This has nothing to do with the leaked release list from earlier in this very same day, but some more specific features about the game other than when it will officially exist in the sense that you may buy it, play it and perhaps snuggle with its instruction manual. According to an upcoming issue of NMag (by way of GoNintendo), snaking will make its way back into the game, along with a total of 32 tracks (16 new, 16 old) and Baby Peach and Boo will be drivers. Also, the controls are supposed to be very much like those that are in Excite Truck.
Apparently, this is all speculation, though, as a Nintendo rep told Eurogamer that these tidbits of info are nothing more than rumors. "Nintendo has not announced any further information on Mario Kart," the rep said. "We've spoken to the magazine and it's just pure rumour and speculation on their part." So while Nintendo shoots down all of this info, you can still be sure in betting on the track list being a mixture of older tracks, with some new ones sprinkled in for good measure. We'll just all have to make our own guess as to how many there will be.
Read - GoNintendo leaks info from upcoming issue of NMag Read - Nintendo tells Eurogamer it's all rumors
These Excite Truck 2 rumors just keep on coming, but this time around they come from the Official Nintendo Magazine in Spain. This, of course, causes us to believe that ... oh wait, these images are recycled. How hilarious that the magazine would recycle what are known to be fake images as those for a sequel to the game. But one thing is different: the rendered truck has changed.
Personally, we'd like the game to receive a sequel and it would make sense for Nintendo to do so. Maybe add some Wi-Fi functionality to it?
This profoundly limited-edition copy of Excite Truck was spotted on the shelf at GameStop. Evidently, an employee drew this charmingly quaint alternate boxart instead of using the default GameStop display box for loose games. You can see from the little motion lines that the truck is clearly excited, which is a much subtler approach than the usual bright colors and EXTREME explosions.
We totally prefer the lunch-break line art shown here to the real boxart, but we're still a little shocked that they're selling this copy as a new game with no discount.
Fast food chain Wendy's plans to pack its Kids' Meals with Wii-related toys soon. The new knickknacks don't look like they're anything to fawn over, but that miniaturized and muddied Excite Truck might make a nice addition to your collection of Micro Machines and Hot Wheels racers.
Truthfully, we've never been partial to the restaurant's square-shaped burger patties or its bland french fries. Wendy's chicken nuggets, however, are like the real-world equivalent to Narnia's turkish delight. Families have been betrayed and wars have been set into motion over these bits of meat. The fact that we can get a pocket-sized Wii remote with these nuggets pretty much settles our schedule for where we're eating lunch at when this promotion goes into effect.
Update: It looks like the Internet, including Joystiq and Wii Fanboy, got punk'd when an Excite Truck 2 press release was supposedly released by Nintendo of Canada. The release appeared on official press resources, such as Games Press, and is still available on GamesIndustry.biz. Thanks to an intrepid reader, there is confirmation that this is, indeed, a fake--quite possibly the most successful in recent memory. We apologize for this err in judgment, and hope that Nintendo will actually make an online-enabled Excite Truck in the future.
NoE put out a list of their upcoming games for the European market, and while it may not be quite as filled-to-bursting as the DS list there's certainly plenty to be excited about. Upcoming with a quickness is the exquisite Wario Ware and -- ooh! we're jealous -- colorful Kororinpa. Loads of titles undated as well. Check after the jump for the full list.
While we had plenty of time with Excite Truck, we haven't had time to get up our review (we'll get it up soon, we swear). While we wait, why not take a look at what some of the other reviewers out there are saying about the ramp-jumping, Wiimote-turning racer. Overall, reviews have been positive, however there have been a handful of those that feel the game is too simplistic or unfinished.
GameSpot - 68%: "Excite Truck's control and speed give it a good amount of potential, but there just isn't enough of a game here to keep you excited for very long. Ultimately, it feels more like a tech demo than a full-fledged game."
IGN - 80%: "Excite Truck is clearly a first generation console game that will, without a doubt be outdone in the Wii system's later years. But as a game that bursts right out of the gate as a launch title for the system, Excite Truck is a fulfilling, fun, energetic arcade-style racer that features a good balance of technology and technique. There are a few spots in places that could have been filled, like its weak two player option and trick system, but overall this game definitely pulls off the intense racing rush that quality arcade racers offer."
