While Hot Wheels Unleashed‘s first expansion was a branded collaboration with Batman, the latest is called the Monster Trucks Expansion, which, just as advertised, adds in five monster trucks into the game. Four are typical, expectable big vehicles: Race Ace, Tiger Shark, HW Demo Derby, and 5 Alarm, while one is an extra-large version of Bone Shaker, which is particularly neat. However, if the thought of driving around in these huge cars isn’t alluring, then this is probably one DLC worth skipping.
The big draw here is the monster truck themselves and they are absolutely massive and wind up being behemoths on the track. In fact, they’re so big that some obstacles, such as barriers that you can crash through, no longer slow them down. It’s a cool distinction and gives players a reason to use the naturally slower vehicles in races, as they can plow straight through some hazards and worry less about them. However, many larger obstacles, such as the new swinging boulders, still will impact the monster trucks, so some experimentation is needed to find out what all is avoidable and what still needs to be dodged, which adds more strategy to how players pick their vehicles.
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While the monster trucks are a blast to use, even if they’ll never set a high score in the time trial mode, the new environment is more of a mixed addition. Called Stop Motion Studio, it’s a miniature film stage filled with different locales: a jungle to get lost in, a detailed quarry, a hot desert that is the least visually interesting of the bunch, and a mountain made of ice.
All of these locales are cool in theory, but instead of having actual tracks run through these locales, the areas are just sectioned off by the use of traffic cones that can often blend into the background (such as in the desert). When moving at a fast pace, it can be confusing to figure out which way you’re supposed to go, leading to some frustrating resets after you miss a checkpoint and ruin your time for a race. The actual design of the five new courses in this background is fine, but this confusing layout makes them hard to go back to after completing the 10-event City Rumble map that they inhabit.
It’s worth noting that there are two ways to purchase this expansion: as a $14.99 standalone purchase or as part of the game’s second $29.99 season pass. The latter option also comes with three track builder modules and nine vehicles, which include licensed ones such as the TMNT vehicles for Michelangelo and Raphael, and the Street Fighter cars of Ryu, Chun-Li, and Vega. The pass is a better deal since is priced a little more fairly when more items are included. The Street Fighter cars in particular are pretty great, as they’re ridiculous and caricatures of the characters themselves, so it’s a blast seeing a little Ryu car speed around with his hair and red headband on top of it.
Overall, Hot Wheels Unleashed‘s Monster Truck Expansion isn’t quite as exciting as the previous Batman branded one. The new locale looks good enough, but it pales in comparison to racing through a miniature Gotham and the Batcave. If you really love the design of the monster trucks and want a fresh way to play, then it’s worth the asking price, but if you’re not a Hot Wheels fanatic, then these monster trucks are best left in the garage.
Score: 6/10
As ComingSoon’s review policy explains, a score of 6 equates to “Decent.” It fails to reach its full potential and is a run-of-the-mill experience