Monster Truck Destruction is a Windows Phone game that places you behind the wheel of a monster truck to test your skills on the dirt track and at crushing things that get in your way.
The Windows Phone game, which is also available from the Windows 10 Store, has thirty different monster trucks that can be unlocked and plenty of upgrades to beef up your ride. Monster Truck Destruction has three gaming modes to keep you busy. In spending a little time with Monster Trucks Destruction, it comes across as a Windows Phone game with potential but it may have the worst ad-support design that cripples any gaming enjoyment Monster Truck Destruction may have.
Your first order of business when you launch Monster Truck Destruction is to buy your first monster truck. You have limited resources and the choice is really limited to one truck (unless you boost your cash reserve through in-app purchases). Once you have a truck purchased, the game transitions to the main menu that will have options to access the game's settings, view any update news from the developer, buy gaming cash, visit the garage for upgrades to your truck and jump into game play.
Game play options include:
- Championship Mode: This is a series of ladder races on an oval dirt track.
- Drag Race: Test your skills on the straight track where you have to beat your opponent in a "there and back" race.
- Freestyle: Here you have a series of cars, trailers and jumps to engage. See how much destruction and stunts you can perform before time expires.
You also have a practice mode where you can hone your skills from behind the wheel. No opponent, no timer, just you and your truck on a dirt course.
Your truck controls (accessible through the gam's settings) include on-screen pedals, dual joysticks, a combination of pedals and joysticks or your Windows Phone tilt controls. I found it to be a coin toss as to which control method worked best. I'm leaning towards the tap steering that has your gas/break pedals and directional arrows for steering. The tap controls were a little more responsive than the tilt steering. Plus I found myself leaning into the turns so much I almost fell out of my chair.
While the game modes will offer a variety of environments to race your monster truck across, each will have jumps to navigate and cars to crush. The steering is fairly responsive and the physics engine does a nice job of bouncing your truck around as you travel across the various bumps, jumps and other obstacles. It will take you a few games to get used to how these big truck (it's not the same as zipping around in a sports car) but it's not an impossible task.
Game play will net you cash that can be in turn used to buy new trucks or upgrade your current beast of a truck. Upgrades cover your truck's engine, intake, transmission, shocks and exhaust systems. If you feel the need, you can unlock the full upgrade package for a truck through in-app purchases.
Fun Game, Terrible Ad-Support
I fully understand the need for ad-support for games and apps. It allows the developer to offer their work for free while earning a little cash as we enjoy their apps and games. More times than not you will find ad-banners positioned along the bottom of the screen. There will also be times you have full-screen ads pop-up. Regardless of the ad-support design, the ads should never detract from the gaming experience or functionality of an app.
Monster Truck Destruction is the first game I can remember that uses commercial breaks as their ad-support. After each game and periodically as you bounce from menu to menu, a fifteen-second video advertisement will pop-up. You cannot skip the ad and the only exit is to close the game. You can opt out of the ad-support for $.99, but I felt as if the ads were forcing me to make the in-app purchase. I've covered a lot of games in the years here at Windows Central and to date, Monster Truck Destruction has the worst ad-support design I have experienced.
Just looking at the game itself, it comes across as a fun game. It may be more of a niche game, appealing to a more narrow audience, though. It has potential but with the current design of ad-support, you cannot enjoy the game because the ads keep getting in the way.
The game is scoring a 4 Star rating in the Store and the only way that is possible is if the reviewers opted out of the ad-support. Monster Truck Destruction is available from both the Windows Phone and Windows 10 Stores. It is a free title with plenty of in-app purchase opportunities.
If you have tried Monster Truck Destruction, let us know what you think of things in the comments below. Am I off base or do the ads kill this gaming title?
Download Monster Truck Destruction from the Windows 10 Store (Free)
Download Monster Truck Destruction from the Windows Phone Store (Free)
