Excite Truck

By Mathew Kumar Published 19 May, 2006

Show your Wiimotions.

Nintendo has created so many franchises over the years that it's been easy for a few to fall by the wayside. But if there's one thing Nintendo has learned with its recent reissues of classic NES titles on GBAe and the coming Virtual Console for Nintendo Wii, is that it's worthwhile to pay homage to their past. So it was with an almost reverent joy that I received the news that Nintendo is at least paying lip service to one of my most favorite, most forgotten NES titles on the Nintendo Wii.

Pit, from Kid Icarus, is making an appearance in Super Smash Brothers Brawl.

How awesome is that, eh? The Kid Icarus main character finally making a comeback! Nintendo's got to be softening people up for a full game! Oh, yeah, it is also continuing the Excitebike franchise with Excite Truck. I guess that's okay too.

I'll be honest - despite being heavily pushed during Nintendo's press conference, I wasn't holding high hopes for this to be particularly good. Competent, I supposed, but not necessarily good. I don't think anyone else was particularly enamored by the sound of the title either, with the lines, while still hefty, a walk in the park compared to some. The demo offered a choice of either the balmy, sandy beaches of Fiji or the red, sun scorched deserts of Mexico, but didn't offer any choice of vehicle, and was played entirely with the Wii controller, no nunchuck. You hold the controller sideways, in the NES style configuration, but you tilt the controller to turn the truck left and right. It's worth pointing out that you aren't ‘turning' the controller. As you wouldn't naturally be driving a car with a wheel that's at a 90 degree angle to yourself, this feels surprisingly natural supposing you imagine the controller held sideways as the crossbar of an imaginary wheel.

Sadly, however, the controller requires that you push buttons while playing, which feels a little less natural by necessity. The d-pad fires the truck's turbo boost, and the 1 and 2 buttons act as brake and accelerate respectively. Now, as it's quite unlikely that when using a steering wheel you'd have to be pushing buttons, this does damage the immersion factor, but it's not the worst aspect. After all, I'm sure that people will be offering third party foot pedals within seconds of the controller hitting the shops.

'Excite Truck' Screenshot 1

More worrying, and it's a problem that was faced by the other game on show which used tilt steering, Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam, is that unlike with a real steering wheel, or even an analogue stick, there is absolutely no feedback to let you know when you're at the apex of a turn. You are, after all, turning an object in the air that isn't attached to anything. This could, hopefully, be remedied with subtle use of the vibration pack, the Wii controller's ace in the hole (certainly against the PS3, in retrospect) but in the version on show I often found myself unsure if I making the most of the Wii controller's turning circle.

The control issues aside, which I'm quite convinced can be dealt with, Excite Truck more than lived up to its name, offering tracks with wide range of off road terrain and multiple paths. The most exciting part of the not-entirely-linear tracks had to be the ability to modify the terrain in real time by hitting question marks littered around the course, allowing the player to add gigantic, Excitebike-style peaks to the course, launching the truck for some absolutely gargantuan air.

Indeed, while it might not initially seem like it, this does seem to be worthy successor to the Excitebike name. Much like the original, a large amount of your time is spent carefully adjusting your position in mid air, and it's in these situations - where that the lack of obvious force feedback should be intentional - that using the Wii controller to softly nudge and tilt the truck comes into it's own. A successful landing is challenging, but highly rewarding.

Crashes are just as well rewarded, however, and the more catastrophic the better, with a button-bashing mechanic in place to gain a quick turbo boost once you're returned to the track. This certainly makes the choice between playing it safe and staying the course or seeking out extreme crashes an interesting one, even in a race scenario.

My slight worries about the lack of feedback on the controller were never quite dissuaded, however, and I was never satisfied that I was getting the most out of the controls. From my short time with the title I can tell that not only is subtlety of control possible, but that Excite Truck offers the potential to be a tremendously fun game. I just hope that a greater level of force feedback is on offer on the final title to allow the player to really enjoy it.

Excite Truck is yet another Nintendo Wii title with no set release date. Not even the hint of one.

Picture of Mathew.

About Mathew Kumar

Read more articles from Mathew by visiting the Mathew Kumar archive page.

You may also like...

Comments (30) Latest comment 6 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • AHiFi #1 6 years ago

    Fun then eh?

  • BartonFink #2 6 years ago

    Sounds good but the feedback issue is a little worrying. A bit like controlling a Tomy steering wheel remote control car thigumyblob then?

  • Psi #3 6 years ago

    well i use the accelerator to move forward to i don't think pressing a button is the big a deal

  • neuroniky #4 6 years ago

    Sounds like it could be great fun. Balancing the bike in Excitebike was a lot of fun, and using such a natural control system to do that sounds great. I'm not convinced that the whole feedback thingie is such a big problem, I think there will be some controller calibration allowing you to decide how much is max steering, and in any case it is just a matter of getting the hang of it.

    Btw, Kumar has done the whole coverage of the Wii software with a negative bias (he doesn't sound like a Nintendo lover for sure, and the E3 stand seems to have done the rest on his feelings...), but often concluded each review with positive comments. Seems like the Wii is already starting to convert the unbelievers... :D

  • Nikanoru #5 6 years ago

    Now, as it's quite unlikely that when using a steering wheel you'd have to be pushing buttons, this does damage the immersion factor,

    Actually, isn't it becoming more of a trend in cars to have buttons on the steering wheel for switching gears?

  • Hog-lumps #6 6 years ago

    I wonder if somone could create an empty steering wheel shell/housing to contain the remote?

    But then I suppose - what would be the point?

