Excite Truck user review

Is it REALLY as exciting as the classic Excite Bike?

Review written by
Jason Pilcher

Excite Truck is all about high speed turbos and getting as much air as possible. It is also one of the Wii's first racers, coming out on launch it shows what the Wii can do with a racing title. To get this started, I'm going to give you a simple math problem:

Racing Game + Wii's New Controller = Fun.

Gameplay

Excite Truck plays smoothly using the Wii's unique controls, better than most of the other racing games that are out right now. For those who don't know, you hold the controller sideways, like you are holding a steering wheel. These are the buttons for this game:

2 is to Accelerate, 1 is to Brake, The Directional Pad makes you Boost. And of Course, you turn by turning the WiiMote.

At the bottom of the screen there's a gauge that tells you your MPH (Miles Per Hour) and how much turbo you can use until you'll overheat. We'll call that your Heat Gauge. It goes down slowly when you don't use your directional pad, but if you turbo too much past the warning signal (flashes on screen), you'll overeat and lose a lot of speed for about 10 seconds. The easiest way to cool down your truck is to ride through water, which automatically brings it back down to the beginning of the gauge.

Gameplay is as you would expect, fast and furious. In the Grand Prix mode, you'll be playing races with 6 trucks at once, including you. They'll give you a certain amount of stars you need to get during the race. You don't have to win first, though it helps, but just simply get as many stars as you can during the specified laps. You get stars by doing tricks in the air, truck smashes, tree runs and more.

There's also a Challenge Mode, where you'll have to jump as many rings as you can within the time limit without screwing up. Another is get the gates, just like in any racing game, but this ones harder because of all the speed and turbos you get and use. The last is the best, Truck Smash Mode, which makes you smash as many trucks as you can in the harshest ways within the time limit.

The 2-Player mode is a let down, only 1 on 1 racing on a selected track with your selected car and color. It also seems to play slower than the one player mode. This could have been worked on. Bad Move Nintendo, but the other modes make up for it.

Lastly is the Tutorial mode, which tells you how to play the game. It's pretty handy and addictive. You'll learn to like this mode.

Lifespan

This game doesn't last forever, all the tracks can be beaten if you play for hours on end, but unlocking all the trucks and colors can take a while.

Graphics

It's not the best looking game around, but when you're going 400 something MPH you don't pay as much attention to how it looks than to how it plays. I think that's what Nintendo is trying to do, and it worked.

Sound

This was probably the biggest upset, and one of the coolest things in the game all at the same time. The songs are kind of repetitive, all rock songs that while fit, can get annoying. Luckily, if you have an SD Card with saved songs on it, you can play them instead. It's pretty sweet. For those without an SD Card, go to GameStop or Wal-Mart, you can get them for about $40 to $50.

Final verdict

Excite Truck is an awesome game for its time, but will clearly be way outdone in a few years time. For a fast, crazy racing game, get this, but for a real, true racing experience, get Need for Speed: Carbon. Avoid GT Pro Series at all costs!