The barren menu sets a dangerous precedent as soon as the game begins. The game play options include quick race, training, multiplayer and championship. If you manage to find another friend with a copy of the game (or another two on top of that) then you can play through any of the courses in multiplayer. Shockingly enough we weren't able to find anybody else who had the game so we had to leave the multiplayer alone. The championship mode is where the meat of the content lies in the game. Players work through the races and as you win championships you unlock parts to upgrade your truck. It’s not an original premise but we weren’t surprised by this. The quick race and training options are self explanatory and aren’t likely to provide much enjoyment at all.
For the sake of optomism (if only because we started so well in the opening paragraph) We’ll look at the advantages the title has. There are twenty five tracks divided up into five themes (lake, country, swamp, desert or arena). However, the actual variation in the tracks is minimal so it feels more like the game has five tracks rather than twenty five. There may be five different types of country levels but the differences in the levels are far too minimal. Okay, so we’ve looked at the advantages now to look at the other side of the coin.
It's as good as it looks
The game doesn't have a decent sense of speed. Even if you're speeding along at 60km/h it just feels like your truck is going at a walking pace. This isn’t helped by the fact that the physics are a little off so when you go over a jump it seems like your truck has been floating in the air for far too long. In fact, in a sign of pure laziness Monster Trucks DS uses the same engine as ATV Quad Frenzy, and the physics don’t appear to have been altered in the transition. Even if you do manage to ignore the niggles of the game the slow pace makes the races far far from exciting. The draw distance is also an issue because you can see the track drawing right in front of you. This is severely off putting and half of the time you're guessing whether you're going the right way or not.
Unfortunately the game's problems don't stop there. The computer controlled AI Is dumb, annoying and reckless. Most of the time it appears that the AI is going along a pre determined course, so they will crash into you and quite frequently collide with environmental hazards, this makes the game play not only boring but far too easy. We weren't really expecting extremely intelligent AI but as it stands it seems like the AI hasn't had any attention paid to it at all.
One thing that you would think would be impossible to ruin would be the menu, but somehow even the menu is so confusing. If you choose a mode and keep pressing A you will select a vehicle, then a track and then be booted back to the main menu. Something that isn't even explained is the fact you need to press start to go to the race. Its development decisions like this that make the game feel so shoddy.
The trucks themselves all look different to each other, but the tracks are dull and sparse. The visuals are just boring. The crowds in the arenas are cardboard cutouts and sometimes the game will zoom in on the trucks which make the trucks look extremely pixilated. We know the Nintendo DS isn't a 3D powerhouse but it's definitely capable of visuals far better than this. Presentation really doesn't appear to have been a priority for Skyworks. It won't surprise anybody that the sound is average as well. In terms of sound effects there are only the occasional crash and engine noises so annoyance is generally kept down on that front.
Thrilling..
If you actually have the patience to complete the entire game it will only take about an hour to unlock all the parts and the tracks. So thankfully you won’t be spending months playing through this dire game. After you've completed the championship mode there is close to no reason to come back to the title unless by then one of your friends have purchased the game as well. This isn't a game that feels like it is pushing the DS so we're not sure why it doesn't support single cart multiplayer.
If it isn't clear by now Monster Trucks DS is a terrible title that feels like nothing but a cash in. It seems like the developers paid no attention the game at all so the menus are clunky, the draw distance is terrible, the visuals are poor and the AI is about as smart as a rock (if not, a little less intelligent than a rock). There is just about no enjoyment to be had out of this game which is severely disappointing. We can't help but feel that a proper Monster Truck title with all the chaos and collisions would be a lot of fun, this game isn't.
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