This is the fourth in a series of video games based on the popular live Monster Jam (truck) TV shows aired in the States that apparently draw large audiences sandwiched between baseball games and episodes of My Name Is Earl (shudder). Yes, it's monster trucks in the city time so fasten your seatbelts and aim for the biggest ramp you can find. Yee-haw!
There are 26 urban tracks for you to smash your way through, this time including the streets of London and New York, as well as the usual dirt stadiums. Since Monster Jam is set around the actual monster truck 'sport', all 27 vehicles are recreated here for you to drive - although most of these are locked until you breach a certain high score by causing destruction and performing stunts.
411 writes: "When the game first starts up you will have three gaming options Championship, Quick Action, and Multilayer. You will also have a Showroom where you can watch movies that you will unlock doing various challenges in the game. If you choose the Championship option you will be able to choose from 4 different championships to compete in World Seris, Speedster, smasher, and Stuntman. You also have six monster trucks to choose from the start Grave Digger, Scarlet Bandit, Maximum Destruction, Pastrada 199, Stone Crusher, and Monster Mutt. With over 20 more monster trucks to unlock by completing challenges through out the game."
In a time of economic crisis, you can't help but feel sorry for the monster truck drivers everywhere who depend on obscene amounts of fuel to entertain drunken crowds. It's a tough time for everyone, but if you need a cheap alternative to the real thing, Monster Jam Urban Assault DS will help with the shakes. While Urban Assault has variety, its main attraction (doing tricks for points) is more up to chance than anything. You can direct the truck to do a back flip by pressing down on the D-pad, but the most rotations are added when you smash into the ground, which is a completely random event in itself.
Presentation - 6.0
Graphics - 6.0
Sound - 6.0
Gameplay - 6.0
Lasting Appeal - 6.0
Overall -
Monster Jam - Urban Assault is not necessarily a bad game, although it has more tracks, trucks and game modes than the previous title; take a good look at the screenshots and videos before spending $30 on this release.
