criteeker's Full Review: Jeep Thrills for Nintendo Wii
I enjoy the Wii's interaction factor and I am a huge Jeep hobbyist. That said, I really wanted this game to be stellar. Man, what a let down. To say that this game lacks in most areas would be an understatement. Right before the game's launch, the price went from $39 down to $19 - that should have been a HUGE clue to stay away from it. But as a die-hard Jeeper and an avid gamer, I had to give it a shot.
Being a Jeeper, I was expecting this game to be about racing but also have the capabilities to go four-wheeling. That's right, part of owning a Jeep is being able to navigate rocks, mud, water, dirt and most any course that comes our way. That would have been a cool game. Instead, we get to pick from a variety of Jeep vehicles from the past, current models and some concept vehicles, we get to choose the color of a vehicle and we get to choose from 36 different courses that span the globe. These include Alaskan Tundra, jungles of South America, deserts and more.
The music tracks are nothing remarkable and some of the sound effects sound like some foley artist on a microphone rather than actual vehicle sounds.
This game is a basic race game that happens to have Jeeps as the vehicles. We all know that, other than the newer SRT V8s, Jeeps have never been built for speed. Such is the case here. I found the controls really awkward, the Jeeps do not respond well to controls and other than the selectable courses, this game has nothing to it. I mean, racing a four cylinder Willys "flat fender" or WW2 era Jeep is laughable. Other vehicles include the CJ, the Wrangler, the Liberty, the Cherokee and even the cool duel-engine 4-wheel steering concept Jeep "Hurricane." Problem is that most (if not all) of the vehicles handle the same and move the same only with different body styles. To compare this race game to a game like Gran Turismo would be like comparing a McDonald's hamburger to a perfectly prepared steak.
On the Wii version of this Jeep Thrills, the Wii-Mote is held horizontally and tilted from side to side to steer your vehicle. The only thing that might perk this up would be the use of the add-on accessory steering wheel - which is basically a wheel that houses the Wii-Mote horizontally. So you grip a wheel rather then just the Wii-Mote.
The game play modes include;
"Group Race" is made up of four levels of difficulty. You'll need to place in (at least) 2nd in all group races in order to unlock the next difficulty. After you've placed in at least 3rd in all the races, you'll be able to enter tournaments.
"Tournament" you'll compete in a series of races in a set order and you'll compete in more challenging races with more laps and better opponents. You'll even race on the same tracks but in the opposite direction.
"Custom Race" is where you set up a race according to your personal preferences on any unlocked track.
"Multiplayer" is for adrenaline junkies - sorry, the multiplayer doesn't have any online capability.
The graphics are adequate at best - the most enjoyable graphics being the exotic backgrounds because the vehicles themselves look a bit rudimentary. In Jeep Thrills you can either race against your friend(s) or computer opponents with pretty scenic locales, but lethargic controls for lethargic vehicles. Other than steering, there really isn't any physical interaction for the player(s) thus no workout is achieved. There really isn't much replay value unless you are brand new to video games.
It would have been cool to buy a stock Jeep, use it off road on various skill courses against the clock or an opponent to receive cash. Cash could have been spent on building up the Jeep to make it a more capable off road machine. You know, just like in real life... "Build it, wheel it, wreck it, repeat" is our motto.
One lone bright spot was the ability to find secret passages (short cuts) and beat your opponents to the finish line.
Overall Look: I'd give it a 3.5 out of 10. Points off for horridly rendered vehicles and while the backgrounds are attractive they blur terribly while driving around.
Graphics: 2.5 out of 10. Low grade graphics reminiscent of PS1 games.
Sound: 2.5 out of 10. Amateur-ish at best especially the vehicle sound effects.
Overall Gameplay: 1.75 out of 10. Even a turbo boost can't save this lethargic game.
Replay Value: 2 out of 10. If you really had that much copious free time, I suppose you could have a go with the group races in an attempt to unlock the tougher challenges or cooler vehicles.
Because there is nothing to this game, I can't recommend it at all. It's the same race, different background each and every time. In fact, my copy of Jeep Thrills was just traded in for a whopping $2. Woo Hoo. I think half of that $2 was for the case and instructions. Well, that's fitting, since Jeepers spend so much on our beloved Jeep vehicles and then when we sell them we take a huge monetary hit. I loathe my Jeep addiction sometimes and, sadly, there is no 12-step program for Jeep or Wii addicts.
Jeep Thrills seems so low-budget that "Cheap Thrills" is more like it.
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