What the hell is ExciteBots: Trick Racing?

"Excitebots™: Trick Racing has elements that make it one of the more unique racing games on the market. It launches April 20 and lets everyone in the family use the Wii Wheel™ accessory in unique and changing environments, play fun minigames and perform crazy tricks in a game that builds on the Excitebike™ and Excite Truck™ franchises."

That's all the info we have on this new entry in the Excite franchise, as "announced" earlier today. Time to open the floodgates on speculation!

First off the is suffix "Bots" in the title. First Bike, then Truck, and now Bots? My thought is that the vehicles in the game will actually be transforming robots, which will be able to switch between bike and truck forms, and maybe even more than that. Aerial vehicles are sounding unlikely, though, considering the "changing environments" line in the above quote. A hill turning into a valley wouldn't matter much to a helicopter, would it?

The controls will probably somewhat simplified over those in ExciteTruck, perhaps removing a bit of emphasis from lining up perfect landings and such. For one, the Wii Wheel and the way a wheel generally rotates go somewhat against the way the controller is twisted and tilted when playing Excite Truck. Second, they've tossed in the line "everyone in the family", meaning the controls will probably be somewhat simplified for the non-gamers in the household. Maybe ExciteTruck style controls will be an option for the more skilled players? Hey, you never know.

"Minigames"... That word always worries me, and there it is in the above press release. Trying to figure out how they'll be integrated into a racing title is somewhat perplexing. Perhaps the robots will take on a humanoid form in this situation? Or perhaps the minigames will be entirely separate from the main game, instead using Miis as avatars? Or, if you want to get really crazy, there's also the possibility that all the minigames will be racing-centric, with the "Bots" maintaining their vehicular form the whole time. A whole set of minigames where the central focus is always racing? I don't think even Nintendo's up to the task of making a varied set of those.

I'd love to write more speculation on ExciteBots... But I don't even have enough info to do so! They've actually managed to release such a tiny amount of information as to render more than a small bit of speculation nigh on impossible. The only other speculation I can form is somewhat disturbing, and that's the thought that ExciteBots is a game of robots... Footracing. Please don't let this be it, Nintendo. Please. Unless all the robots are Optimus Prime. Then you're forgiven.

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