[#10] Excite Truck

Genre: Racing
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo
Number of Players: 1-2
ESRB: E for Everyone

The Story

Race through exotic locations at blazing speeds, unlock goodies and enjoy the ride in Nintendo's in house project, Excite Truck.

The Facts

Excite Truck (perhaps the most visually impressive Wii launch title) is Nintendo's first in house racing project, no doubt designed to help show that the Wii remote is capable of more than just sports and shooters. Holding the controller horizontally (or using Ubisoft's "Wii Wheel" attachment), and pressing and of the dpad directional buttons for boosts, players can navigate the exotic landscape with a real sense of speed, or race against a friend in head to head competition. The idea behind the game is pretty standard - compete in races, do well, earn stars (points), unlock items and keep racing. But what puts Excite Truck at #10 on our list is the Nintendo name behind it. Much like PC game developer Blizzard Entertainment, it's not very often Nintendo disappoints its fans. Don't expect Excite Truck to be much more than a shiny tech demo, that is to say, if you're looking for depth you're probably looking in the wrong direction. But at the same time sometimes a fun game can just be that - fun.

Quite a few people got their hands on Excite Truck at E3 earlier this year, with a bit of concern about the controls. Complaints were received that it felt as if you had to steer far too much to the left or the right to feel get a proper response, and the overall presentation was less than stellar. Only a full review will be able to determine if these problems have been resolved, but one would expect that if anyone can do it, Nintendo can. Along with being Nintendo's first in house race title for the Wii, Excite Truck will also be the first game to make use of customizable music tracks while playing.

Much like in Grand Turismo, players will have to go through a series of training missions before starting the game for the first time. Think of it as an introduction to the Wii remote and the world of Excite. As in previous Excite titles, players will have a turbo charger to give them a massive speed boost for a short amount of time; however, if the turbo is abused, the engine will overheat and you'll have to sit it out for a moment. You'll need those boosts to help you earn points by doing crazy stunts and placing well in races. Don't be afraid to get too much air either, because steering while flying is definitely an option, but you'll need to tilt the Wii remote accordingly to land your truck on all fours.

Run N' Gun Award

Right from the get go it's easy to tell what kind of game Nintendo has designed Excite Truck to be. It's a fast, beautiful, high flying title intended to entertain, but only for a short while. When Nintendo wants to make a deep game, trust us, you'll know it. If it looks kind of shallow, then the chances are it probably is. This isn't by mistake. With the Wii being marketed as the link between gamer and pedestrian, you've got to expect a few titles to be released with the mindset of being modestly easy to hop in to.