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Wii Suck @ Video Games - Episode 24 - Monster 4x4 world circuit

Poor Man's Pinball Podcast·podcast_episode·analyzed·May 30, 2024
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Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.017

TL;DR

Poor Man's Pinball reviews Monster 4x4 World Circuit (Wii), rates it 5/10, mentions pinball interest.

Summary

A casual gaming podcast episode reviewing Monster 4x4 World Circuit for Nintendo Wii. The hosts discuss the game's controls, graphics, and overall experience, rating it a 5/10 as a mediocre title. The episode includes brief mentions of their interest in pinball (Mario pinball machine) but focuses primarily on Wii gaming nostalgia and the upcoming Punch-Out review.

Key Claims

  • Monster 4x4 World Circuit was released November 19th, 2006

    high confidence · Host provides this as factual information during game description

  • The game came out for Wii and Xbox around the same time, with Xbox possibly earlier

    medium confidence · Host states this with uncertainty ('I could be wrong on that one though')

  • The game was supposedly bundled with a steering wheel

    medium confidence · Host notes 'This one was supposedly bundled with a steering wheel. Ours didn't come with that.'

  • The series has two other games: Stunt Racer and Monster 4x4 3D

    medium confidence · Host states 'this series has two other ones Stunt Racer and Monster 4x4 3D'

  • The game's motion controls for stunts are rough and hit-or-miss

    high confidence · Host describes watching gameplay: 'The controls were really rough. Hit or miss?'

Notable Quotes

  • “I'm flirting with getting that table (pinball machine) Mario because it's... You're flirting with it. Well, I'm going to... You know you're going to get it. Of course I'm going to get it.”

    Host (Jon) @ Early in episode — Direct mention of interest in pinball; indicates collector behavior common in pinball community despite podcast focus on Wii games

  • “It was fun but not... I don't know it was... it's just gonna be the same crap right you know if you choose the bus you're gonna be slow and clunky if you choose the little race car you're gonna be fast and sloppy”

    Host (Dave) @ Mid-episode gameplay discussion — Summary of game's lack of depth and differentiation

  • “The final wrap up is if you find it for a buck buy it if you see it for like four bucks yeah i don't know maybe think about it you might be happier with the four bucks”

    Host (Dave) @ Review conclusion — Clear recommendation against spending money on the game; valuation-based advice

  • “I really love Tiger Woods Golf on the Wii. Of course. Because that was true. It felt so right.”

    Host (Jon) @ Mid-episode — Reference to successful Wii motion control implementation as comparison point

  • “Some stuff it just didn't work so like i it seems to me like these driving games are not great for the wii mode”

    Host (Dave) @ Gameplay criticism section — Genre-specific critique of motion controls on racing games

Entities

Monster 4x4 World CircuitproductUbisoftcompanyNintendo WiiproductSuper Mario Pinball MachineproductMike Tyson's Punch-OutproductMario KartproductExcite TruckproductF-ZeroproductTiger Woods GolfproductPoor Man's Pinball PodcastorganizationJustin Timberlakeperson

Signals

  • ?

    community_signal: Poor Man's Pinball Podcast hosts express interest in acquiring Super Mario Pinball machine despite podcast primary focus being video games

    high · Host Jon states 'I'm flirting with getting that table (pinball machine) Mario because it's' with co-host affirming 'Of course I'm going to get it'

