There is also split-screen multiplayer, if you would like to play with your friends or family in the room with you.  This world works well, and it's fun to play, though the map selection screens are a little clunky.

All of what I wrote above could easily have been written for virtually any of the other games in the TrackMania 2 series, and most of that even applies to the original TrackMania.  Despite that, each entry in the TrackMania 2 series does offer something unique, namely the tracks, environments, cars, and physics.

TrackMania 2: Valley is the third game in the TrackMania 2 series, after Canyon and Stadium.  Each environment has not only a themed backdrop, with Canyon's desert areas and Stadium's F1 racetracks (with some dirt and grass thrown in, of course), Valley takes place in the beautiful hills and valleys of Europe.  And this is the prettiest TrackMania yet.  With the varying dawn, day, evening, and nighttime settings, as well as the gorgeous forests, homes, rivers, and other stunning environments to behold, it's a real looker.  There are clouds in the sky as well that look convincingly real.  And if you are fortunate enough to have a system powerful enough to handle it fully cranked (don't forget with triple buffering and vsync!) it's even better.

The cars, and the physics that drive them, are the most consequential changes to the driving experience in Trackmania 2: Valley.  Each game has subtly different physics, with Canyon's NASCAR-like cars excelling at heavy drifting, and Stadium's F1-like cars gripping the track tightly.  Valley's cars are notably different. These new cars use a model somewhat similar to a Mini, and the way they handle is that turning and drifting has a much larger impact on speed.  They also accelerate much more slowly, bringing a much different feel to the experience.  For example, making slow, wide turns, can often lead to faster lap times than attempting to drift around a sharp corner.  And turning on dirt really requires skill, as you can very easily overturn, resulting in lost time correcting your mistake.  Despite this, the sense of really earning your speed makes it in some ways feel more rewarding when you really get that momentum going.

This game is absolutely squeaky clean, like virtually all of Nadeo's other games. There is just crazy high speeds – no law enforcement to worry about, no people to get harmed, or any other moral issues to be concerned with.  When you crash, you can definitely get a nicely banged up car, but this does not effect driving in any way other than cosmetically.  When playing online, there may be people who write inappropriate messages or draw logos that may be tasteless.  Downloading images from other racers is optional, if I remember correctly.  That is the extent of any content issues, which is to say: I let my young children play this game.

And I play it, too.  TrackMania 2: Valley is an excellent new addition to the TrackMania series.  If you love eye candy with your high speed, this game is probably the best entry yet for that.  If you have never played a TrackMania game, you could start with Valley, and enjoy it, but I would recommend either trying out the free (but much older) TrackMania Nations Forever to see if it's your thing, or picking up TrackMania 2 Stadium for half of the price of this game.  But if you are like me, and can't get enough of the TrackMania universe, then this game is a no brainer – there are few games that combine the modern advances in graphics and sound, and the old-school arcade-like 'get the best time' gameplay as well as TrackMania.