Monster Truck Games: A Legacy of Failure

TRI and Microsoft Games struck gold in 1996 with Monster Truck Madness. And then they threw it all away.
Twenty years of corporate suits interfering with game design and ignoring the requests of their core audience have left the Monster Truck gaming landscape a desolate wasteland of officially licensed garbage.
While Feld Entertainment's Monster Jam ascended to heights no other auto racing discipline born on US soil had ever seen, loyal fans around the world were constantly shafted with shitty games after years of build-up and anticipation - forced into drastic yet stunningly creative measures just to replicate what they saw on Saturday nights.
Life as a monster truck fan is suffering; their virtual counterparts have established a tangible legacy of failure that is unmatched by other motorsport disciplines.

[@LostCastleProduction]

MTD on mobile is surprisingly good for a mobile monster truck game. Decent physics with racing and freestyle modes.

[@TheIcpfan23]

For pc rigs of rods and beamng is better

[@Dogman36]

the craziest thing about MTD is that it may or may not have started as a development platform under TRI's BinEdit modelling framework with MTM2 assets under the working title "Monster Freestyle Racing". there was loads of information about it's development way back on the Cownap MTM2 forums somewhere

[@davidoddgames]

@@Dogman36 We played MTM1 as kids, we wanted to make a video game, I liked damage systems, my brother liked monster trucks. Monster Truck Destruction was born.

[@stevendudley5687]

Yeah I play MTD all the time and cannot wait for the sequel. There is no PERFECT game.

[@NotFuzion]

App wise MTD aged like fine wine

[@MoneytalksonYT]

DUDE! I remember watching the RigsofRodsMonsterjam and the Simmonsters series and seeing you in it when I was like 8 and being like "OMG this dude is great", Now I'm 17 and you're still here and with some really good content, glad to see that you're still around, Subbed

[@AustinOgonoski]

based

[@Thunder103093]

This was awesome & thanks for using footage of my B-Day World Finals 1 video, would've loved to see some of my MTM2 Tracks lol. Anyways yeah its pretty bad that a Monster Truck Simulation is so hard to gaming publishers to get right when us fans are able to do it without problem on either older games or games that weren't made for it. its pretty sad & pathetic.

[@AustinOgonoski]

I think a lot of developers, regardless of their size, budget, or talent level are capable of making a decent monster truck game. Let's say you can hack into the physics values of something like Monster 4x4... All you have to do is remove the in-air controls, stiffen the suspension, give the trucks a bit more weight, and make gravity the traditional -9.81 ms/2 instead of -15 ms/2. Done. You now have a semi-competent off-road racing game. The problem is that the overhead corporate suits - Feld, the publishers they've partnered with, marketing analysts - are basically ignoring the actual written feedback from customers (which was universally negative) and just going with "well, we have a shitload of kids attending Monster Jam events, so let's make a dumbed-down kids game."

[@joyoustye2326]

I love how in depth this video gets. It's rare for something like this to exist in the monster truck community. Great job dude!!

[@Kouvre]

I saw footage of a custom Pontiac Silverdome track I made for MTM2 in there. Glad to see it was considered cool (and finished) enough to make the cut! Great video, this lays out every beef that I and every other monster truck fan have had with the video game industry.

[@tazzmaniandevilboy42]

While I never participated in any MTM2 tournaments, mainly because I was only a kid and also lived in England where monster trucks were nowhere near as popular, I LOVED watching all the MTM2 videos that people made. Seeing all my favourite trucks replicated in game combined with top notch editing to make TV accurate shows was the coolest thing ever to me. They were core of my first times on KZbin. I enjoyed the ROR stuff in the early 2010s too but the MTM2 stuff was the cream of the crop. Absolutely bs that almost every single one of those videos have been taken down because of copyright bs. Those videos have now inspired me to start making trucks and tracks myself now that I'm a lot older. MTM2 might not be as popular these days, but me getting involved with making things for the game makes everything come full circle to me

[@JoshRhodesRC]

Great video Austin. I can see you put forth the time and effort here to really voice your frustrations that honestly are echoed throughout the entire online MT gaming community. I shared this on my personal FB page as well as my RC Racing Page to try and give it a little more exposure. On a side note, we never really saw eye to eye back in the day on a few things. Sorry for that. Hope all is well though.

