EDITOR: Hey, all of you who are waiting for the winner to be announced, it’s going to be a bit. You see, Mike lives in Florida. If you aren’t aware of the situation in Florida, I ask that you click this link. As for the rest of ya, the winner will be announced as soon as he gets his power back.

Welcome to BingeGamer’s very first edition to our new Late to the Party (LttP) Reviews. Something I came across while reading NeoGAF a while back, seen it in other places too, and is going to be a regular part ’round these parts (so if you have future suggestions, drop us a line). As you can see by the subject title, the first game up to this series is Excite Truck.

Excite Truck came on the scene during the Wii’s launch, giving it very little chance among gamers wanting their Twilight Princess and the hyped at the time, Red Steel. Even within the genre of racing itself, Ubisoft (Monster 4×4) and EA (Need for Speed) had games ready for launch. So fast forward to present day, it is easy to see that Excite Truck’s window of opportunity has past, but I am left wondering why every so often I still see posts on forums speaking highly of this title.

First off, the thing I notice is the graphics are not all that, even for a Wii launch title. I can assure you though, as you play through, the speed and action going on at all times puts thoughts about graphics in the backseat. Controls are easy enough and are surprisingly pretty tight, hold the wiimote sideways, the d-pad is turbo, 2 is gas, tilt left and right for direction and up and down for jumping/tilting. There is a brake/reverse button set to 2, but I have yet to find an opportunity where I need to use it. When I started playing the game for this review I had the question of why this was named “Excite Truck” in the same vein as Excitebike, I can now see why Nintendo chose to make it part of this series. Smashing the ‘2′ button to get back onto the track on top of the precision landing from jumps took me right back to one of the first NES games I ever owned.

This game really has that “Nintendo” feel by it’s simplicity, and also has that feel by bringing in the fun factor. I do want to make a note for those with ‘big man hands’ like myself, my right hand starts to ache a little bit if I play for too many hours because the wiimote is pretty small when held sideways (my left hand is fine because of the wiicondom cover for the controller).

Modes of play include races and challenges. The races (“Excite Mode”) are the meat of this game, and what will suck away countless hours of your free time. Each track requires a certain amount of stars to move on, 1st place gives you 50 stars, 2nd 25, 3rd 15, 4th 10, 5th 5, and 6th none. You also will earn stars here and there through the races performing stunts. I would not label Excite Truck as a stunt racer, but you will use turbos like mad, timing your jumps perfectly, and other nuances that will make this more than a start to finish racer. It is actually possible to beat a race using alternative means of racing, instead of finishing first, you could fly through a certain amount of trees, catch as much air as you can with each jump, and bump cars like crazy to get the amount of stars needed, but hitting that first place to get an automatic 50 will keep you motivated to race well.

The challenges mode, unlike most racing games that offer a challenge of beating your best lap times or what not, this takes it to that Crazy Taxi feel of challenges that really test your skills in different ways, jumping through hoops (literally), crashing into other cars, and (focused) driving. Though you could probably beat these with the top rating within an hour or so, the experience is still worth going’ through.

The game’s tutorial serves as very beneficial before starting racing, not only to learn the moves, but so you realize right away that you will want to fill an SD card up with some music. I listen to a lot of different music, and after much testing, I highly suggest putting in some Atari Teenage Riot, m1dy, Hanin Elias, Rabbit Junk, Mad Capsule Markets and some remixes Fear Factory and Rob Zombie. Fast electronic beats will be your friend in this game as your heart is pounding with your finger stuck on the gas hands frantically moving in all directions. The “Alec Empire vs. Elvis Presley” album has never been a better fit with.. anything really.

Levels take place in various lands (ie, Mexico, Fiji, Canada, Scotland) and some levels seem to reuse the field you race on, but give you a different path you must take. With that in said, every track I have encountered has its own feel. There are items during the race that also will alter the land itself in big ways (see picture). No true shortcuts are found per se, but the set raceway is wide enough where you can easily find yourself off road many times. Though as I said right away, the graphics aren’t the selling point of this game, the effects are awesome, with dirt, snow, and water all providing that little bit of extra challenge. There are many cars to choose from (starting with 3 but unlocking up to 18 more), and each give their own feel depending on the stats. In attempt to have a achievements/trophy system built in, the game comes through with all types of medals, but only for bragging rights (though with no online leader boards, people will just have to take you at your word).

There is a certain ease factor that I can’t deny. I know I’m good, but this game was making me feel like a champ by the time I got to my second set of races. Even when on the last lap in last place, I never felt like I couldn’t find a way to finish in first (which doesn’t always mean you will get an “A” rating, but it helps). So in all, this game isn’t the most in depth of all racers I have played, but what it does offer if you get into it, is tons and tons of replayability. I first had just rented this off Gamefly, but thanks to eBay and $17, I am the proud owner of this fine title, I’m really happy that I am late to this party rather than not showing up at all. If arcade racing is your bag (think Beetle Adventure Racing, but even better), then this game is a must own. I repeat, MUST OWN.

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