Off-roader reveals Wii wand as a wheel

Wednesday 10 May 2006
The wraps have finally come off the often-rumoured follow-up to classic NES Excitebike; it's called Excite Truck and brings rough and tumble off-road racing to Wii.

Controlled by grasping the Wii-mote and holding it like the handlebars of a bike, all you need to do to turn your truck on-screen is to tilt the controller and hit 2 to accelerate. But racing - and more importantly winning - demands that you make the most of any boost you get. So when you take to the air after hitting one of the many jumps, pressing the D-pad triggers a jolt of extra engine power and a burst of flames from the exhaust.

Above: Steer your vehicle by holding the Wii-mote like handlebars and tilting

Some of the pick-ups scattered across the road also provide extra power but other power-ups will deform and warp the terrain in real-time, creating jumps just when you need them and barriers just where your rivals don't.

With Excite Truck being one of the 27 Wii games playable on E3's show floor, we'll bring you our hands-on impressions just as soon as we can get to grips with it.