Excite Truck Comments by Tom Bramwell

The crap you have to wade through reading reviews here at EG these days really puts me off bothering to read them at all.

Cracking review, guys - EG officially is the Channel 4 news of reviewing. My spider sense was tingling ever since I saw the first colour-drenched shots of this baby and I prayed for it to be fast and fun. Yee-har!

I noticed Teletext (which can be equally splendid, but got it wrong today) moaned about lack of a 4-player, but how many people play 4-player at home? 2%? 4%? Four screen on one telly looks shit, and I've never, ever played any console game like this because of its distractions. Give me my own telly for 2-player mario and I'd never leave the building.

I'm going to stop buying edge to celebrate (that's only 30 notes to find before the game is mine!

There was me deciding not to buy Excite Truck following numerous sub-7/10 scores it's been getting Stateside and EG go and give the game, which I'd previously pre-ordered and then decided to cancel, an 8!!! LOL

Since when are graphics and sound no viable subjecs in reviews any more? Is that only for wii titles? Because I also want to like my wii games audiovisually appealling.

Not trying to diss the wii, but this review for neglecting something that counts to most gamers. And also some of those do happen to own on the wii.

And of the provided screenshots there's only a single one of the actual game...

From the review:

"You can both afford to sit back from the TV, too, because accusations of blandness and fuzzy graphics carry about as much water as a witch in Oz. It doesn't look like Gears of War, obviously, but there are some very nice spray effects, the cars are good and shiny, the draw distances are smashing and it's all being articulated by the Wii's supposedly rubbish hardware with enough room left to ensure a solid frame rate - something critically important to a game that has you operating under such frantic conditions."

Sounds like they covered the graphics to me.

Well siro, take it from me, if you're looking for a game that shows the Wii in a favourable light graphically, this is not a bad place to start.

I cannot say the same for the audio however.........

'The crap you have to wade through reading reviews here at EG these days really puts me off bothering to read them at all. '

So don't read them.

Seems to me to be the "Wave Racer" title-equivalent for the Wii.
Seemingly not that much to it, but well-done for what it is, great fun nonetheless and enough there to be picked up the odd session time and again.
Tom and others who've actually played the game for more than a couple of hours - am I right??

That's some half-assed reasoning, Alastair.

You reckon?

What's wrong with it?

Siro - "Since when are graphics and sound no viable subjecs in reviews any more? Is that only for wii titles? Because I also want to like my wii games audiovisually appealling. "

Fair point, and the wii certainly seems to lack that oomph in the visual department. But isn't it refreshing to see games which have had so much more resource put into tuning and handling, as opposed to an extra dollop of surface make-up which becomes redundant in no time at all.

I for one bought into wii to get away from the graphics arms race and games like Gears'. Well done EG for looking at things from a new perspective. Okay, it's probably a seven. But one man's seven is another man's nine etc, etc...

I reckon. The original comment indicated that the poster isn't as keen on the tone or feel of current EG reviews (a view I happen to share to some extent, particularly with this review). He/she is offering feedback on that issue, in the appropriate place.

now do you see? How is "so don't read them" an even remotely sensible attitude?

Fair point I guess, although if I were giving feedback that I didn't like a review I would try to be a bit more constructive. Saying that there's a lot of crap in the reviews on EG at the moment doesn't really help the writer to determine which specific part is crap.
So I was suggesting that rather than moan ineffectively, just don't read them...

Anyway, I don't wish to get into an arguement as I'm not an arguementative chap.

fair enough, sorry if I was a bit feisty.

As for me, I wish the writers would keep the fourth wall up a bit more, and not spend half the review loudly trying to anticipate, announce and wrong-foot the comments thread.

i tried this game it rocks can't wait to try it with my friends.
and i like eurogamer reviews. they are the best of many sites i know

If you want reviews that give review scores that reflect the graphics as much as the gameplay, may I recommend every other games review website on the internet?

