Reviewed: September 27, 2003
Reviewed by: Loki

Publisher
THQ

Developer
Tantalus

Released: August 8, 2003
Genre: Racing
Players: 1
ESRB: Everyone

8
8
6
6
7.2

Supported Features:

  • Cartidge Save (3 slots)
    • THQ and Microsoft recently joined forces to bring a few of the corporate giant’s PC hits to the Game Boy Advanced and Monster Truck Madness is the first out of the gate. If Monster Truck Madness is any indication this may be one of the more successful collaborations in recent history and a boon for the GBA.

    THQ wisely put this project in the hands of Australian developer Tantalus who already proved they could handle offroad racing with last years hit, ATV Quad Power Racing. While that game lacked focus it did show off a solid racing engine that has been further enhanced in this latest release.

    Features:

    • 10 standard, and several bonus polygonal vehicles, all with realistic geometry.
    • Advanced vehicle physics and handling model with real-time vehicle animation, for radically improved sense of realism.
    • Vehicle geometry will deform in real time to show the effects of damage.
    • Impressive visual effects on the vehicles, such as specular highlights and environment mapping.
    • 30 realistic tracks, at 10 distinct locations with an emphasis on fun, rough-and-tumble gameplay.
    • Different track surfaces affect physics and vehicle handling.
    • Hills and jumps in the tracks cause the vehicles to leave the ground and return to it with lifelike physics and real-time animation.
    • High degree of interactivity between player, track and objects.
    • A range of pick-ups, including weapons, turbos, and effects that temporarily alter the vehicle's handling.
    • Object destruction as an integral part of gameplay.
    Those of you who’ve played the PC version of Monster Truck Madness will already be familiar with the concept of racing these bouncing trucks around an assortment of wildly designed tracks. The GBA adds some extra arcade goodness in the form of power-ups that will give you the competitive edge, either a boost in speed or added tire grip, or perhaps inflict your opponents with some derogatory effect.

    Riding high in these towering vehicles instills a certain level of invulnerability and you can unleash your destructive power by running over just about anything on the track you might see. Destroying these objects will increase your Rampage power bar, and when the bar is full you can kick in the nitro for some serious speed boost.

    The physics, albeit exaggerated for fun, are extremely well implemented and add to the gameplay. The trucks have a distinct weighty feel to them and much of the gameplay is trying to keep them under control as they bounce around the tracks. Since you can only accelerate when your tires are touching the ground much of the gameplay involves careful navigation around the courses to reduce your airtime.

    I only have a few minor complaints, actually they are more regrets; the first being a lack of any link features thus making MTM one of the loneliest racers you can play on your GBA. I was also moderately annoyed that my high scores didn’t allow me to input my initials or name. Now I have no idea if those high scores are mine, or my roommate’s, or even the ones that come with the game.

    Tantalus has done an excellent job of blending 2D and 3D elements together to create an impressive looking racer. If you play this on your TV using a GBA/GameCube adapter you can easily fool your friends into thinking this is a PSX game. The trucks are fully textured and deformable 3D models that actually show damage, and they interact with the 2D scrolling terrain quite well. Often the vehicles in GBA racing games seem detached from the environments, but the trucks all interact with their surrounds in a very believable manner.

    Monster Truck Madness is the first GBA racing game I have ever played to employ a fully functional first-person view. It’s not a cockpit cam, but rather a bumper view that gives you a whole new perspective on the action. The sensation of speed is greatly enhanced with this view and the designers even pull out to a chase view if you get disoriented on the track.

    The music is merely adequate in both quality and content. It’s your typical racing music that seems to get recycled with each GBA racer that gets released. I wouldn’t be surprised to find some shared tracks in MTM and ATV.

    The rest of the sound package is choked full of digital samples that are very nice and offer plenty of ambient and noisy racing action. Granted, after you have heard the smashing and breaking sounds or the high revving engine noises for a few hours it will certainly get repetitive, but that is the curse of most racing games.

    Monster Truck Madness offers up plenty of intense racing action that can prove quite difficult at times. You should easily get 12-20 hours of good racing fun out of MTM before you grow weary of it. Unfortunately, with the lack of any multiplayer racing when the game is finished so are you unless you have some compelling desire to go back and best your previous times or “take turns” playing your friends. For this reason alone MTM may be better suited as a rental than a permanent addition to your library.

    It’s no secret that the GBA suffers from an overabundance of racing titles and Monster Truck Madness certainly stands out above the rest, at least for the short term. The lack of multiplayer is the only thing keeping this game from true greatness.

    If you are content to race alone you won’t find a more challenging truck racing game out there. The graphics are excellent, the game engine and physics are flawless and fun and Monster Truck Madness is simply a blast to play.