Post by Jag on Jul 2, 2007 4:15:50 GMT 1
Excite Truck Review
The long overdue sequel returns to us on the Wii. Are you ready?
By Jag –
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Platform: Nintendo Wii
Developer: Monster Games Inc.
Publisher: Nintendo
Players: 1-2
Genre: Racing, Arcade
Release Date: November, 2006. Wii Launch Title.
ESRB Rating: E
Price: $40.00-$50.00?
Let’s get this review started!
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Introduction
Decades ago a smash hit game was introduced to the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). That game’s name was Excitebike. Excitebike reappeared in a very successful game called ‘Animal Crossing’ for the Gamecube in 2001. Now, in 2006-2007 the long awaited sequel is finally released. I give you… Excite Truck!
Storyline
Excite truck doesn’t have a storyline. Complete all of the tournaments and races. - 0/0
Gameplay & Replay Values
Racing through trees, four wheeling through dirt and mud, and getting massive air by driving off a cliff is as suicidal and exciting as a game could get. With 20+ trucks to choose from you can tear up the courses. In order to go on to the next race you need to reach a goal of stars, stars are obtainable by doing certain stunts during a race. One thing I liked about this game is you don’t need to get first place to win. To get stars you can:
Get Air – Drive off a cliff and try to stay airborne.
Drift – Slide your car randomly, or around a turn, it doesn’t matter. When racing you usually end up getting drift points anyways.
Tree Run – Drive though forests without crashing, for best results try to get a POW block so your invincible.
Air Spin – Spin your truck after you’ve gone off a jump, do this by tilting the remote.
Truck Throw – Strategy involved. Hit the ! icon in the road when one of your opponents is place perfectly. The ! icon makes the terrain change, usually making hills, cliffs, jumps etc.
Jump Combo – Do more than one jump by consecutively going off a jump and getting air. (Difficult)
Nice Crash – Just do what it’s named, smash your truck up as bad as you can.
Rings – When going off a jump, most of them have rings, aim your truck precisely so you go through them all.
Other ways to get stars are by finishing the race:
1st Place: 50 Bonus Stars
2nd Place: 25 Bonus Stars
3rd Place: 15 Bonus Stars
4th Place: 10 Bonus Stars
5th Place: 5 Bonus Stars
6th Place: 0 Bonus Stars
When you feel like taking a break from the main race mode you can play with a friend. Only one. I felt Excite Truck lacked a lot in this. I was hoping for four players. A little bit of a let down.
After you unlock all the trucks I can’t imagine you wanting to play this game any more. The game gets long, boring, and gives you the feeling of “This is a game?” Until then, it’s loads of fun. - 7/10
Sound
Opposed to most driving games, this one stands out in sound. Using an SD Card you can play your own music compared to the default music. The default music isn’t that bad either. The truck’ sound affix doesn’t overpower the game’s sound. If it didn’t have the SD Card capabilities I wouldn’t have given it the score I did. Now I can listen to my disco music without turning on my iPod. -8.5/10
Controls
Of course, a Wii racing title isn’t your average Need for Speed game. Turn the Wii Remote on its side and tilt, steer, it. When you play at first it feels like the controls are way too sensitive. After about 20 minutes of playing you’ll be getting the hang of it. The 2 button is accelerate and the 1 button is reverse. Press up on the D-Pad for a boost, much like NOS in other games. When you’re going off a jump hit up twice for a mega jump. When in the air tilting forwards and backwards on the remote determines how long you stay in the air. Each truck has different handling stats. Like I said before, it doesn’t take long to get used to a certain truck. – 8.5/10
Graphics
Being a Wii launch title the graphics are fairly good, much better then some other Wii games. You can clearly see the differences in textures of the terrain. Hiting certain icons in the road will change the terrain around, raising hills/jump. Seeing a hill rise up is truly remarkable. You can see great detail put into the Trucks, the sponsers are clearly visable, whether they're real or not. One thing I would've liked to see was how dirty your truck was after each race. 7/10
Though the screen shot is fuzzy, you can still see the great detail in the surroundings, especially in the reflection of the water. I'm a sucker for reflection graphics.
Game Modes Walkthrough
Excite Race is the main mode, here is what would be considered the 'Grand Prix' in most race games.
Challenge mode tests your skills on the track. Advoid obsticles, and perform certain tasks/moves.
Versus mode allows you to play a friend, just one. With "Split Screen Action" you can race against a friend with the trucks you've unlocked in Excite Race.
Tutorial mode is that worthless how-to mode. It is also required at the beginning of the game to play the game. Which I cannot stand in a game.
Pros & Cons:
Pros:
+ Great graphics for a Wii Launch title
+ Many trucks to choose from
+ Interesting and fun tracks
+ SD Card-music capabilities
+ First place isn't required
Cons:
- Only 1-2 Players
- Limited car customization
- Star points required is sometimes set too high
Conclusion
This game isn't as bad as its made out to be. Racing titles are very hard to determine whether or not you'll like it, whether or not its good, whether or not its worth it. But being such a respected title, and since Wii doesn't have many games out there right now, this game is definantly a must-buy.
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Jag’s Ratings:
Story: 0/0
Gameplay & Replay Values: 7/10
Controls: 8.5/10
Sound: 8.5/10
Graphics: 7/10
Overall: 7.75
The long overdue sequel returns to us on the Wii. Are you ready?
