When it comes to televised entertainment monster trucks was my first love. The gigantic machines like Bigfoot, Carolina Crusher & Grave Digger running over cars became a staple of my childhood. Of course I wanted my love for monster trucks and my growing enthusiasm for gaming to blend together, but the quality rarely proved high. While there were some exceptions to the rule of monster truck games being terrible like “Monster Truck Madness” on the PC, my hope of having that epic monster truck experience on a gaming console seemed impossible.
After celebrating action movies from the 1980s & 1990s with games focusing on Rambo and the Terminator (the latter being a surprisingly fun experience), developer Teyon moved into another genre that was a major part of pop culture when I was a young lad; just without the big name license associated with the “Monster Jam” racers seen throughout the last few gaming generations. It didn’t matter if I couldn’t play with Maximum Destruction or Monster Mutt, I was ready to see if “Monster Truck Championship” lived up to its promise of being a more simulation-based monster truck racer.
Did I Complete “Monster Truck Championship”?
“Monster Truck Championship” does a great job of appearing beefy at first glance, but it’s truly a hollow experience in regards to completion. The game immediately offers the player the chance to complete the tutorial upon loading up for the first time before producing three main categories of play to choose from: “Quick Play”, “Career Mode”, and “Multiplayer”. “Quick Play” is as expected with the player being able to take part in a variety of low-stakes, one-off events like head-to-head drag racing or destroying everything on a track during a “Destruction” event. “Career” is treated as a grand prix where the player can take part in thirty events across three leagues with the intent of making it to & winning the league’s World Finals – a feat I completed after a little over seven hours on “Medium” difficulty.
There are some trophy/achievement requirements that are both rather simple such as purchasing all the truck bodies from the game’s “Garage” with in-game currency only attainable by playing through the campaign, and rather tough including winning every “Career” event on the game’s hardest difficulty. The biggest challenge in terms of completion is the game’s online trophies/achievements due to the lacking player base – an issue I came to terms with in not attaining a platinum trophy.
Did “Monster Truck Championship” Live Up to the Hype?
Being promoted as the true monster truck simulation experience, “Monster Truck Championship” goes out of its way to introduce the player to the complicated nature of handling a machine built for crushing cars & sailing high off of some big jumps. “MTC” offers the ability to control both the front & rear wheels via the analog sticks if someone is using a gamepad while those who really want to showcase their driving skills can enable the automatic transmission with the ABS disabled. There’s a certain level of finesse needed to control any truck not really seen in any other monster truck game especially when trying to pull off some impressive wall backflips, barrel rolls & donuts turned into cyclone spins, or even starting off a “Drag Race” with the “Perfect RPM”. This sense of realism is complimented and disappointingly ignored by the truck’s health presentation at the left-hand bottom of the screen. During any event a truck can suffer damage to its tires, the steering, the gear shift, the brakes and/or the engine. Damaged brakes or steering are noticeable in any scenario, but there aren’t any real visible limitations when the truck’s tire or tires have turned red unlike in, say, the most recent “Monster Jam” game “Steel Titans” where an entire wheel could come off if it took too much damage.
Customization is king when it comes to “MTC” due to the fact this isn’t a licensed game. Featuring sixteen truck bodies (some obviously homages to real trucks like Grave Digger & Monster Mutt) that can be unlocked via purchases in the in-game “Garage” with the cash attained through successful “Events” in “Career Mode”. The player can color various parts of their truck, add stickers & designs, and even change the way the truck handles with the latter being an option before starting any “Event”. The developers did a masterful job explaining why tuning a truck is important during certain scenarios like racing on a dirt track or freestyling with the intent of getting the maximum amount of height during a jump. The player can do things like increasing or decreasing the stiffness of the suspension or adjust the gear ratio and torque distribution with the changes being noticeable depending on the environment the truck is moving across.
The bulk of a player’s initial time with “Monster Truck Championship” will be playing through “Career Mode”. With thirty “Events” across three leagues housing anywhere from two to five shows per “Event” one would think the game’s campaign would be hefty in nature. Unfortunately there are only four gameplay modes available – “Race” (a circuit style, eight-truck lap race), “Drag Race” (a single elimination tournament featuring one-on-one races), “Freestyle” (a timed event where the player gains points by pulling off stunts like big jumps in successive nature to build up the combo meter), & “Destruction” (a modified version of “Freestyle” with the points mostly coming from destroying various objects that also adds time to the clock).
The tracks really help alleviate “Career Mode’s” monotony with a majority being reminiscent of the actual stadiums used in various locales. Also to the player’s benefit in regards to “Career Mode” & customization is the “Management” section. Broken into two categories, the player can hire two to five people (slots unlock during “Career Mode” progression) via “Team” that can give the player buffs like increased truck durability or reducing the cost of repairs gained after a wild “Freestyle”. “Sponsors” gift the player money by successfully completing challenges during “Career Mode” events such as obliterating eight destructible objects or pulling off a somersault-wall backflip combo. The latter challenges can be extremely difficult, but if the player is able to conquer the challenges they can attain a great chunk of change for those custom parts. Also finishing first in certain “Career Mode” events will unlock customization options like different tail pipes or even a hat to place on the truck’s roof.
The promised longevity of “MTC” was rooted in the idea of taking a custom built truck online to face other players from around the world. Sadly two huge problems prevents online play from being memorable: a lacking player base due to this being a niche title and only two game modes available. Not surprisingly, “Monster Truck Championship” isn’t chock full of gamers ready to fill up a lobby at any given time. And then there’s the fact when a player does go online all they can do is either a “Race” or “Drag Race”; no “Freestyle” or “Destruction” modes available. This is incredibly disappointing as an online “Freestyle” would’ve been a great party mode for gamers to watch others attempt to pull off the craziest run before trying to outdo them. There is an online leaderboard connected to each “Event” for those looking to compete with others without waiting in a lobby for minutes on end.
Technically the game is shockingly polished. “MTC” looks impressively good with great lighting & textures that really becomes obvious when mud starts flying and caking the truck as said vehicle’s fiberglass body starts breaking apart. The roaring engines are complimented by sound of collisions against barriers and an announcer that may have missed his coffee that morning. Framerate drops are pretty much nonexistent with the game only hard crashing once during a moment when simply moving through the menu.
“Monster Truck Championship” won’t change the world of racing games, Monster Truck or otherwise, but is a fun budget title not marred by technical issues or grand moments of frustration while lacking a lot of features to ensure the game’s longevity both offline & online.
Should You Play “Monster Truck Championship”?
There’s no doubt monster truck fans who just so happen to be gamers will get a true kick out of this ode to the realism of monster truck racing while not forgoing the fun of sending a ten-ton vehicle flying through the air. With the lacking gameplay modes and a rather disappointing online offering, it’s hard to recommend this one at full price even though it is initially cheaper than the average triple-A title; being a better purchase when it’s on sale for those interested. No matter if you get it at full price or when its on sale, it’s hard to deny how fun it is to pull off the perfect “Freestyle” performance and get a pretty high score on the online leaderboard while your truck’s engine catches fire.
