I have never been much of a sports fan. I have certainly never been a fan of Nascar or any other type of competitive racing. But I have bought some racing games in my life. I own two for the N64, Mario Kart 64 and Diddy Kong Racing. Both were great fun. When the DS first came out, even with my initial doubts about my purchase, I knew it would only be a matter of time before a racing game came out for the system that I'd want to buy. Enter Mario Kart DS. I couldn't believe how amazing the game was. I mean, I had my doubts about this game. Screenshots posted before the game's release did not look enticing or attractive. This was before I watched gameplay vids online. Eventually what hooked me in was the Mario Kart brand itself. I'd owned every iteration thus far, why stop now. It's never turned me down, never sucked. So I bought it because it was Mario Kart and I was absolutely blown away from my first lap.

Several months later, it was time for E3 2006. I remember this E3 fondly because it brought news of three games that showed huge promise: New Super Mario Bros., Yoshi's Island DS, and Diddy Kong Racing DS. At one point, I owned all three. Now, I only own two of them. The only DS game I've ever sold back, it's the only one that has ever truly disappointed me. DKR DS. Why? Because there are so many things wrong with it. Perhaps not game-breaking issues, but they bugged me enough that I couldn't tolerate them. They changed Taj's voice, they added gimmicky touch screen content, they completely ruined the pre-race boost mechanics, the sense of speed was gone, they completely wrecked the feel of the hovercraft, the graphics seemed a bit below the original's, and so on. I had the game for two weeks before I wished I'd asked my brother to get me a WoW game card instead (this was his bday present for me last year). Even though the previews and reviews all said the game was mediocre at best, I still had faith that it would be good fun for me. Using the same logic as I did for getting MKDS, I went for it and paid the price for my optimism. I've never gotten over it, primarily because I absolutely loved the original Diddy Kong Racing and a portable version of it just made my heart leap for joy. It disappointed me to such an extent that I just couldn't believe how horrible it was.

It's been over a year since the whole DKR DS fiasco, and while I haven't intentionally been looking for a second racing game for my DS collection, I just may have found one. Intriguing me with its promise of a quality track editor and impressive graphics, it has won me over in no time at all. What is this game that I am referring to? Trackmania DS, of course. Watch the vid behind the link and see for yourself why I just may have found my next handheld racing fix. No cute animals here. Just hardcore roller coaster tracks.