Not only does it give you that extra bit of kick around sharper corners, but you may soon find yourself opposite-locking around corners as proficiently as Doc Hudson in Cars. The biggest success in the Monster Truck Championship’s race mode is the game’s clever four-wheel steering mechanic, which uses both analog sticks to control axles independently, and in a surprisingly intuitive way. The AI can be surprisingly aggressive (read: a bit stupid), too, which is as hilarious as it is frustrating.

The sheer power of the trucks, combined with the arcade-like gravity and the feel of the tracks themselves, gives way to absolute carnage.Īdmittedly, if you get the throttle-based launch just right, this destruction usually begins with you slamming into the back of the driver ahead of you, but at the right difficulty, battles are constant, and soon see you balancing racing with damage management, much like Wreckfest. NaconĮven though the experience is stripped back–and far too easy at the rookie end of the scale, even for newcomers–races feel exciting and dangerous, but genuinely fun. Racing feels great, but only after you make it more difficult on yourself. While this may be surprising to those of us who’ve only seen monster trucks destroying scrap-car-filled arenas, it’s for the best, because the race mode is MTC’s strongest suit. Four styles of competition are available–race, drag race, freestyle and destruction–with a slight emphasis on racing. Host cities include Charleston, Salt Lake City, Orlando, Kansas City, Kilgore, Foxborough, Minneapolis and Las Vegas, with each offering its own largely unique stadium and circuits.Įach of these leagues offers ten events, which are split into two-to-five nicely varied stages. Like Wreckfest, Monster Truck Championship sets you up with a bottom-spec monster truck, which you upgrade with gradually unlockable parts while you compete in the National, Professional and Major Leagues. But once you get these guides out of the way and throw yourself into career mode, things soon pick up. The enforced tutorial overstays its welcome. Aside from the growling, guttural engine noises, the sound effects are bang average. Its slow-loading textures, serviceable graphics, not-so-friendly how-to guides, and relatively lifeless world don’t exactly pull you in. Initially, MTC doesn’t feel all that special. By harnessing Wreckfest’s formula for success, Monster Truck Championship also shows the rest of the world what it’s missing out on. These racing disciplines are over-the-top, dirt-based spectacles of power that regularly descend into madness, and are traditionally favoured by small-town America. While this isn’t exactly excusable, it’s sort of understandable, given the countless commonalities between demolition derby and monster trucks–and their target audience, both in and out of gaming.

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