Monster Jam Review

Written by: Darren Cartledge Posted: 20th June 2008

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Things get scary on the virtual racing scene, has this monster truclk racing game hot the Xbox 360.

Monster Jam Details:

	Racing
	PC/Xbox 360/Nintendo Wii
	Activision
	Activision

Out Now

N/A

Monster trucks are usually regarded as an entertainment source for red necks and brain dead morons who like pointless destruction rather then us gamers. So to say I wasn’t expecting much from this monster truck themed racing game is something of an understatement.

Activision’s Monster Jam is very much an arcade style racing game offering a mix of stadium and outdoor racing events which can make for some fairly frantic action. The game features championship and several single race events

The Championship mode requires you to take part in a series of regional championships across various locations such as a quarry, forest and docklands to name but a few. Once you have raced in all these regional championships you then go on to take part in the Monster Jam World series. Championship events themselves are made up of several different events and feature both an outdoor and stadium segment to them. On the whole the different race types in the game are fairly limited which can make the championship mode become a little tiresome after prolonged play.

As mentioned above the different types of races featured in the game are a little limited and include Circuit which is a straight forward race between six trucks, freestyle which are stadium based events in which you have to achieve the highest score by pulling off stunts and causing destruction. The game also features an eliminator race, which means the truck in last place is eliminated at the end of each lap until there is only one left. As well as the outdoor races the game also includes stadium based races, which for the most part haven’t been implemented very well as the track designs are often confused meaning you can often end up going the wrong way. Monster Jam also features a time trial race type and a cross country mode which is basically the games free mode.

Races themselves offer a bit of a mix of good and bad, mainly due to the design of tracks, some are set on long wide tracks whilst others take part on short narrow courses. Races on the long tracks can be a little boring, the game isn’t the fastest racing game around and if you get into the lead early the races can seem to last a very long time. On the smaller tracks the game offers a different playing experience with frantic action as you try and force your way through the pack of oversized trucks, banging into them and knocking the off course.

To speed things up a little the game features a boost system that allows you to gain a little speed, however over using it will result in your engine overheating and slowing you down and allowing your opponents to catch up. On the whole the challenge of the game is a little lacking mainly due to how easy it is to get into the lead or catch up rival drivers if you fall behind

As you take part in races you earn monster points for pulling off stunts such as catching air and performing wheelies. Points are also earned by causing destruction to the games environment, such as smashing your way through buildings, crushing vehicles and so on. This points system allows you to unlock new monster trucks and is also the basis of the freestyle stadium events.

Monster Jam doesn’t support online play, but does support up to four players on the same console via split screen. The absence of online play does sadly take a lot away from the longevity of the game as the games single mode can get fairly repetitive.

Visually the game is ok! Environments are highly destructible but sadly a little old looking, however the trucks themselves look excellent and are highly detailed. The game also employs an excellent damage system that sees every panel of your truck peel off down to the bare roll cage. Trucks also get dirty as the game progresses with gradual layers building up until your truck is caked in mud.

Sound is pretty much what you would expect from a Monster truck game, with high tuned engine sounds, lots of smashes and it’s all very fitting to the arcade styling of the game. The game features a rock sound track which is very fitting to the games style and the only real down side to the games sounds is the highly annoying commentary featured in the stadium events, which doesn’t seem to have much relevance to what is actually going on.

This games biggest weakness is probably the poor design of a large number of the tracks included but it does have some good foundations. Monster Jam won’t appeal to all racing fans and as it’s not the greatest arcade racing game but its by no means the worst with some frantic and occasionally fun racing action.