Excite Truck is an easy ride

By Jack Pfeiffer

Excite Truck is pure pick-up-and-play fun. It is easy to grasp and takes advantage of the Wii controller (and by that I mean the hand-held controller, not the person who’s hand it’s in, although that does matter). Intended to be a quick, fun game, the developers didn’t put enough effort into creating masterful graphics. In fact, they take me back five years; not what I expect from a next gen platform. While graphics don’t make a game, they sure do make a difference. On top of that, the racing game is far from realistic.

The fun of Excite Truck wears off quickly. That said, the game is probably best for parties with your friends. Bottom line: this game was a launch title and it shows. It’s lacking in areas, particularly in the most crucial aspect of this type of game—multiplayer. I say it’s a rental; not a buy.

Tips to Success:

1. Grab all the power-ups you can. Power-ups are the bread and butter of this game. They make you go faster, one sure way to make play more fun overall.
2. Don’t go crazy in your steering. You don’t have to move the controller much to make the cars in this game turn. All jerking your controller around does is make you look goofy and give you less control of your car—neither of which you want, especially in front of your friends.
3. Get Big Air. One main goal in this game is to rack up points. The most effective and easiest way to do that is to get big air whenever you can. The usual turbo boost found in front of the jumps is where you can pick up the air.
4. Have Fun! This isn’t a serious game. It is introductory level play. While winning is a good thing, getting too serious about dominating this game ruins the fun factor.