Product Description

Extreme action with the biggest and baddest names in monster-trucks / Compete on 18 indoor and 12 outdoor racing tracks / ESRB RP Rating Pending

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #810 in Computer & Video Games
• Brand: ACTIVISION
• Model: 047875754454
• Released on: 2007-11-13
• ESRB Rating: Everyone
• Platform: Nintendo Wii
• Dimensions: 2.00 pounds

Features

• 1-4 Player
• 20 monster trucks
• 9 stadium racing tracks
• 9 stadium freestyle events
• 12 outdoor circuit tracks

Amazon.com

Experience monster truck action as you catch massive air, crush cars, perform crazy stunts, destroy everything in your path and race to the finish line. Battle through stadium races, freestyle competitions and outdoor circuit tracks on your way to becoming the Monster Jam world champion.

Features:

• 20 of the biggest names in monster trucks including Grave Digger, Maximum Destruction, Monster Mutt, Blue Thunder and Bounty Hunter
• Compete in 9 different stadiums on the Monster Jam tour as you compete in stadium racing, stadium circuit and stadium freestyle competitions
• Use 4 wheel steering to make hairpin turns and perform stunts such as crazy donuts. Put the pedal to the metal with turbo boost to catch massive air and accelerate past competition or through objects
• Take your truck out of the stadium and battle to the finish line on 12 outdoor circuit tracks. Race on unique tracks such as an airport graveyard, a shipyard docks, a construction zone and a ski resort
• Each race track and freestyle event has a variety of fully destructible objects and obstacles including school buses, gas stations, construction trailers, luxury yachts and loaded semi-trailers
• Destroy your monster truck by ripping off the hood, tearing the body off of the chassis, losing your tires or blowing your engine
• Qualify for the world finals in Las Vegas where you will need to beat the best to become the Monster Jam world champion
• Crush your competition on split screen multiplayer

Customer Reviews

Could be Better
I dont play this game because it belongs to my boys, they love it. But i will have to agree with most of the reviewers here, the graphics are not great and the steering on this game is not great. Kids, i'm sure they will say the love it as mine do, but i dont think you will find a lot of adults that would say this is a great game.

Fairly decent and fun game but could be better
I was happy to see that there was a Monster Jam branded monster truck game since my five year old son is such a huge monster truck fan (and I have to admit, I've gotten into them a bit through my son). Though this game is pretty fun, it does have some major faults, though it represents a pretty good value if you can get it for less than $20.

First of all, the good aspects of the game: For those of you who are into the Monster Jam monster trucks, it really is a thrill to control your favorite monster truck throughout the different venues. And though you do have to unlock quite a few monster trucks, you are able to play some popular monster trucks from the very beginning: Grave Digger, Monster Mutt, Blue Thunder, and King Crunch for example. Supposedly the venues are modeled after the actual stadiums, but I can't really tell -- a monster truck stadium is a monster truck stadium to me. The tracks for the races seem fairly well thought out though some tracks are very frustrating. You not only compete in outdoor races but also in one on one stadium races and freestyle competitions where you do stunts and smash cars. Overall, it's a lot of fun, particularly playing freestyle competition using your favorite monster truck to do stunts and small cars.

Unfortunately, there are several issues that make the game less than perfect.

- First of all is the control. Others have pointed out how easy it is to oversteer, and I have to agree. It seems some trucks are more prone to oversteering than others (Gravedigger to me was the worst). I sure wish they tightened this up a bit. It is possible to get used to it, but it really is touchy. Also, I had a minor issue with button layout. You can rearrange the buttons, but I didn't like how "boost" was set at pressing the direction pad right as sometimes in the heat of playing, I press down which changes the camera view. I wish they used the back "B" button instead.
- Second, during the races, if you bump against another car (as often happens during races), you always always ALWAYS get pushed off track or flip over. The computer cars NEVER seem to be the one pushed off track or spun around, and this seems to happen regardless of which monster truck I use (It would make sense if a truck was heavier than another and tended not to get spun around or bumped off track). In this regard, I wish that there was some way of knowing what differences there were between trucks. For instance, in some racing games, different cars would have different characteristics -- more speed, less acceleration, more weight for example. With this game, you have no idea what the different characteristics of the trucks are if any. It does seem like there are differences, though. When I play with Gravedigger, I seem to be able to achieve higher jumps on Freestyle competitions but then the control is more prone to oversteering.
- Third, it really is a pain to unlock more monster trucks. You unlock trucks by getting points through stunts you do or smashing objects. However, you can only earn points during the "Championship" circuit (as opposed to single events -- a single race or single freestyle event). Additionally, say you play a freestyle event and earn 10000 points. But, because you did not finish in the top three, you don't get to move on to the next event, so you play that freestyle event again. The second time you play, you earn 12000 points. But, you don't earn 12000 points. You only earn 2000 "new" points (because you only earned 2000 more than your highest). So even though in total you earned 22000 points, you only have credit for 12000. Well, when you are trying to earn 75000 points to unlock a new monster truck, this takes a long time. I felt like this was needless. Just add all the points not just "new points"! Come on, guys!
- Finally, sometimes the camera doesn't move fast enough. You usually see from the vantage point of behind the truck. However, if you get spun around the camera starts to rotate around too slowly, even if you recovered, and it's hard to tell which direction you're facing. This is crucial during the races as it wastes time.

Graphics wise, I thought it was ok. I didn't find it awful or distracting. This is the Wii after all, not a Playstation 3. Also for the races, in order to win, you should know that most (if not all) of the tracks have shortcuts in them. Drive around slowly, and you'll see them. Battle mode is fun -- the kids absolutely love crashing into each other.

Overall, this is a very fun game, and like I said, it's a thrill to control your favorite Monster Jam trucks. Too bad the experience is hampered by touching steering and needlessly onerous truck unlocking scheme. A pretty good value for less than $20 (Amazon happened to have it on sale when I bought it). Plus, my five year old just goes nuts over driving his favorite trucks!

Fair at best
I was disappointed with thsi game. The graphics are lousy and the continual scream of engines gets on the nerves. I guess I should have considered what kind of game I was buying but I still think this one is weak.