All monster truck fans should get this game.

Anyone who grew up playing Monster Truck Madness should get a kick out of this game. People who liked Monster Jam Steel Titans but wanted more of a real feel and less arcade, will get a kick out of this game. Racing fans looking for something challenging and new will dig this.

On easy and medium the game is fun for all ages and challenging at times, higher than medium and the game gets very realistic and hard. The trucks actually feel like you're driving a massive vehicle. First person view makes that more apparent. Stunts are far harder to manage than in other monster truck games, just adds to the feeling of driving a massive truck. The sounds of the truck slamming around are perfect.

Truck customization is very Wreckfest for anyone who has played that game. There are bodies, liveries, sticker packs and colors to choose from and mix and match. It's not full out customization like Forza, but it has enough stuff and options to keep things fun and interesting.

Career mode is cool because you actually manage a team and finances. Your team members all have +/- perks which can include larger payouts, better truck stats, lower repair costs and so on...makes the team aspect worth paying attention to. There's also sponsor challenges to win parts and upgrades.

I def think anyone who wanted more from the last Monster Jam will find that in this game.

I'm a depressed 28-year-old dude who's lost a lot of interest in most aspects of life, including even video games, unfortunately. I just can't get into long, complex strategy games or RPGs anymore. I don't have the mental energy to do it. I just don't care.

Nowadays I'd rather fire up something simpler that gives me quick bursts of joy. Like racing games. Anything that just lets me hop into a cool car or truck, and makes me feel like I'm really driving it. It appeals to my inner 5-year-old and revives some of the excitement about cars I had when I was a kid. I don't even care what kind of car it is, I just want to drive it. "CAR GO VROOM", basically.

I'd forgotten that Monster Truck Championship was coming out until I suddenly got a Steam notification for it. I haven't played a monster truck game for a long time, probably not since Monster Truck Madness for the N64. I remember enjoying that game when I was a kid, and I also remember years ago when real monster trucks would be exhibited at the stadium in my town, running ads on TV every day (although sadly I never actually attended one of the events).

I pulled the trigger on this game, and man... I'm so glad I did. This game has basically made my week (maybe even my month?). It's probably the funnest driving game I've played in a long time - no, one of the funnest games I've played in general, driving-related or not. Without going into a ton of detail, I'll try to explain all of the things I like about it:

• Vehicle handling and physics. They are simply wonderful. It really feels like you're controlling one of these huge, heavy, powerful machines. The monster trucks drift, sway, and bounce just like a real one would, and you can see the tires and suspension of your truck animate and react to the terrain underneath you.
  
• First-person view. YES. When I play a driving game, I don't want to be chasing behind the car; I want to be inside the car. And this game lets you sit directly inside the cockpit of one of these huge rigs. You can see the steering wheel, a handful of gauges, and the steel skeleton of the truck encompassing you, making you feel like a gas-powered god.
  
• A good number of graphics options, including even a cockpit FOV and seating height. I imagine most players will want to raise the height of the cockpit camera just a little bit, because seriously, it can be hard to see where you're going when you're towering this high off the ground.
  
• Sound design. The engines in these trucks sound mean and raw. Every little crash, bump, and jump has sound effects associated with it, and when you're in cockpit view specifically, the sound becomes slightly louder and boomy-er, which is is a good indication that the devs of this game really care about the quality of the audio.
  
• Event types. There aren't many of them: Race, Drag Race, Freestyle, Destruction, and I think that's it. They're all super fun in their own way though, and that's what matters.
  
• Skill ceiling. Ok, bear with me, because I know I said that I prefer "simpler" games. Monster Truck Championship is definitely simple to play, yes, but it's also hard to master. You have to really get a feel for the vehicle handling, how to steer both sets of tires (!), and how to safely perform stunts without toppling over on your backside. Even a basic stunt like a wheelie takes time to learn: Braking at the right moment, accelerating, and then feathering the gas in such a way that you can keep your nose pointed at a 90° angle for as long as possible. Eventually you'll be able to pull of some pretty crazy trick combos in the Freestyle and Destruction modes, and you'll feel like a badass after doing it.

What else do I say here? The game has pretty good graphics, it runs well, and it seems to be mostly bug-free. The career mode has some legitimate team management and vehicle upgrade options too. You can hire team members who give you various bonuses, sign on with sponsors who give you money for completing objectives, and then use that money to slowly upgrade the parts in your truck. Not to mention you can change your truck's cosmetics and put some pretty wicked designs on it.

