Monster Truck Madness

Overall: C+
Violence: B+
Sexual Content: A
Language: A
Drugs/Alcohol: A

Platform reviewed: Nintendo 64
Publisher: Rockstar
ESRB rating: E

It could be my brain's way of sending a warning that the accompanying roar is causing auditory damage, but whenever I see a monster truck hanging in the air like some mutated bird of prey, ready to pulverize a row of cars--I get goose bumps. So, when Rockstar games extended the invitation to "reach out and crush someone," I eagerly accepted.

Monster Truck Madness 64 is an off-road racing game in which players (driving big name trucks like Gravedigger, Bigfoot, Samson, and Rampage) bump and grind with their opponents--jostling for position in an attempt to be first across the finish line. Imagining this scenario in the real world presents numerous images of crash-induced carnage, but in Monster Truck Madness no damage is sustained as a result of collisions, their only purpose being to impede the progress of others.

As is the case in most racing games, a number of menu choices are available and the toughest challenge is found in Circuit mode. This single player option pits human against computer-controlled opponents, on ten distinct tracks, under variable weather conditions. However, if you'd prefer to share the pastime with your buddies, up to four players can flex their bumper-truck muscles in Exhibition mode. Game developers have also included a number of interesting arcade-like variations such as Police chase (one player attempts to reach specific checkpoints while being pursued by trucks of the constabulary kind), Tag (whoever is "it" drives a 4X4 chicken--yes, the fowl variety), Summit Rumble (vehicles bump each other off a platform as they vie for "king of the hill" honors), Hockey (participants drive on an ice surface, pushing a tire shaped puck into their opponent's goal), and Soccer (similar to hockey, except for the obvious substitutions).

But what should've been a fun diversion quickly turned into a waste of time due to certain drawbacks: Every vehicle controlled by the computer's AI was driven flawlessly, whereas those driven by human competitors seemed to be subject to gravity conditions experienced on the Moon. While this resulted in some extreme airborne antics, frustration and boredom quickly set in as slow-to-respond trucks sluggishly floated through turns, or rolled over at the toss of a hat. Anyone willing to forgive this imperfection will be confronted with another when searching for the save game option... there isn't one. For some reason, programmers chose to ignore the memory card normally used for this purpose, requiring players instead to record a lengthy passcode in order to return to their point of progress.

I was looking for a great game with big tires, but all I ever got was... tired. Although parents will be happy to note that content concern is minimal, Monster Truck Madness 64 is hurting for an overhaul.

Jim Fleming

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