May 9, 2006 – Nintendo puts a nice spin on the racing world with Excite Truck for the Wii. The name may sound like Excitebike which crossed my mind when I heard about it and the reason behind that is the game is Excitebike in theory but rather with trucks this time around.

The demo being shown at E3 allows you to get behind the so called wheel of the Wii and use your brakes and boosting to get huge air on the varied jumps all along the demo tracks. You start off racing against five opponents in a dirt course. Power ups have been scattered all over the course that may have a huge impact on the terrain you are traveling through.

To play the game you will need to place the controller in your hands horizontally with the D-Pad facing skyward. The D-Pad will be used to turbo your way around the track while the 2 remaining buttons will act as your acceleration. The tilt functionality also allows you to change how you will land while soaring through the air at increased rates of speed. Landing perfectly after a jump will set off a handy turbo. Although overuse of the turbo feature can cause your vehicle to over heat, you can use power ups to calm your over worked engine.

The game is visually pleasing with its destructible environments in certain areas of the course and the well rendered vehicles. The turbo will alter your vision to add the feel of a sudden change in pace and sparks will fly up to make it seem like your overworking the vehicle. The tracks consisted of varied colors keeping the game enriched in color to move away from the repetitive atmosphere.

Excite Truck is already looking to be a promising title for the Nintendo Wii. Malicious