For my fifth or sixth birthday (can’t remember exactly), my dad took me to a monster truck show. You know, “Sunday, Sunday, SUNDAY” and all that. Early childhood memories can sometimes be a little fuzzy, but I have a vivid memory of going to see that monster truck event. I remember that the big wheels crushing all those cars was so loud that we had to wear earplugs. And for the grand finale, they had a demolition derby with three Mac trucks with trailers attached! For a little kid, that was the coolest thing in the world. Heck, even as a grown up, that sounds kind of cool. Now, surely at some point, most likely while being stuck in traffic, maybe you imagined what it would be like to take one of those monster trucks out on the town, smashing and bashing anything in your way. Well now you can do that in the comfort of your own home on the Nintendo Wii with Monster Jam: Urban Assault.

Monster Jam: Urban Assault allows you to drive one of your favorite real-life monster trucks (like Grave Digger), and participate in events, races, and stunt challenges. Compete in tournaments or just tackle any one challenge that you’ve already unlocked. You can even do split screen multiplayer. Earn points to unlock new trucks and video clips of your favorite monster vehicles.

In one event, you run your truck around a stadium, crushing cars, catching air on ramps, and doing tricks for points. Or race around the stadium to beat the clock. The more interesting challenges take your monster truck to the city. Street race with other monster trucks around laps and smash through obstacles to find shortcuts. Or storm through shopping malls and city plazas trying to crash into the most valuable property to increase your money point total. One of the more creative events has you jumping a huge ramp to land in a giant skee-ball target! In all the events, you’ll want to crunch as much stuff and do as many tricks as you can, because it increases your boost meter so you can go faster.

Monster Jam: Urban Assault has a more arcadey, pick up and play feel to it. On the Wii, you can control your truck in two ways. With only the remote, hold it sideways like a game controller, and tilt to do tricks. You can also control with the nunchuck for more precise movements. But even so, driving still feels a little loose in places. Graphics aren’t spectacular but the way your truck takes damage and gets muddy during an event is a nice touch. For fans of monster trucks who want a simple and imaginative stress reliever, Monster Jam: Urban Assault might just be their ticket.

Oh, one more thing. The coolest part of when I went to the monster truck show for my birthday when I was young was when we got home. I fell asleep on the trip home and my dad must’ve carried me in the house to my bed, because when I woke up the next morning, something didn’t seem right about my bed. Then I looked down and noticed they also got me Pac-Man bed sheets for my birthday! So I promptly went and pounced on my parents’ bed and woke them up to thank them for the birthday present!

Kid Factor:
Monster Jam: Urban Assault is rated E for Everyone with ESRB descriptors of Mild Language and Mild Violence. I’m not really sure where the mild language comes from. Maybe the announcer in the game or some of the song lyrics in the background music might be questionable, but I didn’t notice anything myself. The only violence in the game is property damage and the fact that you’re encouraged to smash everything. But no living thing gets hurt. Reading skill is helpful as the instructions are all in text. Younger players may get frustrated at some of the later challenges’ difficulty, but even little monster truck fans may have fun just messing around in the game.

Tags: Game Reviews