By Jag –
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Platform: Nintendo Wii
Developer: Monster Games Inc.
Publisher: Nintendo
Players: 1-2
Genre: Racing, Arcade
Release Date: November, 2006. Wii Launch Title.
ESRB Rating: E
Price: $40.00-$50.00?
Let’s get this review started!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Introduction
Decades ago a smash hit game was introduced to the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). That game’s name was Excitebike. Excitebike reappeared in a very successful game called ‘Animal Crossing’ for the Gamecube in 2001. Now, in 2006-2007 the long awaited sequel is finally released. I give you… Excite Truck!
Storyline
Excite truck doesn’t have a storyline. Complete all of the tournaments and races. - 0/0
Gameplay & Replay Values
Racing through trees, four wheeling through dirt and mud, and getting massive air by driving off a cliff is as suicidal and exciting as a game could get. With 20+ trucks to choose from you can tear up the courses. In order to go on to the next race you need to reach a goal of stars, stars are obtainable by doing certain stunts during a race. One thing I liked about this game is you don’t need to get first place to win. To get stars you can:
Get Air – Drive off a cliff and try to stay airborne.
Drift – Slide your car randomly, or around a turn, it doesn’t matter. When racing you usually end up getting drift points anyways.
Tree Run – Drive though forests without crashing, for best results try to get a POW block so your invincible.
Air Spin – Spin your truck after you’ve gone off a jump, do this by tilting the remote.
Truck Throw – Strategy involved. Hit the ! icon in the road when one of your opponents is place perfectly. The ! icon makes the terrain change, usually making hills, cliffs, jumps etc.
Jump Combo – Do more than one jump by consecutively going off a jump and getting air. (Difficult)
Nice Crash – Just do what it’s named, smash your truck up as bad as you can.
Rings – When going off a jump, most of them have rings, aim your truck precisely so you go through them all.
Other ways to get stars are by finishing the race:
1st Place: 50 Bonus Stars
2nd Place: 25 Bonus Stars
3rd Place: 15 Bonus Stars
4th Place: 10 Bonus Stars
5th Place: 5 Bonus Stars
6th Place: 0 Bonus Stars
When you feel like taking a break from the main race mode you can play with a friend. Only one. I felt Excite Truck lacked a lot in this. I was hoping for four players. A little bit of a let down.
After you unlock all the trucks I can’t imagine you wanting to play this game any more. The game gets long, boring, and gives you the feeling of “This is a game?” Until then, it’s loads of fun. - 7/10
Sound
Opposed to most driving games, this one stands out in sound. Using an SD Card you can play your own music compared to the default music. The default music isn’t that bad either. The truck’ sound affix doesn’t overpower the game’s sound. If it didn’t have the SD Card capabilities I wouldn’t have given it the score I did. Now I can listen to my disco music without turning on my iPod. -8.5/10
Controls
Of course, a Wii racing title isn’t your average Need for Speed game. Turn the Wii Remote on its side and tilt, steer, it. When you play at first it feels like the controls are way too sensitive. After about 20 minutes of playing you’ll be getting the hang of it. The 2 button is accelerate and the 1 button is reverse. Press up on the D-Pad for a boost, much like NOS in other games. When you’re going off a jump hit up twice for a mega jump. When in the air tilting forwards and backwards on the remote determines how long you stay in the air. Each truck has different handling stats. Like I said before, it doesn’t take long to get used to a certain truck. – 8.5/10
Graphics
Being a Wii launch title the graphics are fairly good, much better then some other Wii games. You can clearly see the differences in textures of the terrain. Hiting certain icons in the road will change the terrain around, raising hills/jump. Seeing a hill rise up is truly remarkable. You can see great detail put into the Trucks, the sponsers are clearly visable, whether they're real or not. One thing I would've liked to see was how dirty your truck was after each race. 7/10
Though the screen shot is fuzzy, you can still see the great detail in the surroundings, especially in the reflection of the water. I'm a sucker for reflection graphics.
Game Modes Walkthrough
Excite Race is the main mode, here is what would be considered the 'Grand Prix' in most race games.
Challenge mode tests your skills on the track. Advoid obsticles, and perform certain tasks/moves.
Versus mode allows you to play a friend, just one. With "Split Screen Action" you can race against a friend with the trucks you've unlocked in Excite Race.
Tutorial mode is that worthless how-to mode. It is also required at the beginning of the game to play the game. Which I cannot stand in a game.
Pros & Cons:
Pros:
+ Great graphics for a Wii Launch title
+ Many trucks to choose from
+ Interesting and fun tracks
+ SD Card-music capabilities
+ First place isn't required
Cons:
- Only 1-2 Players
- Limited car customization
- Star points required is sometimes set too high
Conclusion
This game isn't as bad as its made out to be. Racing titles are very hard to determine whether or not you'll like it, whether or not its good, whether or not its worth it. But being such a respected title, and since Wii doesn't have many games out there right now, this game is definantly a must-buy.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jag’s Ratings:
Story: 0/0
Gameplay & Replay Values: 7/10
Controls: 8.5/10
Sound: 8.5/10
Graphics: 7/10
Overall: 7.75