Excite Truck

"These are eXXXXXciting times!"

Hi, this is my first ever review, so I hope it isn't too bad. Anyway, I am going to give this game an honest review. Enjoy!(and ignore the cheesy title.)

Story
Not rated

Not much. Not a REAL storyline, just a compilation of races. Fun races might I add. So basically, win a race, move onto the next race, rinse and repeat. Like I said, not much of a story line, but its still loads of fun. Then again, all the cool crashes make up for the lack of a storyline. I can't think of anything else to say about it, so I'll just move on.

Graphics
8/10

The Graphics on this game are fairly decent. They really did a good job on how the trucks look amazing, and the landscape is great, and not just in motion, but up close, and far away. And with the lighting effects, and the tropic and forest detail, it feels like you're in a different country. People say the Wii's graphics are “Gamecube 1.5,”but this game shows about a 1.8 on the same scale. Of all the levels, the Nebula level, which is unlock-able, looks the best. It has a space like feel to it, and is the most fun to play multiplayer on. However, the water form a distance doesn't always look as good as it should, and the details when up close could be more defined, but it is a racing game, so no one should be paying that much attention to it, right?

FINAL SCORE: 8/10

Sound
PT.1 (Music)
7/10
*You may be wondering why I have two categories under sound, and that's because I grade both the sound track, and the sound effects of the game.*

The music for the game is perfect, and I say that because the heavy metal tunes are perfect for whole "Excite" part of the game. After playing for a few hours though, all three or so tracks of music get repetitive, and you may want to listen to your Ipod instead. You can inset an SD card, and play the music of your choosing also. A downside to the music is that it doesn't have specific music for specific areas. What I mean is, that I wish it would have a tropic theme when I race on Fiji, or a techno theme on the nebula level. In the end, it sounds good, but you get the feeling that they didn't spend a lot of time on it.

FINAL SCORE: 7/10

PT.2 (Sound Effects)
8.5/10
The sound effects are just what you'd expect. The sound of crashing into a tree sounds like crunching metal, and the sound of wind rushing by you when you stay in the air sounds great. However the sound from the Wiimote isn't the clearest I have heard, and there are only a few sounds from it, which kind of takes away from realism. You ether expect to hear a noise, but you don't. Then you don't want a noise, and it happens, there is a noise. It becomes bothersome after a while. All in all the few sounds are okay, if annoying at times, but I guess it isn't bad for a one inch speaker.
FINAL SCORE: 8.5/10

Gameplay
10/10

You may be thinking,” Come on, get to the good stuff already,” but don't worry, this is where it gets good. The gameplay couldn't be better. This is a game best played in multiplayer, where you can eventually choose up to around 20 trucks, over sixteen locations, and like 12 paint jobs. The single player races are great, and the fact that you are going to try to get that personal satisfaction by getting all S ranks proves that this game is good. The ides in each race is to get stars. Stars are rewarded when you get massive air, fly through rings, and drift around corners. There are many more ways, but in not going to list them. But don't think that the race part isn't important, because coming in first gets you A LOT of stars. I often find you can't even get an A rank without coming in first. By Performing tricks, and doing insane stunts, you can win any race. This all starts out easy, but becomes extremely hard when you get to Super Excite Mode. The smallest complaint I could have is when you get all S ranks in ALL races and unlock EVERYTHING, the one player races get kind of easy, and kind of bland, which takes away from the replay value. You have challenge your-self by using different trucks, or by starting a new file. The best thing is just to play multiplayer.
FINAL SCORE: 10/10

Controls
10/10

Amazing. Absolutely amazing. This is where the game reaches perfection, and where the fun factor comes from. The controls are perfect in every way. If you don't already know, you hold the Wiimote sideways, with the power button and the D pad to the left, and the 1 and 2 buttons on your right. The 1 and 2 are brake (like you need it) and gas, respectively. Press the D-pad in any direction (up, down, left, and right) to use the turbo, just make sure you don't overheat! In the air, tilting back will keep you going higher and farther and the opposite if you hold forward, so that you can land sooner, so you don't crash into boundaries, or trees, or things like that. People say you steer the Wiimote LIKE a steering wheel, but that isn't true. The truth is that the Wiimote IS a steering wheel, because when you lift one end of the Wiimote, you will turn, like a steering wheel. Moving on to the rumble. It is used so much; I couldn't play it without the rumble. It just happens so much, and so flawlessly, you wouldn't think about it. I was playing, and then I thought the rumble was off the Wii remote, so I go to see if I could turn it on. It was on. I go back to the game, waiting for the rumble, and it just felt perfect. I notice its faultless performance every time. The controls are great, and it takes very little time to learn it. This gets a perfect grade, and I think you'll agree if you play it.

Final Points
+ Great controls.
+ Many Trucks and Tracks.
+ Amazing graphic detail.
+ Great music.
- No story line.
- Sounds from Wiimote are few and rare.

MY FINAL SCORE: 8.7 / 10 (round to) 9 / 10

BUY>RENT>SKIP>BURN
This game is a definite BUY for all Wii owners. You can have fun with up to one other friend, and you can play the normal mode.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 03/26/07