REVIEW : Monster Jam Steel Titans 2 (XBOX Series X)
It seems that games about monster trucks are slowly but surely gaining popularity. Two years ago, THQ released Nordic Monster Jam Steel Titans for, among other things, the Xbox and last year there was even a real competitor on the market: Monster Truck Championship. This title also managed to provide a better experience than the first Steel Titans. THQ Nordic and Rainbow Studios answer this again with Monster Jam Steel Titans 2. So they not only have to surpass their first attempt but also compete against the competition.
A good start?
When you start playing the game, you are immediately dropped into an open world. That is a great setting for a Monster Truck game, because who would not want to go through the mud endlessly with a gigantic vehicle. Unfortunately, this is not much, because the folder is very limited in size. This will expand a bit as you continue to play because you unlock multiple areas, each of which has its theme. For all of them, you can find some secrets here, as well as places where you have to go with a certain car to unlock an upgrade for that car. Furthermore, there is little to do and therefore it feels more like a filler than a full part of the game. Also, switching between cars is cumbersome and once you have unlocked all areas, that you cannot ‘fast travel’ between them. That doesn’t make it any more fun.
Start your career
From the open world, you can go directly to the single-player campaign, which offers two modes: ‘World Career’ and ‘The Big Show’. Here you get to choose various types of races and stunt event for you. This diversity is nice, but it is mainly the races that stand out. Steel Titans 2 focuses more on an arcade feel than it is a pure simulation. This makes the trucks a bit more stable on the road. You can notice the difference, especially when cornering. So you can take a little more risk and that makes racing great fun. There are also various types of races – such as half of the field driving the same course in the opposite direction – which only adds to the fun, even if your opponents sometimes find it necessary to send you seconds for seconds,
The stunt events are a little less successful. Because the gameplay is focused on the arcade, you do not feel that you have full control over your truck. This is especially noticeable if you want to shift the weight of your car forwards or backwards. The physics just don’t feel good and therefore you cannot do the trick you want. The strange thing is that shifting the weight of your car to the side works well. The competitor’s monster truck game managed to score very well in this area and therefore the stunt parts were a great part. It’s not to say this is bad right now in Steel Titans 2, it can just be a little frustrating from time to time.
Better than the original
Besides the single-player, Steel Titans 2 also contains a multiplayer. The game offers an ‘old-fashioned’ split-screen option to compete against friends and/or girlfriends locally and there is an online option. Here you can play all parts – including driving in the open world – from the single-player with or against others. It’s not super special, but it does offer a solid experience. Especially the various races are a lot of fun to play online. You don’t have to worry about annoying lag or other problems, the matches are very stable. In any case, it surpasses its predecessor, because it omitted the online mode completely. Another attempt to look better than the original is with the number of trucks. The first part had 30 trucks and now 38 are at your disposal. That sounds good on paper, in practice, it is a different story. The trucks all feel the same, so you only change vehicles if it looks fatter.
Mixed feelings
Steel Titans 2 has become a bit of a mixed product and that continues on an audio graphic level. The various cars are displayed quite nicely and the same can be said about the environments. There is nothing that catches the eye. The trucks can break, but you miss some smaller graphic details, which are present at the competitor. For example, you saw mud getting on your tires and deep ruts appeared in the mud you were driving through. This of course does not change the gameplay, but it does give you the idea that you are driving through the terrain with a very heavy car. However, little is done in terms of presentation for a spectacular sport like this. It is now very tame, while you – sometimes literally – expect more fireworks.
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