EG aren't above altering scores based on graphics if there's a compelling reason to do so, but it seems that the graphics in ExciteTruck are both pretty and functional, so who cares?

And if this *isn't* as good as Gears Of War, I'll be seriously disappointed, because GOW is a humdrum, monochrome bore. I'd still rather play Halo.

"As for me, I wish the writers would keep the fourth wall up a bit more, and not spend half the review loudly trying to anticipate, announce and wrong-foot the comments thread."

Granted, EG reviews do go on a bit, but the comments thread is the most exciting thing to happen to games reviews since they went online (and the sole reason future and co are up sh*t creek), so you can understand why the reviewers want to take part in this revolution too.

I'm just happy, as a 30-something, that the site is 1.up-to-the-minute 2.free and 3.rightly nintendo biased. Wahooo!

Sorry for not reading the review (only the Score) as I've had Excite Truck for 24 hours and thought I've played enough to form my own opinion. According to the Wii message board my son and I have clocked up a total of 16 hours game play. This game is Old Skool adrenalin rush personified and my God it works. The tutorial doesn’t do the game justice I was beginning to get board; then when I started to race I thought “Wow this is fantastic.” The sense of speed is unbelievable.

I think 8/10 is a fair score I personally would score the game 7/10 but that would be back in the day when a 7/10 was a great game.

"it's a game maligned for the usual reason: reviewers wanted to move on, and weren't being offered any incentive to redo things beyond simply enjoying the activity."

This comment sums up why I believe Eurogamer is the best gaming review site on the web.

Im so glad excite truck reviewed well. Off to get this tomorrow. :D

@ jackass

Not just trying to wrong-foot the comments thread, but often trying ironically to wrong-foot the (style of) review itself. EG coverage would run about 500 words shorter if they cut out all the self-deprecating 'gee whiz I'm doing an introductory paragraph' bullshit. Sometimes it works, sometimes it just feels indulgent.

Er, yes it can detect position in a 3D space - for example the games on Wii Play or WarioWare where you have to reach towards the screen / away from to alter the depth in the 3D game space.

It only knows you're moving, not where you actually are.

But by knowing you are moving towards or away from the TV it can detect it's relative position in a 3D Space, no? In the same way it can tell if you are moving the controller right or left relative to the TV...it's not just picking up tilt through the gyros and acceloration - it also knows its relative position to the LEDs on the sensor bar. Eg, where it is in a 3D space. Unless I've totally got the wrong end of the stick.

A better example would be to note that without the sensor bar, you would lose the ability to "reach" into the games, as the Wii knows you are doing this as (evidenced through the SB calibration screen) by the ends of the sensor bar moving closer to each other.

Just picked this up instore at Tesco's for £29.99 this lunchtime.

That's significantly cheaper than, gameplay, play and amazon.

@tiddles/Richardiox: But by knowing you are moving towards or away from the TV it can detect it's relative position in a 3D Space, no? In the same way it can tell if you are moving the controller right or left relative to the TV...it's not just picking up tilt through the gyros and acceloration - it also knows its relative position to the LEDs on the sensor bar. Eg, where it is in a 3D space. Unless I've totally got the wrong end of the stick.

It does know how far it is away from the sensor bar - but only if you point it at the screen. If the wiimote is able to see the sensor bar it can calculcate the distance to the TV by using the leds in the sensor bar. However, if you turn it sideways like this it has absolutely no idea where you are. It would be possible to point it at the screen thus registering where you are, then turn it sideways and then go by the detected motion to calculate the position in 3d space. Complicated but possible - although I have no idea how accurate this would be.

But I think the main point is that it doesn't need to know its position in absolute 3D space...just relative...
Unless other markers in 3D space are available...

Like a game telling you to quickly put the remote behind the couch....
So...Wait...Why was this point raised again?

