the hardcore crowd for offering some trick-turns that only the most perceptive of racers will be able to barrel through with the kind of mastery that would make Richard Petty blush in approval. Mod link.
Speedy Tunnels 3
This slick track from a fellow out of Denmark brings to the table exactly what the name entails. It's a speedy set of tricksy tunnel segments that rely as much on lumpy bumps within the encapsulated, cylindrical tubes as it does straight-through speed runs from one checkpoint to the next. The thing that really helps set this track aside from some of the others is the infectiously fun-to-listen-to music track from Can't Stop Won't Stop called “Up and Away”, featuring June. It just works... it all works. What you end up with is a collage of awesomeness that keeps the fun factors high and the media themes fresh. Definitely a track worth checking out for Trackmania: Valley. Mod link.
Sky High
Simple. Fun. Effective. Light. Fast. And sky high. This track is best described with all the previously mentioned adjectives, setting players up for something that's not so much about skill, competition or ridiculous amounts of precision turning-timing, but rather a strong focus on big, airy environments with over-the-top stunts. Sky High is a French-made map that's all about creative expression and having fun while being creative. If it were just a bit longer and maybe slightly more complex, I think this might be one of the better tracks out of all the Trackmania games, but given its compact presentation and appropriate aesthetic, it's the sort of track that fits in well on this list as one of the best that Valley has to offer. Mod link.