Gamespy - 60%: "Like I said at the beginning of the review, I highly doubt Excite Truck will standout in anyone's memory past the end of the year. The lack of decent multiplayer and total lack of online play hurt the longevity, but if you absolutely need a racer to play at launch, you can't really do any better than this one."
Ever since we received our Wii, everyone has been dying to play that Zelda game. It's left us little time to take trucks, of the most exciting variety, out for a spin. After running through the first set of races and unlocking the silver series, we have, overall, good impressions of the game. Visually, it looks good. No pop-up present that we can determine and the sense of speed is really spot-on.
We currently have 3 vehicles at our disposal. A dune buggy-like vehicle is our personal favorite, mainly for its incredibly light weight, which helps us bust some amazing drifts and big air. Upon completing courses, we're rewarded for our efforts with a grade. The learning curve is rather small for this also, as upon completing our first race we received a grade of F and, only 2 short races following, we were receiving A's and S's with relative ease.
Keep an eye out here for more impressions on the game as we progress and check after the break for some more pictures.
It begins -- as the Wii kiosks go up around in GameStops everywhere, we're starting to see more hands-on impressions of the system. Reader Nick tipped us off on this one, and it's not much, but there's something interesting in these few quick lines about the Wii. He and his wife, Katie (who he says is "pretty much a nongamer") stopped by their local store to check out the Excite Truck demo in action. In their blog, Katie reports that Nick had a little trouble with it, but she found it easy. Why? Because it was really like steering and not just about pushing buttons. That was something we noticed at the Fusion Tour as well -- that those of us who spend vast oceans of time with a controller in hand may not have it so easy with the Wii, at least in the beginning.
Thanks to some new screenshots of the upcoming launch title Excitetruck, it now indeed looks as though we called it. That's right: if the picture here is any indication, the arcade racer will be able to read .mp3 files from your very own SD card and insert them into the game, a la the Xbox and Xbox 360. It's a nice little feature, and the ability to rock out to our latest find on Pandora while catchin' some air is quite enticing indeed.
Does this feature matter to you guys? More importantly, how many games are actually going to support it? Only the flying spaghetti monster time will tell.
Last week, we forayed into an as yet undiscovered country for a chance with the Wii. What country? Well, it's more of a town, really ... a smallish town ... known as Jonesboro, Arkansas.
Arkansas State University in Jonesboro is a strange stop for the Fusion Tour. Sure, it's a college town, but there are far more obvious locales nearby. Little Rock is a mere two hour drive away. It's a big, grown-up city, home of a President and all. And Memphis, that sultry city of the blues, is less than an hour away for those with particularly heavy accelerator feet. But Nintendo chose Jonesboro. Sigh. In service to you, dear reader (maybe not all of it), it was Jonesboro-ho.
Yes, these Fusion Tour events have been going for several weeks now, I know. And you've probably read plenty of impressions, too. But not from Nintendo Wii Fanboy, you didn't, so grab a mug of hot cocoa and your favorite fuzzy slippers. It's time to read.
I, like most of you, had never played with the Wii before tonight. I was unable to attend E3, and despite my posting nigh every single day on the strange little machine, I had no idea if it could actually fulfill my every expectation. Would I have to convince myself that the controls would work, as opposed to just knowing that they would? It was almost nervewracking ... waiting to see if all that I work on and write about would besomehow validated.
In this latest trailer for first-party launch title Excite Truck, trucks elevate to heights no mortal should ever reach. Following our hands-on with it during E3, we felt the game was fun, just not so much as to warrant launch day purchase. Things change, however, as the more we see on this game, the more we honestly want it.
While taking the established franchise and switching out the dirt bikes for 4X4s might cause some to cringe, we here at the Fanboy are looking forward to busting big jumps. Obviously, we'll be guzzling Mountain Dew whilst we do it, what with us being so extreme and all.
As always, video is embedded into the post after the break.
Last week, we forayed into an as yet undiscovered country for a chance with the Wii. What country? Well, it's more of a town, really ... a smallish town ... known as Jonesboro, Arkansas.
