THE GOOD: Excite Truck is a very fun and unique game, because you steer by holding the Wii remote on it’s side and tilting it left and right. It is a high speed, big air race off pitting you against five other computerized trucks. Zoom through all 7 landscapes, which include lush forests, sandy beaches, and frigid wastelands. Speed through China, Mexico, Scotland, and even an undetermined location… Turbo boost off huge ramps, activate special “Terrain Morphs” that alter the track, and ram into all sorts of obstacles. You can also earn stars by getting big air, drifting around curves, crashing into other trucks, swerving past trees, maneuvering through rings that appear in midair when you get a terrain morph, spinning in the air, and placing first through fifth in the race. These stars are needed to win the race, and if you have earned enough, the next race will be available, and maybe a new truck. This game has fair graphics and a lot of detail into the trucks and the race tracks. The music is also decent, but it’s short playlist can get repetitive. The good news is that you can listen to your own music in an MP3 format from an SD card while racing. There is also a two player mode, where you can race a friend to the finish line. Or you could test out your skills in the Challenge Mode, which has three types of minigames to complete. Summary: -Steer with the Wii remote. -7 types of terrains. -Nice sound effects. -Lots of tricks to perform. -Lots of unlockable cars, modes, etc. -Play music from an SD card while racing. -A tutorial if you need help. -Easy for beginners. -Two player mode. -Challenge mode with three types of minigames.
THE BAD: The graphics are not the greatest, and the sounds and music can get repetitive and old. It is somewhat hard to complete it all the way through and unlock everything, and the steering can be a little messed up at times. The game can also be a bit boring and repetitive for some people. Summary: -Graphics are OK. -Sounds and music repetitive. -Glitchy steering. -Kind of hard to complete. -Can be boring.
SUMMARY: Excite truck is an overall good racing game featuring trucks with lots of speed and power. It has a revolutionary steering system, and is pretty fun. Though for some people, it can get a little boring, but if you are worried about that, you can just rent it first. Even if you have not played racing games before, or even video games, this is lots of fun, easy to learn, and an overall excellent experience. Have fun!
THE GOOD: + Unique game idea + Good simulation + Lots to do (i.e. cool tricks) + Challenging gameplay + Good sounds + Decent graphics + Many trucks + Choose background music using MP3's from an SD card
THE BAD: - Controls are sketchy - Does not use Nunchuk - Without an SD card, little sound
SUMMARY: One of the first racing games to be released for the Nintendo Wii, Excite Truck brings a lot of "excite"-ment to any players gaming collection. Playing the one player, or against a friend, Excite Truck is a fun, yet unique racing game. Choose a truck and it's colour, then begin racing around various cities to unlock new tracks.
Gameplay As you take your truck for a spin, it's more than just a normal race. Excite Truck isn't about winning the race, it's about collecting stars by performing various skills and tasks. This adds more to the challenging gameplay, making it more fun to play as well. You can receive stars for many different things, including:
Tree Runs
Air
Air Spins
Drift
Truck Smashes
Rings
Placing First through Fifth on One Player Mode or Placing First against a friend
Crashing
-Tree Runs are scored by the numbers of trees you dodge while racing through a track, and can be scored from one to five stars. -Air is simple, the more air you can get, the more stars you'll receive. -Air spins are turning you car in mid-air for stars. -Drift is the time your car slides around corners while turning. The longer you drift, the more stars you'll receive. -If you hit another truck while racing, one car will receive Truck Smash stars. These stars are given to the person who hits with more force in the smash. -Rings are only available to the land shift feature. Once this has been unlocked, for every ring you pass through with your truck will give you another star. -Depending on how you place, you will receive more or less stars. This also changes by what style of race you are playing (one player or vs. a friend). -Should you crash into anything, one star is rewarded for your efforts
Another neat feature is the land terrain shifter. It is a power up that will change the land to form a steep hill with rings or just change the landscape. I also really enjoyed the turbo and turbo jumps. Turbo is extra speed that must be used cautiously, and when used correctly on jumps, can gain the driver massive air. My favourite feature is the turbo, since it makes the game a little bit more "crazy", and it's easy to gain stars.
Sound Excite Truck may seem dull with sounds, since you can only hear the truck's noises, and various other sounds. However, Excite Truck is the first Wii game to use the SD card to play your own music in the background. The sounds are quite loud and very realistic, which enhance any players experience. However, without the SD card, you may find the sounds repetitive and dull. I played without the SD card and I found it rather boring and lacking.
This video shows how one user used their SD card for background music. It also displays how the game is run, and what some terrains look like.
Graphics To be honest, for a Wii game, the graphics are only decent. They could have been better, but the truck details are quite good. The terrain is done at not great standards, but the colours and backgrounds are easy on the eyes. The pathways are clearly shown, as seen in the video above. The graphics in the video may be terrible quality, but they are better in the game. However, I have played games with worse graphics, and Excite Truck only slightly lacks these.
Simulation Using only the Wiimote to control everything, the simulation feels real. Driving the truck can be done in two ways, turning the Wiimote left and right, or up and down. To use turbo, press any direction on the D-pad. But be careful, should use over use the turbo, your car will overheat. I had never played a racing game like Excite Truck, and I really enjoyed how real it felt to drive the truck. I definitely thought the controls and simulation for this game was really well done using the Wiimote.
Lasting Opininons/Recommendations For my first racing game, and one of my first Wii games, I loved Excite Truck. I always enjoy playing it, and its something I can play all the time. I recommend this to anyone who has played a racing game, or would like to try something completely different. It's a nice change from my RPGs and party games.
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4.50/5.0
4.5
