Developed by: Monster Games, Inc.
Genre: Racing
Players: up to 2 players
Release Date: November 19, 2006
ESRB Content Rated: E - Mild Violence

The Introduction from Nintendo:

In the grand racing tradition of Excitebike, get ready for a big-air experience like no other! Players rocket their trucks across dynamically changing terrain in this nitrous-injected, high-flying racer for speed junkies. Showing the Wii Remote controller’s versatility, players tilt the controller on its side to turn it into a wireless steering wheel!

Excite Truck:

Excite Truck is the first of the launch titles from Nintendo that will require you to sit in order to truly enjoy the experience. There is no need to think of Excite Truck as a traditional racing game, as it’s quite the opposite. As it’s greatly influenced by Nintendo’s Excitebike for the NES, Excite Truck is an arcade styled racing game. Simply finishing first is not you only way of winning.

Game Play:

One of the first things that you notice about Excite Truck is its incredibly fast paced action. The game play of the races is insanely fast and will require you to stay on your toes. Having one false turn and you’re toast. In single-player mode the game is not as exciting and can be quite short. In fact, there are only really about twelve playable tracks. This does ultimately provide a somewhat unsatisfying experience. The multi-player mode on the other hand, does try to improve things, but doesn’t help quite enough to keep you satisfied.

In the main multi-player mode the screen is split for a 2-player race. Although this is a much appreciated addition, I feel that having a 4 player would have been a much more interested experience. With the option of only a 2-play multi-player mode, as well as only having 12 tracks to race on, makes Excite Truck replay ability rather low.

Once you’ve completed the single-player experience, there is not really much to tempt you back for a second time. One benefit to the game play is how Excite Truck enables you to import your own music into the game. The is allowed via a SD Card. The handling in the game is also rather remarkable. It does take a little time to get the hang of things, however once you have completely mastered the controls, you’ll never want to return to a regular remote again.

Using the Controls:

Excite Truck does really display how versatile the Wii remote can be. You simply hold the remote on its side and use it as a steering wheel. The control and accuracy are really fantastic. Although the control will at first take a little bit of getting used to, simply because you’ve never really played a game in this way. You also have the option a use a steering wheel attachment that is available but not entirely necessary to play. It does retail as a separate item.

Look and Appearance:

The graphics in Excite Truck are actually rather beautiful, although with the fast pace of the action you’ll never have any time to actually stop and look at them. The game does feature great textures and visual effects, as well as some excellent level design.

Sound Effects:

If you start out using the default soundtrack for the races it will rather quickly seem quite sub-par. However, as Excite Truck will allow you to import your own tunes via an SD Card. This is an excellent addition that adds that much appreciated personal touch to the game.

And the Pros Are:

+ Excellent graphics
+ Ability to import your own music into the game
+ Intuitive and accurate controls

And the Cons Are:

- Limited replay value
- Lack of multi-player support
- Low number of tracks

Overall: 7.5 / 10

Published by Darren Lintern