A look at Excite Truck

[thunderhero4]

Hello everyone. I'm thrilled to see you all will read my reviews and comment! Today I have a launch title that was very overlooked: Excite Truck up for review! Please read, and coment again on this review and actually consider what I say if you ever will buy this game (even if it's a launch title, it is still worth the buy! ;) )



Name: Excite Truck
Platform: Wii
Genre: Action, Racing
Developer: Monster Games
Publisher: Nintendo
ESRB: E
Retail: $49.99 (may have dropped)
Also On: N/A
Input: Wii Remote, Wii Wheel if you really wanted
Release Date: November 19, 2006

Ok, and again, even a launch title deserves to be played almost 2 years later! >:(

Story

There is no story in a genre that rarely has one, this will not take off the score

X/5

Gameplay

The gameplay in Excite Truck is good enough to call this game "an excellent racing game!" There are alot of things to go over in this section, so I will label them with underlined letters.

Steering and Overall Control

First and foremost, the first thing you will have to get used to is the steering. You hold the Wii Remote on it's side and tilt it left and right to steer (exactly like Sonic and the Secret Rings). This is actually very, very responsive and it wont take long to get used to the steering. But trying to use the Wii Wheel will only make the controls crappy and will work against you, after all, this is supposed to be played with the Remote on it's side, not help up in the wheel.

Aside from controls, the game is very difficult to learn and will require some steel practice. The button layout is very confusing at first but once you learn to use it, you will understand. I will explain this button layout further in the review (controls section).

Pacing

The pacing in this game is lightning fast. The vehicles in the game go so fast that you will have a problem trying to stand up as you play, and will likely lose balance. Even how hard to believe this may be, it's faster than any Sonic game that has ever been released, ever. And there are pleanty of places to let that speed kick in and you get a wild and crazy feeling trying to control at what seems like 300 MPH! To reach speeds like this, you will need to expertly utilize your jumps and nitros.


This may not be the actual game, but this is what it looks like then you boost

Jumping and Boosting

Jumping in this game is as easy as double tapping 2 (button to accelerate) while going off of any jump. You will skyrocket into the sky, and you may turn and manipulate your vehicle as it is airborne. If you can land on all 4 wheels, you will get a sound barrier shattering boost of speed, complimented with burning tires and a whislting/boiling teapot like sound! It feels great, and you are able to jump off of any slope in terrain, so you will be using it alot!

Your nitros on the other hand, are executed by holding in any button on the directional pad. They give you a huge speed boost, but use up very quickly. You get about 3 seconds worth of boost from a full nitro, and it must cool down (which happens quick too). If you hold your nitro for too long, you will overheat and your speed will be cut in half for a few seconds. However, driving through water instantly cools your nitros and you can continue to use them excessively. Stay in the water, and you can keep acclelerating as much as you want. Strategic use of water can gain you the upper hand in a race.


Go ahead and guess how high up he is

Scoring

In addition to all that I have just said, to win a race, you are going to need stars. Stars, are "points" you get for performing well in a race and doing all of your tricks perfectly. The rating for each stunt gives you up to 5 stars, and if 5 is accumulated, the name of said stunt has a Super in front of it (ex. Big Air would be changed to Super Big Air). Stunts include:

Big Air: The bigger the jump, the more stars.

Drift: Sharp turn. The longer, the more stars.

Truck Smash: Simply ram into another truck. The harder you hit em, the more stars you get.

Tree Run: Drive through narrow trees and not hit one (which would cause you to crash)

Rings: When you drive through a terrain shifter (will be explained) up to 5 rings may appear on the jump. Drive through them to et one star for each.

Truck Spin: In midair, by holding 1 and tilting the Remote vertically to one side will cause your truck to do a midair spin. Do these in a row to earn stars.

Wrecks: You may gather stars by crashing, but only if it's at a high speed.

Place Finished: You get an extra 50 stars for winning 1st of 4 trucks. Winning is very important in getting enough stars to move on, but is not always required.

Jump Link: If you jump again immediately after landing, you get a jump link. Do as many of these in a row as possible to earn stars.

Crashing, is handeled very well. If you run into an obsticle, keep tapping 2 and you will immediately repair and be placed back into the race in a nice place (usually just behind the person in the place before you.)