[@copsarepigs8269]

Dig!

[@Max16032]

You know what's the irony with the new Monster Jam Steel Titans titles? They're finally going back to IRL event simulation with proper, short head-to-head stadium races, but people are complaining that it's a repetitive and dull experience. Back in the Monster Truck Madness 1.0 days, drag races were incredibly simple but realistic enough to be authentic. So now that we finally got realistic Monster Jam events back in a game, nobody wants that. Just another testament of how people do not know what they want anymore.

[@tanjirouzumaki144]

I think the steel titans games are okay... just the truck physics are absolute garbage... hoping this new one coming out in september (monster jam showdown) is good

[@captainboose8788]

Great video, thanks for using a few of my RoR photos, looking good

[@DustinHartAM]

I randomly stumbled onto this and actually quite enjoyed the effort put into it. You're right about the extreme lengths we all went through to get a better virtual monster truck experience. I didn't even own a PS2 but I bought a copy of Stuntman and would borrow a PS2 from time to time to play with Thunderfoot in the stunt mode. That was pretty sweet at the time. 1nsane also had a really well done Bigfoot 14 replica made for it but it was such an obscure game I don't think it ever caught on. I think it wasn't as easy to create content for as MTM2 either. I bought 4X4 Evo 2 hoping the modability would lead to better monster trucks but that never happened either. Eventually as I got more involved in the actual monster truck industry I got less and less involved in the gaming side of things. I do have Rigs at least and that scratches the itch fairly well. I tried the new MJ game and while it's better than most, if not all the prior MJ releases, it still doesn't do much for me. Step in the right direction at least. I installed Beam.ng but it's so resource intensive it doesn't run well on my system at all. I'm still partial to the way the trucks work in Rigs too. While beam looks better and has breakables and all that, I still think Rigs has the more realistic truck behavior in general.

[@UltimateDominion]

I believe the removal of the Penda drag tracks in MTM2 was because Penda had already shut down at that point when that game was being developed, and TRI likely didn't have the legal means to reintroduce them, which is why WCW was put in their place,(and the multiplayer summit rumbles were a lot of fun) MTM2 has such an incredible community, I love the unofficial patch and all the custom tracks and trucks, it's always a blast to revisit that game, and with that community patch, the drag tracks from MTM1 are back, which is just amazing, great video by the way :)

[@xWORLDxCHAMPIONx]

The DS version of Monster Jam 2007 is killer. The system wasn’t as capable so the extreme physics are turned down a bit and the stadium portion of the game is somewhat realistic! Same for Path of destruction on PSP!

[@Cardiacarrested445]

IMO we need a monster jam game like beamng drive where it’s realistic yet fun

[@jarritos_sodabottle]

4 years later, im still using Rigs Of Rods.

[@spicy767]

Urban Assault and POD were fun, but you’re right, I wanted more realistic psychics. Hell, the ROBLOX games are more fun then Crush It. Hopefully Steel Titans is really fun. Really Enjoyed your video, nice to see this topic covered.