Transcript

groq_whisper · $0.049

0:00
okay we got 99 problems and lieutenant kenda isn't one that's right it's going to be the fastest we show ever because it's time for the new lieutenant joe kenda show oh my god priorities everyone he's glorious if you haven't if you haven't watched him it's true it's damn true all right i'm trying to think we had uh we haven't had gotten any wii games for quite some time uh i keep looking but nothing's hitting and i keep stopping at yard sales but nothing's laying there it's a it's it's dry outside so yikes had a couple uh of those wii games are not wii games the Switch games showing up lately. But, you know, nothing this week, I don't believe. Nope. I think we got, we are, I am flirting with getting that Paper Mario because it's. You're flirting with it. Well, I'm going to. You know you're going to get it. Of course I'm going to. I'm going to get one of those because it's like, well, you know. Yeah. So anyway, so nothing really on that front other than I wish we could find more stuff. But it's getting slim pickings out there. I know. So what game are we reviewing this week? We are reviewing Monster 4x4 World Circuit. Wowzers. Monster 4x4 World Circuit. I didn't really play this game this week. No, not much. But I got to watch you play it. Yeah. And it was hilarious. It was something. So when did this come out?
1:48
November 19th, 2006. Did you get any of the information? I did. What? We're going to set the mood. What was the top song? The top song was My Love by Justin Timberlake featuring T.I. Never heard of him. Me. I mean, I've heard of Justin Timberlake. Never heard of any of them. Oh, he did the Something in a Box. Sure. You remember that? Not at all. Yeah, you do. What was the top movie? Happy Feet. I love that movie. the melodious voice of Morgan Freeman. That was when he transitioned into being voiceover work, where he's like, hey, I can get paid for this and not change out of my pajamas. I love that little penguin. Yeah, it was cute. This was developed by Ubisoft of Barcelona, and it was published by Ubisoft. Ubi. Ubisoft is I don't know, they're famous for like Assassin's Creed, Far Cry, those Just Dances that they're still making for the Wii. I'm pretty sure they have Just Dance 2024 for the week. I can't wait till we get one of those. I can.
Morgan Freeman
person
Taoperson
2:54
Prince of Persia. Oh, Raving Rabbids. Oh, I love that game too. So this one did a lot of stuff, you know. So do we have a kid with us? Do we have an exchange student with us that year? 2006? No. 2006? At that time, yes. We actually would have had Tao. No. Okay, yeah, you're right. She would have come in August. Ah, yes. Tao would have come in August. And she never went back to Vietnam. Never went back. Vietnam came to here. Uh-huh. And so did her family and everyone. Yep, everyone's here. And I just got to spend a week with her and her daughter. New daughter, Astrid, just landed here in, well, not landed, was just born here. Right. Born in the USA as some singers. That was the most lazy vacation I've ever had in my entire life. It sounds glorious. It was. I was working overtime while you were doing that, so I don't want to hear any more of that. All right. I'm going to sit. I wonder what Ubisoft has to say about their game. Let's read the back of the box, shall we? Rough rides, tough tracks, mean machines. Wow. With the Wii Remote simulate a full steering wheel and perform spectacular stunts jumps and 360 spins like trucks do Crush the competition in 40 off circuits around the globe Challenge your friends in hilarious minigames, including Monster Soccer, or Monster Football, I guess you would say. And then unlimited fun as you race a friend or take on three in no holds barred four player split split screen mode.
4:32
Wowzers. Yeah. That's a lot of words. It was a lot of words. Now we don't have anything. We have no history with this game whatsoever. Zero. I did like what was that one? Excite Truck. Oh, yeah. Excite Truck. We used to play a lot. That was with the dorks. Right. I always love watching you play these games. I think it started with, was it F-Zero? Well, F-Zero was the racing game, but you always talk about the Dark Summit or 1080 where I'm doing like, oh, look at me, I'm a half-pipe snowboarder. Right. Not any of that. I don't have a monster truck either. I wanted to say ski boarder, and I was like, that's not right. That's not right at all.
5:12
So, I don't know. this game was they have this game it came out for the Wii and the Xbox right around the same time I think the Xbox was a little bit earlier I could be wrong on that one though the Xbox never had any of those like motion controllers did they? they all tried it right after the Wii took off and became popular okay and they all failed miserably the one that had like a snow cone I remember that one that was the Playstation one they all failed and then so this series has two other ones Stunt Racer and Monster 4x4 3D.
