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We all grew up with the Sunday morning commercials telling you to head on down to the nearest arena to see a monster truck show. It was usually narrated by an over-caffeinated announcer with a day off and an eagerness to impress. By the end of the commercial you were ready to get some tickets and watch the show. It is that enthusiasm that game designers have been trying to encapsulate in video game form but have failed for the most part. However, a new contender found its way to the ring in the form of Monster Jam for the iOS. It is the latest game to try and tap that monster truck audience but the question remains, is it worth the time?

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Unfortunately, Monster Jam is a mixed bag of tricks so it is hard to recommend right off the bat. While this game is officially supported and sanctioned by the Monster Jam event, it doesn’t seem to do enough to keep players engaged while appealing to more than just its core set of fans. At your disposal you’ll have four different modes to choose from including Freestyle, Racing, Tow Test, and Hill Jump Race. First, the tow test mode is simply your vehicle of choice towing some ridiculous object and while it may be awesome to see a space shuttle in tow, it quickly gets old. The Hill Jump Race mode is really where you’ll spend most of your time. The mode is a side scrolling 2.5D course where you’ll have to hit ramps, boost over jumps and chase the finish line. It is a fair amount of fun and closely resembles other games like Hilltop Racer.

The problems with this game start to pile up in the Freestyle and Racing modes. These modes take place in a 3D environment and are controlled using the dreaded on-screen thumb pads and gyroscopic steering. The controls are really poorly designed and lead to a number of issues in the game. You’ll often find yourself crashing into a wall before you go where you want to go. Trying to keep your fingers on the correct keys while constantly tilting the screen at awkward angles is a recipe for disaster. In addition to the control issues, there are a number technical issues where you’ll drive through walls you aren’t supposed to, if you hit the angle just right. The frame rate also suffers quite a bit even under the most basic conditions. Whether it was poor programming or a case of being overly ambitious, the game suffers as a result and it renders the game virtually unplayable.

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This is a real missed opportunity because the game feels suited for the mobile platform. The quick gameplay experiences lend itself well to the gamer-on-the-go and with so many varied game modes to choose from, it had the potential to be a great game. There is also a Gran Turismo-style upgrade system that allows you to customize your monster truck and improve its performance. This customization option is great, but when half the game just doesn’t function well, you don’t want to waste the time and get attached to something that just doesn’t work.

In the end, Monster Jam is woefully underdeveloped. The control issues make the game very difficult to navigate and from a technical perspective, the game doesn’t perform well. This is a real shame because the game could have been something that expanded the Monster Jam brand and brought a renewed interest in the monster truck event space. Instead, this game just settles to the bottom of other monster truck games that failed to tap their fans interest. Unless you are a hardcore fan of monster truck rallies, this game is not something we could recommend to racing fans.

This review is based on a review code of the iOS version of Monster Jam developed by GameMill Entertainment

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Monster Trucks in a Mobile Package | Monster Jam Review
Positives
  • Varied Game Modes
Negatives
  • Poor Controls
  • Technical Issues
4Overall Score
Reader Rating: (0 Votes)
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