Keep in mind that once you set a difficulty level, you can't change it without resetting your career progress. So if you're an experienced racer, I recommend starting out with Hard AI for a bit of a challenge. Otherwise, if you don't want to be challenged too much, then Medium AI is fine.

If you like offroad racing games, or you're into "light" driving simulations, or even if you just like racing games in general, then this one's a no-brainer. It's just a damn fun game overall. I can't really think of a better way to spend a lazy afternoon, or evening, or any time of day, appealing to your inner childlike love for giant trucks and doing backflips with them. I'm a simple person sometimes and this game is a very pure form of joy.

What a shame. I was hoping this game would be better than Rainbow Studio's Steel Titans Monster Jam games, but this is just poor. The big killer is its physics. This game is a 'simulation' in everything but its physics. The monster trucks slide around like they are driving on ice. The suspension is not bouncy at all and just will be stiff and soft at the same time. The trucks float around like they have reduced gravity. I tried different tuning settings yet nothing could fix the total jankiness of these physics. Its such a shame because it completely ruins the rest of the game which is quite good. Its cool to choose different sponsors, manage team members and customize your monster truck. Yet, the actual gameplay is just so weak. For $40, spend your money somewhere else...

The game Is by far the best Monster Truck game we have had on PC for quite a long time! I remember Monster Truck Madness back In 99 and It was great! Monster Jam Steel Titians Is the OFFICIAL Monster Jam game and Its fun...but this Is a sim and It nails It! The Physics In this game are even better than Steel Titans!! Now Its not perfect but when you get on 2 wheels on the rear you cant go In reverse and back out of It...Its like the truck doesnt have rear wheel drive so gotta reset. Other thing Is when you break the truck doesnt settle down either so kinda gotta wheel It and hope It lands lol. THE SOOOOUUNNNDDDD...holy cow Is It GREAT! The engine sounds are dead on! Idle Is a little off but man It sounds like pure alcohol burning 1400hp! havent even done Career yet Just basic freestyle getting use to the feel of the truck and I LOVE IT!!! No doubt Its worth $40 and there Is sooooo much more to say like the camera angels you can even change the FOV In the drivers seat and all that...Its really nice! One last thing before I finish this review up...the truck does feel nice..you cant Just run Into a doughnut you have to carry speed and Its not easy lol. I will post a updated review later on but for now 9.5/10

Nowhere Near A Simulator

I have been a fan of monster trucks my whole life. I follow the sport religiously, and have attended dozens of events, so I'm pretty familiar with it. I purchased this game not at all expecting it to be a simulator, but rather an arcade style game, and while I think there is a good game to be had here, I think it needs to be tuned before it gets there.

By far my biggest gripe is with the physics. The trucks don't feel like they have any weight to them, and everywhere you go it's like you're on ice. This makes cornering absolutely obnoxious as the trucks constantly want to spin out, but what's more frustrating is you're powerless to stop it. Once it decides its gonna spin out, it does it, regardless of your input. Once it starts, even if you hold the accelerator all the way down, the truck still slows down and engine rpms go down, as if you're letting off. Realistically, you should be able to power out of SOME of those situations, but the game won't let you. Powersliding doesn't even exist in this game, I should be able to pitch the truck sideways and drift around corners if I want to, but the game just doesn't allow it. It's as if engine rpm and acceleration are tied to your speed somehow, you can't break the tires loose like you could in real life. That needs to be addressed.

Rollovers are also a problem, they are very stiff and jagged. I have watched monster trucks roll over I don't know how many times, both on television and in real life. It's a very fluid motion. The rollovers in the game are almost as if there are stages to them, I think this is to make it easier to perform saves and various other maneuvers that can arise from the truck being on two wheels. That would be great if the truck would respond the way it's supposed to. Really, every time the truck does anything in the game whatever input I do does not produce the result I would expect it to. So for example, in a rollover, if I want to save the truck and bring it back on four wheels, it doesn't seem to matter if I steer into it, steer out of it, accelerate, let off, or any combination of those, the truck just kind of does what it wants. And once you're upside down, there really isn't anything you can do to drive out of it. Once you go past a certain point, the tires just stop gripping and you're resigned to watch the truck come to a stop on it's roof.

