Monster 4X4: World Circuit

"Monster Truck-The Making of an Average Game"

My review of Monster Truck will be brief due to the lack of interest in this game.

First off, Monster Truck 4X4 comes with the plastic steering will (Just like the one that comes with GT Pro Series). I think that the plastic wheel actually works well but it is clear that the wheel is a bonus item to draw people in to buying an average game. (And it works)

I played through the World Circuit Mode in a couple of hours. There are ten tracks and then those ten tracks have a reverse version of them. Thus, making the Circuit Mode twenty races long.

Circuit Mode is set up to be a career mode but they do a poor job of showing you your standings after each race. You can view this information but it is not right in front of you. However, this ends up not being much of a problem since you will easily win most every race. I won eighteen of the twenty races and finished second in the other two. The challenge level is almost non existent, so don't come into this game expecting any.

Along the way, you rack up points by doing tricks off ramps and knocking things over. These points allow you to upgrade your truck, although there is little need since the competition is so lacking. You also unlock new trucks along the way, there are fourteen total. The Monster Trucks are cool looking and range from a Taxi Cab, Ambulance , Fire Truck to regular looking Monster Trucks.

After beating Circuit Mode, you view the credits and nothing new seems to be open. Sure, you can play it again but you can open almost everything up the first play through.

This game does offer a four player mode which is a nice feature. Multi-player is available for quick race, and three mini games, Monster Soccer, Monster Combat and Monster Ball. Quick race allows you to pick any track that has been opened and race. You can add computer players for any missing human players up to a total of four. Monster Soccer is a two vs two game of knocking the soccer ball into the opponents goal. Monster Combat is a free for all, where each person tries to hit barrels into the other players. Lastly Monster Ball is a two vs two game of trying to knock your balls to the other side before the opposition does the same. The mini games and quick race are nice additions.

Graphics-6 The Vehicles and tracks look pretty good but this game could have easily been on the Gamecube.

Sound-5 Nothing really stands out here. After playing through the game I can't really even remember much about the music and or sound effects.

Play-7 This game handles pretty well. I had no problems controlling the Monster Trucks with the included plastic wheel or just using the Wii remote.

Replay-6 This game is just way too short. The multi-player adds some replay to the game but feels a little tacked on. The ability to play multi-player though the World Circuit mode would have been nice. The mini games can be fun as well but get old quickly.

Buy or Rent- I would suggest a rental of this game since you can easily squeeze all of the fun out of it in a weekend. The steering wheel is a cool accessory but does not justify the purchase of this game.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 12/04/06