‘Excite Truck’ for Nintendo Wii was finally released here in the UK last Friday. “At last!” I exclaimed as I made my way home clutching my copy excitedly. After spending some time with the game I must admit it lives up to its name and is extremely ‘excite’.

The game has been out in America since the consoles release (Nintendo Europe opted to release the Wii Play ‘tutorial’ here instead - most probably to please the more casual gaming audience here). Since it’s release though, the American gaming press has hardly given it ’spectacular’ marks. When I first saw this game back at E3 last year, it seemed like so much fun so I had to give it a try. Putting aside the lackluster reviews, I still wanted to give it a try.

Although I don’t think ‘Excite Truck’ will be the best selling Wii game so far (I just don’t believe it’s trying to target the biggest selection of Wii owners), it’s a terribly fun game. As a racing game fan, I’ve played a fair amount of racers in the last few years and I think its a real shame that most mainstream games opt for realism over the ‘arcade’ feel of the racers of yesteryear. I believe that is the reason why ‘Excite Truck’ is just so much fun. It doesn’t play like your normal modern racing game, there seems to be a lot less focus on tight turns and complicated drifts and more so on getting huge boosts and jumps through the air. Much like arcade racers like ‘Outrun 2′, there is a points system which almost eradicates the need to actually come first in a race. The game scores your run using the points system so that by performing tricks (running through trees without crashing, smashing up other trucks and spinning in the air) and racing with style, you can actually score enough to pass the round.

Controls for ‘Excite Truck’ are quite original but pretty obvious. To race your truck you hold the Wii remote horizontally, the ‘2′ button accelerates and you steer your truck by moving the controller left and right. Boosting your ride requires a tap of the directional pad, as long as you don’t boost too much so your engine doesn’t overheat! My only problem with the control system is that sometimes it gets a little confusing and I ended up trying to control the truck with the directional pad, this is hardly their fault but it is a little difficult to get used to. Sound in this game is a largely American-macho inspired love affair with electric guitars and monster trucks. Luckily you can place your own MP3 files on an SD card to play in the races. I found the ‘Initial D’ soundtracks to be a much more exciting sound for the fast paced action of the game – much like the original arcade/animé classic.

‘Excite Truck’ is hardly the most innovative game for the Wii. It’s a very good game and really involves you with its control scheme. If you do like racing games, I wouldn’t say it was ‘definitely’ your thing though. I recommend picking it up if your a fan of arcade racers but probably not so much if you prefer the more realistic driving ’simulators’ such as ‘Gran Turismo’ or ‘Project Gotham Racing’.

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