Monday, February 28, 2011

An Exciting Wii Racer - Ignored by Nintendo, Not Known by Wii Owners

Coffee Beans
When you think of the Wii and racing games, what's the first game that enters your mind?  Mario Kart Wii, Sonic and Sega All-Stars Racing, or perhaps even the Wii release title Excite Truck?

Well, I think one Wii racing game that has flown under the radar since it was released is ExciteBots: Trick Racing.
  
ExciteBots: Trick Racing was released in North America on April 20, 2009 with two versions: one for $39.99 that was the game by itself, and one for $49.99 that included a Wii Wheel.  The game was developed by Monster Games, and published by Nintendo.

Now you may be thinking, "What do you mean that it was ignored by Nintendo?"  Well, it was released with little fanfare and given basically no media attention from Nintendo.  Considering how well the game plays, and the amount of content in it, I'm really surprised that Nintendo didn't give the game at least one commercial(if they did, I couldn't find a record of it).

I received ExciteBots: Trick Racing as a surprise gift from my wife in May of 2009.  She had one of my friends call me and ask me what new Wii games were out, that HE may be interested in.  After thinking of Endless Ocean: Blue World and ExciteBots: Trick Racking, I told him I had seen a video of ExciteBots, and I thought he would like it. Well, a few days later Mrs. Coffee presented me with a gift, and I unwrapped ExciteBots: Trick Racing!

As for ExciteBots not being known by Wii owners, I remember talking with my neighbor one day (same neighbor who gave me the 2011 Club Nintendo Calendar I used in the Contest/Giveaway last month!) and mentioning ExciteBots to him. He hadn't heard of it. I ran into the house and grabbed my copy of ExciteBots and let him borrow it.  He's a pretty regular gamer on the Wii, and knows when games are releasing, but ExciteBots had flown under his radar.

If you haven't seen any footage of ExciteBots: Trick Racing, here's a video of me racing against Daemion, from MyLittleGamer.Blogspot.com:



Filtered Thoughts
I've really enjoyed my time with ExciteBots: Trick Racing, and if you're looking for a unique racing game on the Wii that offers many hours of fun, I highly suggest ExciteBots: Trick Racing.

ExciteBots: Trick Racing features both local splitscreen multi-player for two players, or online multi-player races for up to six racers. The game has 40+ races to participate in through the "Excite" and "Super Excite" modes, and 19 ExciteBots to choose between for the races. The game also features a "Poker Race" mode where you are playing poker DURING the race.  It also has a separate section for the 10 "Minigames" you encounter during many races, allowing you to practice and get/record high scores for each minigame.

One example of a minigame in the video above you may have noticed, was me driving through bowling pins during the race, and it would give me Star points for each pin I knocked down.

If you want to see what Daemion thought of ExciteBots, you can read his review HEREhttp://mylittlegamer.blogspot.com/2011/02/review-of-excitebots-trick-racing-feb.html.

If any of you own ExciteBots: Trick Racing, and are looking for people to play with/against online, feel free to add my Friend Code for the game:  0860-9995-8866.

Questions
If any of you own ExciteBots: Trick Racing, what do you think of the game...good, or bad?  Also, if any of you want to see more coverage/videos of ExciteBots: Trick Racing, please leave a comment letting me know!


If anybody is interested in ExciteBots: Trick Racing, you can see prices for the game on Amazon.com linked below:
  

11 comments:

  1. I have wanted to try Excitebots for a LONG time! I have to admit... I knew, FULL-WELL, that Excitebots was dying (so to speak) at retail, and I still haven't been able to free up the funds to support it. I've heard nothing but good things, and enjoyed the brief amount of playtime I have had with it, too! I am a shamefully unprincipled gamer. :)

    If you liked Excitebots so much, I've got to get it on the Wife's radar....

    Thanks for raising visibility on a title that deserves it.

    -BitNick

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  2. @BitNick:
    If you want to see more footage of races, or modes(like the Poker Races), just let me know and I'll see if I can record any in the next few weeks(crazy schedule over the next 2-weeks, so it may be a little while).

    Considering you can get the game for under $20 now on Amazon, and perhaps at local stores, it's a pretty great buy at that price.

    When you said, "If you liked Excitebots so much, I've got to get it on the Wife's radar...."
    Did you mean for your wife to buy, or perhaps for your wife to play it? Kind of interesting, my wife actually doesn't really prefer ExciteBots, because it requires motions while racing(the red bars), so it's not like Mario Kart where it's just holding the gas button and controlling the karts.

    Thanks for the comment!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I gave the game high marks in my review. I gave it a 9.25. I was seriously impressed and disappointed more people didn't play it. It ranked number one on my Most Overlooked Wii Games Period top ten list.

    ReplyDelete
  4. It never came out in Europe did it? I have to say I probably wouldn't have gotten it either if it did. Shame that ExciteTruck didn't have online, because if it had I'd actually would've bought that back then. How about bots, is there online?

    Honestly I'm pretty sure what killed this game before it ever got a chance is the tambourine frog. I like weird, but some things are just impossible to market.

    ReplyDelete
  5. @Coffee

    Yeah, it's currently on my Amazon wishlist just waiting for a month when I haven't blown my "games fund" on something else.

    Sorry for the lack of clarity, there! My wife is a sweet girl, and she's usually looking for something she could get me as a gift for the next Hallmark-sanctioned holiday. This could be a good fit!

    @SuperPhillip

    You see, this is exactly what I've heard! Impressive, fun, and disappointingly low sales. I've really got to check it out.

    -BitNick

    ReplyDelete
  6. Wow $7.95 (w/o wheel) right now and it somehow flew under my radar as well. Will have to check out some vids soon and perhaps break that resolution...

    I really like Mario Kart, but the blue shell always feels cheap.

    How is the balance in Excitebots?

    ReplyDelete
  7. So weird how I stumbled upon these comments 2+ years later! I did see your review, and actually just posted a link to it in my new piece on the game. Sorry for the delayed response!

    ReplyDelete
  8. "It never came out in Europe did it?"
    I don't think it did, just the U.S. and maybe Japan? LOL, as for the tambourine frog, it's A-okay and all of the Wii Music I probably could take!


    As for marketing, just go with a racing game, and talk pointers:
    1) Great sense of speed
    2) Multiple paths
    3) Play with family locally
    4) Play with family/friends online


    Once they play it, they will be hooked and the tambourine frog making a Super Sandwich will be the racing standard for them.


    Thanks for the comment! Sorry my reply is 2 years late!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Being that this has been 2 years, did this game ever get off your Amazon wishlist, and in your Wii collection?!


    Hope all is well!

    ReplyDelete
  10. "I really like Mario Kart, but the blue shell always feels cheap."
    CHEAP. CHEAP. CHEAP.


    Perfect word to describe Mario Kart Wii. It's not even a racing game, it's an item game. Stay in last for 90% of the race, and just keep hoping for good items!


    Seeing Bean 1 be in first place now approaching the finish line, only to get hit by a blue turtle shell, followed by two red turtle shells....!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We don't throw controllers, but that makes me want to do it for him!


    The balance in ExciteBots is good. It's more focused on tricks with actual racing, than the items. Sure, there are items, but nothing like Mario Kart. The idea is to see who finishes the races with the most stars, and you get stars for doing tricks well, and a certain number depending what place your finish. Like in the video, you can technically finish the race in 2nd, but place 1st overall.


    Like I said to the others, sorry for this delayed response!

    ReplyDelete

Keep the comments clean. Rated "E" for Everyone. :)

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