  • UncleLou #7 6 years ago

    A bit worrying in so far as the lack of feedback will be a problem for a lot, or maybe all, Wii games, unless they find a way to compensate for this.

  • Hog-lumps #8 6 years ago

    unless they find a way to compensate for this.

    I like what the writer said - perhaps the controller could provide feedback through rumble?

    The controller could gently throb as you turn slightly and shake lots as you turn to the very limit?

    edit: had second thoughts about awful pun so removed
    Edited by 1 at 19/05/06 @ 09:35

  • The_Aardvark #9 6 years ago

    I also think the feedback issues might be resolved with a bit of practice on the games.

  • bionutz #10 6 years ago

    driving? steering wheel then!
    I like the new controller, but can't beat a steering wheel!

  • bionutz #11 6 years ago

    @UncleLou:
    There is force feedback in the remote of the nunchuk, not?

  • Hog-lumps #12 6 years ago

    The controller could gently throb as you turn slightly and shake lots as you turn to the very limit?

    Also like to add that another solution could be to use the speaker in the remote to make a discrete 'click' noise to signify the end of travel.

    Although this might get anoying after a while............
    Edited by 1 at 19/05/06 @ 09:43

  • DrDamn #13 6 years ago

    @neuroniky "Btw, Kumar has done the whole coverage of the Wii software with a negative bias"

    Oh do get a grip please, enough of this crap. He has given a good balanced view of the Wii and for that he should be praised. He can only report on his own impressions. If you want Nintendo can do no wrong reporting look elsewhere there are plenty of other places.

    Put it this way, I had given up on Nintendo for this gen. I've had enough of the constantly in your face Nintendo IP that is force fed to you each generation. I actively dislike the character Mario. However the level headed and honest reporting of Mr Kumar has me interested. He actually addresses the concerns people have rather than skimming over them with a "oh Nintendo are bound to fix that" attitude. If Nintendo are to win over some of the people they lost last gen and increase market share then they need more people like Mr Kumar reporting on them.

  • Genji #14 6 years ago

    It's criminal not to like the Wii and everything about it.

    CRIMINAL.

  • TripSkyway #15 6 years ago

    Sounds quuite good fun. One of the more posative previews I've read for this, regarding gameplay anyway.

  • JetSetWilly #16 6 years ago

    I think Matthew has got the balance just right in this particular article. If I want rose-tinted spectacles I'll go to the NOE site.

  • Psi #17 6 years ago

    If you don't like Wii hold it in.

  • nightsparkle #18 6 years ago

    he matthew! i'm also realy excited about the possibility of a new kid icarus game! man, that game was realy cool. can you still remember the amazing final level? where you could suddenly fly? wow that was a great moment. a gift for all the hard work. it was a realy challenging game.

  • UncleLou #19 6 years ago

    @UncleLou:
    There is force feedback in the remote of the nunchuk, not?

    Yes, but not in the remote itself - I think.

    Anyway, I believe in the Wii, it's just that I read a few hands-on reports these days that sound a bit so-so.

  • oerhoert #20 6 years ago

    I think the real issue here is that not everything on show had been given the usual nintendo spit and polish, and that it's evidently still a bit to do with many of these titles before launch. That's the impression I got at least.

    Also, Kumar's only being honest.

  • chronom4n #21 6 years ago

    around 1998 (i think) a controller was sold for the PS1 in which you had to tilt the controller and i tried it with wipeout and man it was hard to play with. I cant remember for the life of me what the name of the controller was, but it took some time to get used to. Maybe someone can remind me what the name of it was. It used some sort of tilt tech.

  • DrDamn #22 6 years ago

    You don't mean the twisty Namco one do you? NegCon?

  • bionutz #23 6 years ago

    @UncleLou
    I thought the remote was normally attached to the nunchuk, but with a possibility to be standalone as well.
    Anyway, can hardly wait for it. I'm quitting my job in October and getting the bonus meant for March next year - just in time for the holiday season: big LCD monitor(s) (21", LCD, Wide), big big loudspeaker to pair up the odd one in my sound system and the Wii nintendo entertainment system ;). In the meantime, brain training and age of empires on the DS :) - only possibility to still stay in bed on Saturdays morning until girlf wakes up.
    Edited by 1 at 19/05/06 @ 12:30

  • Feanor #24 6 years ago

    The NegCon was the best way to play Wipeout if you could get used to it. The best Wipeout pilots (hehe) all seemed to use it. I was just happy Wip3out let me use the analog stick which was better than the D-pad in 2097.

  • malloc #25 6 years ago

    Nice write-up and good point about feedback, surely it's got to be essential for Tony Hawk's and racing games in general.

    BTW who's developing this game?

  • Carrybagma #26 6 years ago

    Now, as it's quite unlikely that when using a steering wheel you'd have to be pushing buttons, this does damage the immersion factor, but it's not the worst aspect.

    Errrr. Driven any cars recently, Mr.Kumar? Or trucks for that matter? :o)

    The idea of ExciteTruck doesn't excite me at all, but then I never did play ExciteBike.

  • KillerMonkey #27 6 years ago

    Sounds like this could be a lot of fun :)
    Sounds like it would also be even more fun with a proper steering wheel though!

  • oerhoert #28 6 years ago

    Yeah, but that seems a bit like missing the point. Part of the fun here is actually to maneuver the tilt of you car while in the air, so that you lose less speed when hitting the ground again. A steering wheel just can't do that, or at least, traditional steering wheels can't.

  • jaspoid #29 6 years ago

    Sounds potentially exciting. Not that I'll ever afford it or anything, but still :)

  • fathom17 #30 6 years ago

    regardless of the control method, the actually physics on the vehicle looked crap