Excitebots: Trick Racing (Wii)

[aruljothi]

Release Date: 04/20/2009
ESRB Rating: Everyone
Genre: Racing
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Monster Games

Nintendo keeps you guessing with its "Excite" line, that's for sure. The original motocross based Excitebike came out for the Nintendo Entertainment System all the way back in 1984. Not until some years later with Excitebike 64, the 3D sequel for the Nintendo 64, did we even see signs of it being a series. And then, when it finally showed up again at the launch of the Wii, it was in the form of the arcadey off road truck racer Excite Truck. ExciteBots Trick Racing furthers the confusion with its transforming robot critters for racers, but its continuation (and advancement) of the racing and stunts mechanics help solidify an identity for the franchise.

Yes, if the screens didn't already give it away, you race robotic versions of everything from a frog to a hummingbird. But it's not quite as weird as it sounds. They all have wheels, and for the most part you mash the accelerator and drive them around the tracks just like you would any other sort of vehicle. Getting away from the bikes and trucks of the earlier games, though, lets the tracks in ExciteBots also shed any real-world expectations. So whereas Excite Truck had power-ups on the track that morphed the ground to create towering jumps or special paths (not that these were necessarily "real," but you get the point) that's just the beginning of the fun here.

The new power-ups make the game as much an amusement park ride as a racing game. And many of them also make excellent use of the Wiimote's motion controls. For instance, there are poles your robot bug can reach out, grab, and then spin around to launch off of which you do by shoving the remote forward in tempo with your swing. There are also rails to hop on and grind on while collecting music notes or the makings of a sandwich (bread, meat, and cheese) by using the Wiimote to keep your balance on the beam. And maybe the best of these is a power-up that temporarily turns your machine into a legged form, which you then control by tilting the Wiimote back and forth to mimic each stride. Other power-ups create sporting challenges, such as a soccer ball that you try and ram into the goal or a dart to try and hit a bullseye on a board that appears.


Besides being fun, the tricks and stunts hold the key to winning each race. You get rewarded with stars grading how well you pull them off, and at the end of the race whoever has the most wins. Finishing place still does matter because first and second place get a hefty star bonus, but winning requires a nice balance of getting around the track fast and hitting a good number of stunts in the process. This also brings into play your choice of racing robots -- while they may not be traditional vehicles, they are still defined by the typical metrics of grip, weight, and amount of turbo.

Beyond these technical points, though, the various racers are lacking in the personality department. None of the different bugs have any really distinguishing characteristics other than their basic forms, nor do they have any unique abilities based on the animal they mimic. The same is true of the various locales from around the world that you race in. Other than a few decorative pieces like a freighter to jump over or the Great Wall to race on top of they amount to a simple desert, forest, and ice environments in which to race.

Even though it won't wow you with its inventiveness, ExciteBots succeeds on the stength of its fun racing that keeps challenging you to one more go without ever getting frustrating. Its main single-player mode of cup races could keep you plenty busy trying to perfect top "S" ratings in each race (doing so opens the more difficult Super Excite mode). And while the Wii lacks some of the sophisticated lobby and matchmaking features of the PS3 and Xbox 360, online racing in ExciteBots for up to six players runs super-smoothly. It's also easy just to hop online and grab a race with a few steps. There's even a quirky online Poker race where you collect cards to form poker hands and a collection of minigames to round out the package. So while none of the racers or tracks in Excitebots will likely stick with you, you'll certainly stick with it.