Oh god, I didn't realize you were just getting round to this. This game justs screams mediocrity. First of all, the control mechanism just doesn't work right. Yes, I said it. Please don't try to excuse the bizarre handling of the trucks - it just doesn't feel right. Not even close. For a driving game, that finishes it - forget about the other shortcomings...

I generously give it a 5.

Reading this thread.. I'd say about 70% of comments can be summed up as:

BOO HOO!!! A GAME NOT ON MY FAVOURITIST SYSTEM GOT A GOOD SCORE.. BOO HOO!!! I THINK IT SHOULD GET A 5 OR A 6 BECAUSE ITS NOT ON THE CONSOLE I MASTURBATE OVER EVERY NIGHT.. DESPITE THE FACT I'VE NEVER ACTUALLY HAVE PLAYED THIS GAME.. BOO HOO! NINTENDO SUXORS, NINTENDO ARE FORZ KIDZ, THEY'RE NOT ALLOWED TO HAVE GOOD GAMES.. THIS SHOULD GET A 4.

Reet.. There.. i've said it in nice large print.. now any guy who's about to post and falls into the above category can save their poor little fingers, and not post.. And go back to masturbating over photographs of the ps3 they're going to be getting wondering what brilliant games may be available for it .. when sony get around to releasing something half decent for it.



..

back on topic..

"Er, yes it can detect position in a 3D space"

erm.. no it cant.

" - for example the games on Wii Play or WarioWare where you have to reach towards the screen / away from to alter the depth in the 3D game space."

That'll be reading it's acceleration in the z axis then.

But I fail to see what this has to do with this game, which just reads the acceleration of the tilt?


and it can detect acceleration and tilt.

Actually from what i read, it just reads acceleration (in each axis, so can have that corrospond to tilt).. Which means it's far more better for this kind of thing than just reading tilt.. As the speed your rotating matters (just like in real life)

.. erm.. not that this is anything like real life though.



But does any of this matter? Is it fun? Yes.. Is it worth buying? Yes (if you like fun games).

If you dont like fun games.. then gawd knows what yer doing PLAYING games...

Smelly are you a Geordie? I wondered because you wrote REET. I use Reet all the time; also I say "Alreet man" on a regular basis.

BTW: Who are the retards that have gave the game a 1 in the 'Average Readers Pole'? I think each vote should be registered to the voters account and if readers keep giving ridiculous scores for games that are not on a platform of their choice; then their account should be banned.

@Nice Sid
While I agree that people giving 1/10 in the readers rating makes them an arse, I totally disagree with banning them for expressing a view.

>for expressing a view.

But they're not expressing a view if they havent actually played it are they?

After a few hours Excite-d Truck-ing, I have to say this is really good game, maybe not one that will provide months of solid play, but a great way to while away the time until the big-hitters arrive in months to come... cool graphics (no last-gen on show here), crazy-fast action, excellent controls, and tonnes of FUN! I'm back to have another go...

Just a quick note again on the wiimote and the 3d positioning. It knows where it is in 3d space, but only relative to the sensor bar. Try out the fishing game in Wiiplay or the calibration in Zelda Twilight Princess. Of course it is able to use the axis acceleration alone to calculate movement to and away from the screen but it is also capable of knowing where it is relative to the sensor bar if the wiimote is able to see it.

I bought Excite Truck today and am now up to the gold cup. It's a fine game. Good sense of speed, very solid framerate, clean, arcadey fun. Including an sometimes unbearable arcadey rock soundtrack - but so cheesy and fitting you'll still listen to it. At least the first couple of hours. The controls work fine, landing is easier than I originally thought (the game seems to be very forgiving concerning your vehicle's angle I guess) and steering is not overly sensitive as I often read. The vehicles respond quickly and at first it's hard to hit a straight line after a long drift, especially with the quickly responsing trucks, but you will get used to it in a short time. Besides it's more about jumping than cornering, cornering is quite easy but hitting a perfect jump needs skill.

Glad I bought it, it's really fun.