5:47
Wow. This one was supposedly bundled with a steering wheel. Ours didn't come with that. But we do have a crate of these rando Wii accessories that are just every yard. If you do find a Wii at a yard sale, they have, like, wackadoo peripherals. There's a million different racing steering wheels and guns and tennis rackets. I have lightsabers for the Star Wars one. You know, it's insanity. It really... I wish it would work with the Lego ones. It went off the charts because people were like, wait, people are buying a Nintendo. Wait, what is this now? And like everyone, if you weren't there for Wii Fever, well, catch it, won't you? Thank you. It was glorious. It was. It was glorious then. It's glorious now. Yeah. I would say this game was fun but not I don't know it was when you start out there's enough there's a couple cars you can choose from there's a little mini Cooper on a 4x4 there's like an old style like coupe they had things that looked like things but weren't things because they're not going to pay all these car companies to use their likenesses so there was like a bus That was my favorite one to watch. It didn't seem like it had very good controls on the bus. But I don't think buses have very good control to begin with. Now, here's the rub. With this game, it's using the Wii mode for the stunts and stuff like that. That's a detriment. The controls were really rough. Hit or miss? Yeah, it was fun enough. And the other thing that was kind of odd when I was playing it was I was getting like the frame rate or like the motion blur to show speed was really odd looking. Yeah. Even for this time. Like at this point, we've already had a couple of Mario Karts under our belt. You know, like there's F-Zero came out, like racing games are out there. So when it does that real simulated speed with that wacky, muddy blur, it kind of hurts your eyes a little bit. Yeah. You know. was all of that on the Wii before this no this was pretty early this is pretty early on yeah so I mean I not knocking it for that it just was something I noticed now yeah it it is when you go back and play the playstation and the and the wii and the ps2 even the graphics are noticeable like for some reason that nintendo and the super nintendo and the sega genesis all that that era there's a charm to it because they weren't trying to be super realistic and then for some reason they were like well let's make things really realistic because we have the power now and they don't you know uh but it was okay it was the it was deep enough where you could change the colors and all that wacky stuff and i was earning xp points i don't know what that amounts to i don't know like i didn't play it like enough to go real deep dive into it yeah and they had a lot of even like at the uh start there was a lot of different courses you could race in a lot across america and then moscow and like oh there was a lot of different um sites to race and you can choose how many laps you wanted and stuff like that so it was i could see this being like one of those things where like if you had some friends over or you or just were goof around like this game would be good for like a weekend and then you'd probably never touch it again like like even with kids kids would play it and they'd be like oh that's so fun blah blah and then if they'd wake up and if they'd like look at an iphone or something they would never go back to this game well there wasn't an iphone in 2006 was there no well but i'm saying like now if you like if you said hey kids look i found this wacky bus game and they'd be like oh i want to be the boss i want to be the the little tiny car on jack anything's fun fun then they'd eat pizza and then they'd go to sleep and they'd forget it existed yeah i think you're right yeah like there's no like draw to it to like say oh i want to keep progressing or working on my skills you know like right off the bat with i keep using like mario kart because that's kind of like the that's like the bar you know yeah and like when you play mario kart you're earning things you're you're unlocking you're learning you're earning like new tires and everything and new new racers new everything and it's just and your whole goal is to get the three stars so then you can be gold mario and show everyone how how cool you are no wait that's just in my head you anyway so it's like yeah it's like this one like i can see where you would like learn a couple different tricks but it's like just gonna be the same crap right you know if you choose the bus you're gonna be slow and clunky if you choose the little race car you're gonna be fast and sloppy but it also didn't seem like the skills worked no like they should when you like would pull the remote the way you're supposed to it didn't seem like it did it every