As I found myself hurtling through the air, wheels spinning wildly above a sea of mud and metal, I couldn’t help but feel like I had stepped right back into my teenage years. The adrenaline-fueled rush, the gravity-defying stunts, the crashing cacophony of engine roars and crunching metal – it was like a blast from the past, straight out of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 or Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX.
Monster Jam Showdown features some massive mechanical beasts like Grave Digger, equipped with an axe, Thunder ROARus, Whiplash, and Bakugan Dragonoid (not a pop group, I’m afraid). These aren’t your typical racing game competitors, but rather, they are the formidable machines you’ll encounter while playing Monster Jam Showdown, the latest extreme racing game from Milestone.
In Monster Jam Showdown, you’ll experience an exciting blend of bouncing, crashing, and speeding up, as you maneuver a variety of massive monster trucks. You’ll perform jaw-dropping stunts and spins that challenge the laws of physics, all while competing fiercely for victory. Whether it’s being the first to cross the finish line with your hood in front or racking up the highest score in trick-based competitions, it’s a thrilling ride!
Initially, I’m taken back to my youthful days, where afternoons were often spent engrossed on a PlayStation 2. Unlike the high-speed races of that era, I found myself immersed in Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2, Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX, and to a certain extent, SSX and SSX Tricky. These games capture the spirit of early 2000’s extreme sports games – their vibrant, vivacious style, and the ability to spin these mechanical behemoths in mid-air, perform wheelies, and then crash spectacularly into trees, reducing the vehicle to its skeletal frame. It’s quite a spectacle to witness.
As a die-hard fan, I’ve got to say, those trucks are more than just eye-catching paint jobs on wheels. Each one sports a distinctive style, flaunting flashy elements that set them apart. Instead of going for the standard shiny exhaust or big spoiler, why not opt for something unique like dangling zombie arms or even a shark fin? The trucks look amazing as they zoom around the track and become even more impressive when they explode spectacularly on screen after I underestimate the distance between that tree and my truck’s bed.
From an initially limited selection of vehicles (with more options becoming available later), the core gameplay revolves around a career mode. This mode includes conventional races, challenge events based on tricks, one-on-one sprints, and a survival mode, which essentially boils down to being in the lead before the timer reaches zero.
In this game, you never truly master the tracks because they’re always slippery mud, icy roads, or scorching deserts. The trucks barely cling to whatever passes for a road as you navigate through the crowd in front. It’s rare that I ever feel like I have complete control over my vehicle and can stay on the racing line. This game isn’t about maintaining firm ground; it’s more like terra firma is a mere 30 feet away, whether that’s below or above you, it’s hard to tell when you’re mid-air performing a double backflip with an off-center twist. And that doesn’t even account for the other racers who frequently get entangled in your massive tires, sending us both careening off-road, parts scattering everywhere.
It’s quite evident that the gameplay is highly reminiscent of arcade controls, giving you command over both the front and back wheels. The unique rear wheel steering enables you to execute jaw-dropping drifts and donuts, crucial for maximizing scores in trick-based events. In these competitions, similar to THPS2, the secret is maintaining a continuous combo. Master the art of transitioning from a high front flip to a wheelie, followed by an extreme drift, then culminating in a 1080 donut, and you’ll find yourself climbing the leaderboard rapidly.
As a die-hard fan, I’d say this game offers an exhilarating physics model, reminiscent of Motorstorm and Pure from Xbox 360. It’s a wild ride! Initially, it might take some time to adapt, but after a few spins (and a couple of inevitable wrecks), I’m confident that even newcomers will quickly grasp the game’s somewhat loose control dynamics. It’s all about the thrill of the ride!
Fundamentally, this game is straightforward and its career mode is quite lenient on normal settings. It’s designed to offer an uncomplicated gaming experience, which it accomplishes effectively. Other than the essential features, it doesn’t have many extra options: a store for purchasing new trucks as you progress, customizable skins for your newly acquired vehicles, earned by completing races, and a personalized player card for multiplayer sessions. In the context of contemporary gaming, it might seem sparse at times, but this could be advantageous depending on your individual taste.
A potential rephrase could be: There’s a part that could benefit from some extra attention, and that’s the game’s soundtrack. While the in-game audio effectively captures the sounds of collisions, motor noises, and mud churning, the overall music didn’t resonate with me as much. It might be due to personal preference, but I would have appreciated a fully licensed soundtrack featuring carefully chosen tracks for the trucks instead of the current selection that hasn’t left a lasting impression on me.
Milestone has done an outstanding job with their accessibility features, giving players the freedom to customize game difficulty according to their preferences. Whether adjusting control settings or AI opponents, you can easily tailor the challenge level to suit your abilities. It’s like finding that perfect balance where you’re not left behind but have to battle through obstacles every step of the way, making each victory a true accomplishment.
Monster Jam Showdown offers an exhilarating experience for enthusiasts, while serving as a thrilling arcade racer for everyone else in quick, action-packed bursts. By merging the combo mechanics of PlayStation 2 favorites with visually stunning, contemporary flair, Monster Jam Showdown delivers nothing but mud-filled excitement.
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2024-08-26 19:16