Slippery Slope

To master tracks with many bends (such as the Black Forest in Figure 8), you need to be able to drift. To drift to the right (right arrow) or to the left (left arrow), steer in the direction in question and press V at the same time. A short drift helps you to take sharp bends. If you manage to drift for longer, you get a speed boost.

But be careful: All of this requires a certain amount of practice to avoid crashing off track. If you do exit the track, an eagle will rush to your rescue and put you back on. If you get stuck and can't move forward, clicking the back button will bring the eagle to your rescue.

More Players, More Fun

Once you have gained enough experience in single-player mode against the PC, you will be raring to compete with other players. In split-screen multiplayer mode (the Split Screen Multiplayer button in the main menu), several players sit at the same computer in front of a split screen. One player can use the keyboard, while all others need a separate joystick or gamepad.

In online mode (the Online button in the main menu), you compete against other players on the local network or on the Internet. In doing so, you either issue a challenge to yourself or display the available servers and join a game that someone else launched.

Off to Fort Magma

SuperTuxKart is more than just a classic racing game: You have to complete a mission in the story. To do this, click on the Story Mode button in the main menu and you will see a video with the background story: Gnu, the founding father of free software, has been kidnapped by Nolok, who is holding him prisoner in the lava castle, Fort Magma (Figure 12). To free Gnu, you need to take on the role of Tux or some other free software character and face a total of 25 challenges.

Figure 12: Nolok (top) has kidnapped Gnu (bottom) and is holding him captive in his lava castle, Fort Magma. Put your driving skills to the test and free the grandfather of free software.

The individual challenges are marked on the map at bottom left in story mode (Figure 13). If you see a lock symbol on the map, you have not yet collected enough points to take on the challenge. A small podium, on the other hand, indicates that the challenges are waiting for you to take them on. Drive to the spot marked on the map and demonstrate your prowess.

Figure 13: In Story mode, you face a total of 25 challenges.

If you are successful, you are given a bronze, silver, gold, or platinum trophy, depending on the difficulty level, and are credited with some points (Figure 14). When you reach a predefined number of points, more karts and more tracks are unlocked. (You can also click Add-ons on the home screen to download new karts and new tracks off the web. The collection is continually growing.) The final challenge takes you to Fort Magma, where you'll face Nolok. You need to defeat Nolok to free Gnu from captivity.

Figure 14: When you master a challenge, you are given a trophy depending on the difficulty level and points are added to your score.