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Monster Trucks DS has arrived in the UK almost with its tail in-between its legs. Several months after its
original proposed released release date and with a budget-price,
Majesco’s sister-title to ATV:
Quad Frenzy sets the pace as being the only big-rig release
on the NintendoDS since the disappearance of the promise Big
Mutha Truckers title. A mixed-bag before the Game Card even
enters the NintendoDS console, certainly, but with full 3D Scaling,
twenty-five Tracks and four-player Multi-Card play, Monster
Trucks DS follows Majesco and THQ’s more recent work-ethic;
going for that niche jugular.
The presentation of Monster Trucks DS parallels that
of ATV: Quad Frenzy. A poor – and identical – Menu
Screen set-up results in much confusion as each race seemingly acts
independently of each other even when playing in Championship Mode.
Scrolling left or right through the Menu Screens is activated by
the B and A Buttons respectively, whilst entering a Race demand a
press of the Start Button; a strangely over-complicated set-up that
is never really explained in a concise manner and is very confusing
when beginning. Again, as with ATV: Quad Frenzy, there is no
progress report during Championships – no Leaderboard, no Medal
System, just a screen denoting each racers placement and then an
open avenue to either quit or continue. Further Tracks can be
unlocked through playing the Championship, as well as upgrades for
your vehicles. However, these upgrades seem to have little effect
on the actual performance and, for some reason, upgrading any one
vehicle will result in all eight receiving the same upgrade.
The Tracks arrangement varies from interesting to
diabolical. The arrangement is set around a series of pre-built
Maps, on which the Tracks are designated by a series of alternating
Blue and Red Flags. Passing through these Flags is required to
complete each race; however, their detection is erratic at best. 
Often, you will find yourself going wide of a Flag by a
trucks-width and still being able to progress, whilst at other
times scraping the outside of the Flag remains unacceptable and
will simply not allow you to progress further – at which point,
there is no notification; not even a Reverse Arrow Icon appearing
in the centre of the screen. The Tracks unfold through jumps,
ramps, hills and corners, with very little in the way of blank
straights to pick-up speed, an effort which differentiates the
title from rival Racing games in a way that Monster Trucks DS
should. Defining a title such as this as a classic high-speed brawn
Racing title such as the likes of Juiced, Project
Gotham
Racing 3 or Need For Speed Underground would see it
somewhat out of its depth, and instead is more comparable to the
likes of Mario KartDS, Crash Team Racing and Jak X.
The other gameplay options are limited, with Quick Race
allowing for play on any of the Tracks unlocked through the
Championship – which, as stated above, consists of a total of
twenty-five – and the Multi-Player options are limited to
Multi-Card play.
Graphically, the title is rewarding, but seems to suffer
from a lack of mid-range polygon programming. With a poor
Draw-Distance yet some fantastic Texture-Mapping, Monster Trucks
DS seems more reminiscent of a PlayStation game than comparable
to, or even excelling Nintendo64 games as much of its competition
do. The likes of Mario KartDS, Metroid Prime: Hunters,
Animal Crossing: Wild World and Tony Hawk’s American
Sk8land have proved that the NintendoDS is able to outclass the
Nintendo64’s abilities on occasion but, unfortunately, Monster
Trucks DS is  not one of those occasions. Added effects – such
as tyre marks and mud spray – have been ignored in favour of
keeping a consistent Frame-Rate which, as the game handles at a
relatively slow-pace anyway, has been accomplished without too much
loss to the proceedings: the lesser of two evils.
Monster Trucks DS is released in the UK without a great deal of pressure or support, and it shows. Monster
Trucks DS could never be classed as a bad game, it
rewards effectively for play and encourages aggressive racing,
however, as a NintendoDS Racing game, the competition is always
going to be Mario KartDS, and this is where it struggles: Mario
KartDS is light-years ahead in both terms of developer skill
and playability. Achieving much of the title’s modest series of
requirements, there is little to either distinguish or condemn Monster
Trucks DS for, a check in each box on the list, but little
flair or individuality. Monster Trucks DS is a budget build,
at a budget price, with a niche market – a market from which it
deserves success – but in a real world full of competing titles,
most of what it will receive is ignorance.
 
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