Hot Wheels Monster Trucks: Stunt Mayhem isn't trying to rival Forza or Gran Turismo for realism, but in terms of fun, thrills, spills and spectacle it beats most serious sim racers hands down.
The main controls are pretty standard: accelerate/brake/reverse with an extra (very powerful) handbrake mapped to 'A', which allows you to do stoppies. Drifts are encouraged by pressing 'LB' (activates the 4-wheel steering) and the truck's signature move is performed by pressing 'B' once the spectacle gauge is filled–by performing jumps, stunts and causing destruction–and most importantly, keep your scoring combo going. The higher your score, the more Hot Wheels wheels you are awarded with, and the more wheels you have, the more trucks and arenas are unlocked.
When you get BIG air, you can flip and roll the truck with the right stick, but even so it's possible to end up on your roof, so holding 'Y' will reset your truck. It's possible to recover from precarious positions, keep the combo going and even earn points for a "save", but personally I'd rather they let you roll your truck back onto its wheels yourself, GTA-style.
The game's 7 themed areas are called 'Stunt Zones' and are progressively unlocked as you collect gold wheels and smash stuff up. Each truck has its own zone that must be completed to unlock its variants (neon lights and metallic wheels) so while you may have a favourite, in order to complete the game you're gonna have to drive each and every one of the 21 trucks.
It's a bit of a shame that all the trucks handle the same and the only difference is their signature moves, but the impressive number of truck & tricks will keep you busy. There's a handy Trick List with the required button/stick combination and accompanying video, and mastering them all will take a good deal of practice and more than a little skill. If you do struggle in the career mode, Freestyle, Destruction, Boss Attack and Training Modes are available as single events, and are a great way of practicing. The only real issues I have with the game are that maybe it's a tad too tough for its target audience, and there's a recurring bug that means you get the tyre screeching noise continue after that level has finished.
The trucks look great, just like their model counterparts and the action is smooth and eye-catching. The game has a heavy metal backing track and a suitably over-excited announcer/commentator that introduces your chosen truck and calls your tricks as you perform or fail them. The big V8 engines sound awesome-as good as many "serious" racing games and better than some. Another neat detail is that the trucks get dirty as you churn around the arena.
Although there's a very playable split-screen 2-player option with 3 different modes, I'd have liked an online multiplayer mode and a replay mode to enjoy your best runs again
Each area has a 'Boss Battle' at the end which you'll have to damage by finding and running over 3 ‘minion’ boards, and then entering the Boss ramp in order to deal it damage. This needs to be done 3 times to defeat the area Boss.
I enjoy the handling of the trucks but also feel the steering is a tad twitchy–a delicate touch is required to hit obstacles accurately and perform the various tricks perfectly, but I guess that's as it should be. The difficulty curve of the game seems to have been well tested and progression through the various areas and unlocking further trucks is possible without perfect scores, which is a good thing as some areas do have serious score demands. This gives the game replayability (to improve your scores and get all the "Wheels"), and means it's possible for all standards of gamers–kids, n00bs and driving game veterans to all have fun and receive an increasingly challenging experience.
While I don’t think you'll be playing Hot Wheels Monster Trucks: Stunt Mayhem for hours on end, I got a lot of fun and entertainment from it, and I think you'll keep coming back, and you definitely get a decent challenge and lifespan for your money.
Many thanks to GameMill and Renaissance PR for the review code.