Get an SD card Der_tolle_Emil I'm listening to Strauss's Viennese Waltz while racing through Scotland. :)

He's right about the fishing game smelly. The closer you are the TV the further back in the lake you can fish, this action doesn't use the Accelerometer instead the sensor bar also allows the Wii Remote to calculate the distance between the Wii Remote and TV screen, so the Wii Remote can also control slow forward-backward motion of an object in a 3-dimensional game, such as the fishing game in Wii PLay.

just bought this game today, didn't realize quite how mental it is, its as fast as F-Zero GX for gods sake. having lots of fun with it good review.

@Razz : Yip.. But that's for games which use the pointing functionality. Not really "detecting in 3d space" but how close/far away you are to the infa-red output.

It detects movement over all 3 axises simultaneously, forwards & backwards (z), left & right (x), up & down (y), surely this constitutes to 3D movement. For games which use the pointer, Excite truck obviously doesn't.

@raz.. I guess so.. as long as you're pointing at the sensor bar...

Okay.. i'll let you have this one :-)

I guess you could calc the tilt and the position to get the exact 3d location in space.. as long as you were pointing towards sensor bar.

As said - The wiimote knows how is moving in 3 axis - and it can tell where it is pointing towards the sensor bar. That's not quite the same as "knowing" where it is in 3D space. Although given these abilities you can calculate where it is relative to a starting point and given inclination, which is essentially what is done in wiisports.

This game actually looks fun. I might consider getting although I had written it off with bad reviews. I may wait for SSX Blur though which looks even better maybe.

I might put Excite Truck in as part ex for Little Britain The Video Game on the PS2.

For £35+, I'll wait. I've read that it's great in short bursts, but not really a full game.

The same as loads of the 360 games shortly after launch. Released with missing features.

Excite truck should have online multiplayer amongst other features.

Won't be paying full price for games missing features in 2007.

The console can tell which way the remote is orientated, and the direction in the x, y, z that it is being moved.

The sensor bar is functional when it is being pointed at. some games use the sensor bar, some dont.

"Seems to me to be the "Wave Racer" title-equivalent for the Wii.
Seemingly not that much to it, but well-done for what it is, great fun nonetheless and enough there to be picked up the odd session time and again.
Tom and others who've actually played the game for more than a couple of hours - am I right??"

Basically, yeah, it's diverting fun, which is what people are looking for in a game like this, so yep, a decent buy.

"Just picked this up instore at Tesco's for £29.99 this lunchtime.

That's significantly cheaper than, gameplay, play and amazon."

Got you beat: £27.99 at ASDA.

"For £35+, I'll wait. I've read that it's great in short bursts, but not really a full game.

The same as loads of the 360 games shortly after launch. Released with missing features.

Excite truck should have online multiplayer amongst other features.

Won't be paying full price for games missing features in 2007."

You're quite correct, but then my comment above makes that a moot point.

I bought this game after reading this review (just search for my nick in the responses here ;-)) and I absolutely love it. It may not have as much depth or content as something like Project Gotham Racing and it may not be about actually finishing first but Excite Truck is a damn lot of fun and excitement (get it... Excite Truck... excitement.... aghh nevermind).

I too bought this game due to this review and the fact that the only gripes reviewers seem to have had are regarding lifespan. I am delighted with my purchase, and it is some of the most fun i have had wih my pants on!!! Yeah, Euro gamer gave it the same as Gears, and i have already had more fun with it, and i bet i play it for more than 10 hours. so whats the problem?

I'm on the platinum cup now and the courses are definitely getting more tricky.
The trick with the Baron's Course (right name?) seems to be linking together turbo jumps for some serious air. Trying to add in Air Spins results in less Air and slows you down.

Makes you wonder WTF Far Cry is doing on the Wii when you can race round Far Cry type Islands at this speed on 2 player plotting way way into the distance with barely a single frame dropped.

ahhh... i was psyched about this game, wondering whether it's actually good or not. great.