Game Name: Excite Truck
System: Nintendo Wii
Developer: Nintendo
Genre: Racing
ESRB: [E] Everyone
Rankings
Appearance: 9/10
There's no question about it. This game has exciting and stunning visuals. The details are crisp and scenery diverse and breathtaking. It's obvious where many visuals come from, too. This game sticks very closely to realism where visuals are concerned. You can see reflections on each truck's paint and each body of water's surface. You can see nitrous explode out the tailpipes as the truck kicks out the turbocharger. The sun gives the proper glare as rain and dust easily show proper texture enough to hamper vision.
Audio: 8/10
The included track isn't anything to write home about, but it's not bad either. The track easily matches the pace and tone of the game, but there's just something to be said about being able to use one's own MP3 collection to just breath a new life into the game.
Physics: 8/10
There is one exception to the realism presented in this game, and it's true in almost all racing games. A crash will not take your truck out. In fact, you're often rewarded for crashing! Enough about that, though. Otherwise, this game presents a slick, clean presentation of racing and driving physics. The trucks kick up dirt, mud, water, snow, ice, grass, and leaves as they race across various terrain. There are terrain types that slow the trucks significantly, but a well enough built truck can still manage. When a truck hits a tree, it's time for that truck to meet its maker...at least for a moment before it's back on the track. The trucks can even take advantage of streaming while behind another truck!
Game Play: 9/10
This game is fun! Period, end statement! It's fun to crash. It's fun to race. It's fun to perform tricks. This game has pulled all these off in a way that it just fun. You never know when you'll do something that brings a snicker, chuckle, or full out laugh because of how the action unfolds on the screen. Even through crashing isn't realistic in the fact that the truck respawns, just watching the very realistic sequence can be more than enough sometimes.
Story: N/A
Multiplayer: 9/10
You can make an awesome sequence crashing into your friends... I don't think anything else needs to be said...
Replay: 8/10
After a while, any racing game gets boring. It's the good ones that stick around for a while. Excite Truck is one of those good ones. It's easy to pop in for a quick play, and it delivers the same quality time and time again. It's easy to get lost in the excitement, which might be a reason behind the name of the game.
Extras: 5/10
There's not too much there. It's on par with most racing games. You can unlock newer, better trucks. You can unlock new, more difficult tracks. You can unlock new, more challenging race cups. It's all pretty standard and basic.
Overall: 8/10
This is really a game that upholds the Seal of Quality that has become a Nintendo standard. It's fun, attracting, and easy to come back to time and time again. This is one of those games that little improvements here or there really wouldn't help, at least all that much. The extras are fine and all, but nobody's really expecting much in a racing game. This is definitely a highlighting game among the race genre.