One thing that I think contributes to a lot of these problems is the way the game handles the transmission and shifting. In the game, the trucks have a four-speed transmission with a clutch (there are options for other transmissions in the garage, they may have more gears idk). You can set the transmission to automatic in the settings, but all that means is the game shifts through the gears for you. This is entirely unrealistic, monster trucks do not use manual transmissions, they are all automatic. A few still use a 3 speed such as a Turbo 400, but the vast majority use a two-speed powerglide. Changing that detail alone would make the handling make a lot more sense. Also, as it is, the automatic gear-shifting is a bit slow which is frustrating when you spin out and need to quickly back up to continue.

There are numerous flaws with the truck models themselves. Steering rams and tie rods aren't animated, lower four-link bars (referred to as swing arms in game) are not triangulated but rather parallel, which mans the tires clip into them when steering. You won't really be able to see it unless you're upside down. I feel like the devs modeled the trucks off of pictures and videos without really understanding what a lot of the parts are and what they do. Also, idk if it was just in the shop, but while I was browsing the customization I noticed that my truck didn't have a seat in it.

Now for some things that I DID like. Customization looks pretty neat. They didn't license any real trucks so everything is fictional. There are a bunch of different bodies to choose from, from more simplistic pick-up designs to more radical unrealistic models. You can further customize them by choosing different colors, patterns, and stickers. You can also customize performance by unlocking better engines etc, however there are no pros and cons to using different combinations of parts. Each component you unlock is just a straight upgrade over the last one.

I like what they're going for with the career mode, and the added touch of securing sponsors is a fun extra. I think there is a good game here, but to be completely honest I'm just too annoyed at the physics to really give it a good playthrough. I realize that as a hardcore enthusiast I am not really the target audience for this, however I should be because the game is marketing itself as a simulator even though it clearly is not.

For now I will be marking this as not recommended and requesting a refund, but I will keep an aye on the development and if the developers address the problems I have, I may pick it back up and give it another try in the future.

The potential is there, physics are good and fun. Problem is the game is dragged down by dumb and un challenging ai and poor tracks. Also the freestyle and destruction mode can be really frustrating

Great game! Works well with the Logitech G920 Steering wheel too :-D

Looks like an arcade game but once you play it...OMG! Physics are top notch. Control is spot on. UI, vehicle and steering wheel settings are impeccable. Loads of extra features & upgrades to unlock. Racing, Drag Racing and Destruction events keep you on your toes.

Don't be fooled, this game is not as easy as it looks but feels very, very rewarding. Most of all its maxed out non-stop fun! I was mind blown!

I still have to check out multiplayer though. Servers were empty before game's launch.

Overall the best monster truck sim out there to date. Nuff said.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWc5rE_l8NQ

Is it fun yes? Does it feel like you are driving a monster truck? Not really. Driving is very stiff, once you end up on the rear wheels it's a 90% chance of being stuck in that position and not being able to do anything. Score counting is also not very accurate. There are a lot of things that doesn't give you the feel of a monster truck. So that's why it's a thumbs down. Game is at least an enjoyment for time savers.

I really wanted to like this game, The idea is golden but the execution is flawed. For a game with surprising depth in the event types, customization, setups, sounds, and graphics there is just one elephant sitting in the room. The trucks are just awful to control. It's a game that sells its self as "A true Monster Truck simulation" but the truth is it's MUCH more arcade then sim. My first complaint about the trucks is that the starter truck is a four-speed. Almost all MT's are two speed automatics. I couldn't be bothered to see if any of the upgraded trans may change the gear count so take this point with a grain of salt. Second, the trucks feel heavy until you hit a jump then it's like they switch to half gravity while in the air. tapping the gas or brakes in the air should change the pitch of the truck due to wheel torque, however this does not feel modeled at all. You can't roll over on your side. the trucks have invisible training wheels on the doors so you can fully stop on the side walls of the tires the way a real truck could not. When you do roll 99% of the time you will end up turtled on your back because the collision of anything other than wheels to the ground is wonky at best. If you just want a smashy smashy truck go vroom game. This is gonna be your jam. If you want authentic monster trucks and the challenge of controlling 14,000lbs of steel and rubber, sorry to say but this aint it chief.