A Super Tree Run. This is one of the many ways to score

Gimmicks and Game Modes

Terrain shifters are one of the main and coolest aspects of the game. Run over one of these and the terrain in front of you will change before your eyes, usually opening an unseen path or making a jump bigger. These also are used to create rings to jump through.

There are 4 modes to play and over 30 trucks to unlock. Excite Mode, basic racing. Super Excite, harder than excite. Challenge, play special games. And Versus, multiplayer. If you are very good you will unlock 2 more modes: Mirror race mode, all tracks are mirrored and harder. and Super Challenge, harder versions of the normal challenges.

Challenges include Truck Smash Tag, smash all the trucks, and Drive through the markers.

Multiplayer is simply vs racing!

There are 6 basic track themes: Mexico, Fiji, Finland, Canada, China, and Scotland. The tracks are different in design, but the locations are the same. There is a 7th, but you mush unlock it by beating Super Excite, and the only hint I have is that it's not on Earth. There isn't alot of variety, but you likely wont care.

Gameplay is solid and fun. It could have had more modes, but the ones that are here are solid and awesome.

4.5/5

Personalization and Fun Extras

The only means of personaliztion in this game are the fact that you can pick a variety of colors for each truck, and that you may use MP3 files on your SD card as BGM for any race!

And there really are no extras...besides the SD card bit featured above^


The Monster Truck, one of the last vehicles in the game, in a black color

3/5

Graphics

The graphics in this game are great! Every enviornment is well lit, colorful, and looks right. And the trucks look great too! All the way down to the reflection on the windsheild and other windows. The only flaw is that the ground can look pretty boring at times.


The realistic looking desert landscape. It looks better in motion. Also notice the reflective window on the truck!

It's one of the better looking Wii games! 4/5

Sound

The music in this game by default is Metal, and that is up to you whether it's good or not. But if you have an SD card, you may use ANy music you want to in the game! So for a limitless music selection, music is flawless!

Everthing else sounds fine and perfectly in place. I have no problems with it.

5/5

Controls

Control in Excite Truck is excellent and polished. You likely wont have any problems with control, and next to Mario Kart Wii, this game has the greatest control of all the Wii racers.

Button configuration can be confusing at first, but you will get used to it. Here it is:

Steer: Tilt Wii Remote left and right
Accel: 2
Brake: 1
Nitro: any direction on D pad
Jump: Double tap 2 on jump
Midair Spin: Hold 1 and tilt sharply left or right
Change landing direction: Tilt Wii Remote to preferred landing axis
Pause: Plus (+)

Thats about it.


She's showin ya the works! :P

5/5

Multiplayer

This always varies among people, but if you have 2 good players, you can have a good race! Unfortunetely, 2 is all that can go at a time, and there is no online so...

2/5

Overall

This game is lightning fast and extreme to the bone! It has great controls, great gameplay, endless music, great graphics, and mediocre multiplayer. It doesn't have ALOT to offer, but it's good for it's controls and standards.

It gets an overall 7/10 Good

Anyone who wants a thrill will love this game. And it's different from other racers, so give it a try!

[Tupin]

Pretty good review, I still remember that this was the first Wii game I ever played, and I knew it was awesome.

I might have to go back to it.

PS: I'm gonna add you on Xbox Live.  ;)

[thunderhero4]

Pretty good review, I still remember that this was the first Wii game I ever played, and I knew it was awesome.

I might have to go back to it.

PS: I'm gonna add you on Xbox Live.  ;)

Thanks, I kind of rushed it, but it still turned out ok. It was about 3 in the morning and I just wanted to get it done ;)

[Zovistograt]

It is tons of fun.  My only problem with it is that if you bring it to someone else's house and they don't have game data for it and you don't have it on an SD card, you have to go through the entire tutorial in order to play multiplayer.

[thunderhero4]

It is tons of fun.  My only problem with it is that if you bring it to someone else's house and they don't have game data for it and you don't have it on an SD card, you have to go through the entire tutorial in order to play multiplayer.

Thats the same for every game that has a tutorial... :|

[Zovistograt]

It is tons of fun.  My only problem with it is that if you bring it to someone else's house and they don't have game data for it and you don't have it on an SD card, you have to go through the entire tutorial in order to play multiplayer.

Thats the same for every game that has a tutorial... :|

In a good majority of games with tutorials I've played, the tutorial is optional.