GoNintendo ‘End of Day’ thoughts - Quick and Dirty review: Excitebots: Trick Racing
I’ve recently switched GameStop locations. The store I used to go to lost all of the employees I liked, and then I moved onto another shop in the same mall. That location wasn’t doing it for me either, so now I’ve gone to a new strip mall altogether. I’m getting to know the staff at this new place, but I feel like I’m cheating on the other store! That’s a normal feeling to have…right?! I’m off to ponder that thought while I sleep. See you all in a few, short hours. We’ve finally made it to Excitebots: Trick Racing. I mean, we all saw that one coming. It was the natural progression of the series. From bikes to bikes to trucks…to robotic transforming speed machines modeled after bugs and animals. Nintendo and Monster Games have seen the future of racing, and it’s absolutely insane. I’m glad these two companies put together this simulation, because we’re going to need to prepare for some mind-boggling transportation. I don’t know when the real-world will meet up with the crazy automotive ideas in Excitebots, but this game has proven to me that this is the path we need to take. What Works Controls : Excitebots, much like Excite Truck before it, has shown us that motion controls can work in a racing game. This title doesn’t take the Mario Kart route by offering traditional thumbstick steering. Excitebots is motion controls all the way, and it works out brilliantly. Support for the Wii Wheel has been added, and while you might think that playing with our without the shell would be the same experience, you can really notice subtle differences once you’ve played through multiple sessions. As I said, the good news is that either way you take the game on, controls are not going to be an issue. Graphics : Excitebots isn’t one of the prettiest games on the Wii, but it definitely holds its own once you start motoring. When flying through the topography at high-speed, the game is a gorgeous color blur. It’s pretty interesting to see how nice the game looks when you’re keeping a blistering pace, which is almost the entire time you’re playing. When you stop and stare at certain locations, things might seem a little low quality, but who the hell wants to stop and rest in a racing game?! Online : Who the hell knows why Excitebots was picked to have online play, but you won’t hear any complaints from me. While the online features aren’t extensive, they are indeed easy to use and very enjoyable. When I first sat down to play a game online, I was up and running in less than 5 minutes. The game ran perfectly, with everything moving as it would during the single player experience. Throw in the minor gambling elements of betting star amounts, and you can find yourself very addicted. It’s much easier to go online, kick ass at a race and take home a bunch of stars than it is to grab them one race at a time. Unlockables : There is a ton of stuff for you to unlock in Excitebots, and you’re going to have to amass a pretty sizable chunk of stars to do so. Paint jobs, new bots to pilot and some other goodies will keep you very busy. It’s funny to see how compelling a paint job can be, even when it has a ridiculous amount of stars on its price tag. You play, get starts, unlock, and open up more goodies that need to be purchased. It’s a vicious cycle, but only in how fiendishly addictive/clever it is. Absurdity : Excitebots is one of the strangest games I’ve ever seen. Even stranger is the fact that it all comes together. Racing in giant animals/bugs as you transform into bipedal mode, collect butterflies while coasting off a jump, landing to swing around a bar that launches you out at insane speeds, turning a corner to knock down some bowling pins and use your ’shave and a haircut’ power-up…all this stuff sounds like I’m making it up on the fly. I bet that’s exactly what Nintendo/Monster did, and for some reason it really worked out. There’s so much going on at once, all of it extremely weird, but that’s what makes the game a blast. First place isn’t everything : Keeping in the Excite Truck tradition, getting first place in a race isn’t going to guarantee you an overall win. You’ll have to grab as many stars as you can while racing. The total amount of stars you pick up will determine where you fall in the racer lineup. Good thing there are plenty of ways to pick up stars along he way. Doing tricks, collecting random batches in the air, using power-ups and much more will help you to top-out your star collection. I still find it refreshing to see a racing game that challenges you to grab first place in more ways than just beating your opponents to the finish line. What Doesn’t Work
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GoNintendo ‘End of Day’ thoughts - Quick and Dirty review: Excitebots: Trick Racing
