The vehicles can race on the ground, in the water, or through the sky, but the overall mechanics are largely the same regardless of where the race is occurring.

There are a lot of options spread out between all of the different modes, but they are essentially all variations on racing of some sort. While it is possible to get lost in the customization, this is also a racing title. One flows into the other, and they build off each other in such a way that jumping back and forth feels tremendously rewarding.

Here, things don't feel so separated, like you're building something and then going into the gameplay afterwards. It is one thing to have a good vehicle creation menu - what this does better than any other similar title that's been released in the past is to integrate that into the actual gameplay. It takes a matter of seconds to swap out engines, change the shape of the vehicle, or alter it in any other way to make it run better (or just look cooler). You'll be creating a vehicle, jump right in to test it, and then immediately go back into the customization menu to tweak things and make the vehicle run even better. It is simple to optimize any vehicle, and it makes customizing any creation even more enjoyable. Even better, the creation flows seamlessly into the actual game. When the vehicle eventually breaks (which it will do frequently), it takes a simple button push to put it back together. It goes beyond just the creation tools though, as everything about the customization is simple and intuitive. This is almost worth its price just for this alone, and anyone with a creative knack will want to check this out. It is easy to start putting something together and then lose all track of time just playing around with all of the various options. Checking through the downloadable options, it is easy to get inspired and the things people put together vary from mildly interesting to absolutely insane, and it really demonstrates just what can be done with the editing tools they've provided here. The customization is somehow both deep and simple to execute, making it about as good as possible. Here, slapping together a vehicle feels almost effortless, and it is as simple as accessing the menu and dragging around the pieces. A lot of times in games like this, customization can become cumbersome, making putting together anything difficult. The vehicle creation here is fantastic, both in terms of the options and the ease of putting things together. That really goes against the spirit of the game though, and this is mainly for those looking for some sort of creative outlet. If not feeling particularly creative, there are tons of creations from other people that can be downloaded and used instead. There are a ton of different pieces that can be used to build just about anything, and depending on what mode is selected, they might all be unlocked at the beginning, or there may only be a handful available at first and everything else must be unlocked. Afterwards, things like engines or propulsion can be thrown on the back to make them go. There are a bunch of blocks that can be mushed together to make a car or boat or plane, or literally any other shape that could be possibly wanted. It hearkens back to Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts but better, so anyone who played that in the past should largely know what to expect. The bread and butter of Trailmakers comes from its vehicle customization.

Trailmakers xbox one disc