Excite Truck Review

Excite Truck Review

I've been anticipating the Nintendo Wii (codenamed Nintendo Revolution during development) for quite some time now, well before they even confirmed the motion-sensitive controls. As rumors circulated around the internet about Nintendo implementing "gyroscopic technology" into their controllers, I was intrigued by the prospect of an intuitive interface that would really make you feel like you were in the game and not just a third-party playing it.

Excite Truck is one of the launch titles for the Nintendo Wii that fully embraces this new take on video game controls. Instead of using a directional pad or an analog stick to control your speedy truck, you hold the Wii Remote (affectionately known as the Wii-mote in some circles) on its side, tilting it to the left and right to turn. In this way, it very much feels like you have a steering wheel in your hands and not a video game controller.

This concept, I think, is very good. The 1 and 2 buttons are easily accessible with your right thumb, and you use them to brake and accelerate, respectively. Realistically, you probably won't be doing very much (if any) braking in Excite Truck. It plays at breakneck speed. To go even faster, you tap any direction on the d-pad (accessible with your left thumb) to initiate the "boost" or "turbo".

While the idea is pretty darn brilliant, the execution is not. I found that the controls weren't as responsive as I would have liked them to be. Sometimes I'd try steering and the truck would just keep going straight, turn too much, or turn too little. In future racing games for the Nintendo Wii, I would like to see a more accurate implementation than that found in Excite Truck.

Go Like Stink in a 4 x 4

Easily the biggest appeal in Excite Truck is that it gives a really good sense of speed. As your barrel your way through the varied race courses, you really do feel like you're going incredibly fast. You break through forests, drift around sandy corners, and so on. Add in the element of taking it to the air -- which happens very often -- and it always feels like you're on the cusp of losing control. Don't worry, that's a good thing.

As you fly through the air, you can perform tricks and must attempt to land on all four wheels by adjusting the pitch (tilting the Wii Remote forward or back). If you tip the front of the car upwards, you'll fly further; tip the front downwards and you'll land sooner.

Speed isn't Everything

Interestingly, the goal in each of the races found in Excite Truck is not to cross the finish line first. Instead, the entire game is based on the idea of collecting stars. You get these by catching big air, performing wicked tricks, and doing other wild and crazy stunts along the way. In this way, Excite Truck is very much an "arcade" style game, rather than a racing simulator.

Crossing the finish line ahead of the other trucks certainly helps -- don't get me wrong -- as you receive more stars for being first than being third, for example. That said, you can achieve your goal (you are given the task of collecting a certain number of stars for each race) even if you're the last vehicle to finish in Excite Truck. Whether this is a plus or a minus for this game, well, that's up to you to decide.

Excite Truck Multiplayer... What Multiplayer?

As there is no online multiplayer set up just yet for the Nintendo Wii, I was hoping to at least find a decent local multiplayer in Excite Truck, split-screen style. Multiplayer is here, but it's certainly lacking. Instead of being able to split the screen in four, it can only be split in half: Multiplayer is strictly a "versus" mode between two players. In fact, there aren't even any computer-controlled trucks involved in multiplayer races. This is very, very unfortunate.

Take the Mario Kart series, for example. The single-player mode may be fun and all, but it's multiplayer where that game shines (with Mario Kart DS, you can even go online and challenge racers from all around the world). Locally, you can have a race with up to seven other speed freaks in Mario Kart DS. This makes for an excellent party game experience. With Excite Truck, you're restricted to just two people. That's just, well, sad.

Excite Truck: Fun While It Lasts

Perhaps you hope to get your fill with the single player mode? Well, the unique controls, excellent sense of speed, and the feeling of "just about to lose control" will certainly put a smile on your face when you first play Excite Truck, but it gets really repetitive, really fast (no pun intended). Sure, there are additional trucks and paintjobs to unlock, but they just don't seem worth the effort. One nifty feature I should mention, however, is that you can create a custom soundtrack to accompany your high-flying races via the Nintendo Wii's SD card slot. Drive around, bobbing your head to whatever music you like.

Excite Truck makes an excellent rental game, but I have a hard time justifying a purchase unless it's for a younger gamer, and even then, the lack of depth will probably get the younger player to head back on over to Wii Sports within a week or two.

Too bad, I really wanted to like this game.