single time you tried no it in at all and you can blame maybe i was missing it but i don't know this is one of those that i guarantee if you played it on the xbox with just a regular xbox controller it'd probably be more fun yeah and that's weird to say because the wii was all about the wii motes and that but some stuff it just didn't work so like i it seems to me like these driving games are not great for the wii mode no i guess i mean i understand why they would do it because like a steering wheel kind of thing but yeah but no yeah you're like the first thing you do is get a pro controller and play like a right like and the stuff that was fun with the wii was that boom blocks and the yeah sports you know and those those wacky ones that were just bowling yeah the hundred pin bowling like that's what it was kind of really shined right and there was some games that really used it well right but for the most part it wasn't um looking back it was exciting but it was just kind of like yeah i really love Tiger Woods Golf on the Wii. Of course. Because that was true. It felt so right. So this one definitely suffers from it.
11:56
Let me see. Did you have anything else about it? I was going to just go into what we rated and all that kind of stuff. Yeah, that's fine. All right. Metacritic gives it a 5 out of 10 I would say I would probably go like 5 out of 10 Just straight down the middle I didn love it I didn hate it I didn really think much about any of it. What I like to do though is what do some people out on the web, what do they think? So I found a couple reviews finally. The last couple we've been missing them but on Metacritic let's see Aaron P 2019 weird. Aaron rnp 2019 and this was done in uh august 15th of 2009 no 2019 sorry okay that makes more sense so rnp 2019 give it an 8 out of 10 i like this game all the courses are enjoyable and i like all the changes and upgrades you can make on your trucks so all right cool excellent good job it's probably what you use your xp points for i was thinking that probably right now let's see happy Monk on December 5th of 2011, Happy Monk gave it a 5 out of 10. Worst game I got at launch for the Wii. Only got it because I had to. The AI is poor, the graphics are poor, the track design isn't great. The only thing I can think to say about this game is it's not entirely terrible. Just bad. Few of the multiplayer modes were okay and the game isn't the game wasn't incredibly short. Completely meh. oh okay 5 out of 10 for a meh game it's okay well I guess that's kind of close to what I was I was just like kind of indifferent didn't hate it I could see having fun with this game and if some of the minigames really shined it would be something like you know sometimes like there's like one little dumb minigames that you and your friends just latch on to and you play all the time and it's goofy and no one else likes it so this might have that in it but we'll never know so the final wrap up is if you find it for a buck buy it if you see it for like four bucks yeah i don't know maybe think about it you might be happier with the four bucks not sure what happened with this one but it was a good good a valiant effort no it's fun enough i guess to see trucks doing flips and whatever yes it's always fun to see trucks doing a school bus doing a 360 flip thing that's worth a buck but yeah so it's i didn't hate it i don't know if i would ever put it again, but who knows. Alright, I think it's time to pick next week's fodder.
14:34
Hello, mudda. Hello, fodda. No, that was bad. Don't blame the chopsticks. Oh, me. Uh-oh. Yes. Punch Out! Yes! It's one of the greatest games ever made in the history of ever. Awesome. I actually used to be able to beat Mike Tyson in Mike Tyson's Punch Out. I finished that game no less than four times. But this is going to be a little different because I think you're going to have to actually do the punching. I know. My shoulders are going to be aching. So there you have it. Good timing on this one. How can they reach us if they need to, if they want to write that they like Punch Out, like I like Punch Out. So we're going to get the right one this time, and it's going to be we, W-I-I, suck at videogames at gmail.com. Yes, and there it goes. As always, there's a link in the notes. If you get it off of streaming, if you click on the notes for the show, I put it there so you don't have to do so much work. So there you go. Excellent. All right. Well, I think that's going to do it for this week. Tune in next time for our awesome punch out. Yes. I'm so excited for this one. Me too. My shoulders aren't going to be. Mine either. maybe we should see if we can get Mike Tyson to autograph it even though it's not a Mike Tyson punch out he'd probably just hit us probably or bite our ear either one's fine alright that's gonna do it see you next time folks that's it man game over man game over