[@chfreak]

i only had mj 07 and roblox and roblox is way way better than any mj game without mods and i preordered steel titans cus i actually had money and hopefully its not as horrible as crush it

[@TheIcpfan23]

I guess you haven't played rigs of rods right

[@bourbonisto1721]

Maybe I was just a dumb kid with no sense, but path of destruction was one of my favorite games to the point where I beat the entire campaign and unlocked all the trucks

[@ZacharyDietze]

Person from over 3 years later here. I got some good news and some bad news. The bad news is that Steel Titans was absolutely terrible, and even with it being better for Steel Titans 2, it is still not realistic in the slightest. The only good thing to come out of that imo was some kinda sorta original truck designs that still haven’t been replicated in real life yet. The good news is that BeamNG Drive is the next and probably definitive home for Monster Jam fans now that we are getting stuff like Beam-Monsters, which is absolutely fantastic, and even more fantastic on top of an already fantastic game with a fantastic modding community for all sorts of categories, not just monster trucks. I’ll even dare say that BeamNG Drive as a whole rivals the likes of Gran Turismo and Forza, and considering that it’s now all even more accessible on stuff like the Steam Deck, the future has never looked any brighter for realistic driving physics games. And the Sim-Monsters scene is still going on despite this. (Although the rest of Rigs of Rods is pretty much dead at this point) Also maybe it’s just me, but I actually really like 2007 and Urban Assault as a kid. It could’ve been because I got them the the peak of Monster Jam’s popularity, but I remember loving to play them. I always thought the more arcade style presentation to them made them stand out. They weren’t my favorite games of course, but I was such a big fan of Monster Jam and naive at the time that I didn’t care. I didn’t play Path of Destruction, but it looks like I would’ve liked that one as well, although probably a little less so. I totally agree with all of the other games being bad though, expect maybe Masters of Metal but I haven’t played it yet, so I can’t comment much on that, although it does look pretty average. So yeah, while BeamNG Drive isn’t exactly free, I’d say it’s totally worth it. Get the game, a get Beam-Monsters, and support the developers for both. They are doing so much good work so often that it’s crazy. And keep in mind that it *just* started back in 2020. It’s 2022 at the time of making this and it already has hundreds of trucks. You’re gonna have a hard time finding any notable ones that are missing, and when you do, they are usually modded in pretty quickly afterwards, especially you ask them about it. It might not seem like they have *as* many trucks just yet since the whole thing is still pretty new, but considering the insane amounts of customization and parts, it’s a lot. There’s even some based on toys, concepts, or just ones that aren’t official at all. They are a very transparent and hardworking group, I love it. *Please get it and join the community.* I’m not even advertising for them or a part of it at the moment, (I don’t have a Steam Deck yet by the time of writing this and have never played BeamNG) i’m just saying it because I think it’s truly something special.

[@stevendudley5687]

Monster 4x4 wasn't shitty: I liked it. Nobody is perfect.

[@kbodah]

Had to come back to this video after the announcement of Monster Jam's newest game which, while it seems to have better physics than previous titles, appears to be more of the same. Edit: Something I just noticed in the background at 2:24- "OFFICIAL TIR OF MONSTER JAM"

[@Baschemon]

I appreciate this video so much. I admit, when I was young, my opinion wasn't as harsh but as I got older I DID begin wanting realism. I started back with Monster Truck Madness 64, and I remember my only complaint was "No Reptoid." I was a Big Reptoid fan in my kid era. XD But Monster Truck Madness 64 was... Eh, it had it's fun moments, I never played the game to win ESPECIALLY when I learned there were no unlockables. Monster Jam: Maximum Destruction I was hyped to get, Reptoid was in, and it was the ONLY game that had your Sponsor themed Trucks, Wolverine, Spider-Man, etc. Gameplay was Garbage, this is true, but I enjoyed it for what it was worth. But what kicked off my crave for Realism was Masters of Metal. THAT game, was the best at the time. It was in no means perfect, but at the time, it made me WANT a more realistic Monster Jam game.... And it still had Reptoid. But by that point I was becoming an Avenger fan. Then in came Monster Jam '07 and I was late to get on the Modding of MM2 (I didn't have a good enough PC, Rigs of Rods was a thing when I started playing MM2 with Mods) And every game after that, officially licensed, Urban Assault tried, Path of Destruction was going well (I HATED the fact you truck would stupidly just sit there when on Two side wheels), but they ALL still lacked that feel I was hoping for. Battlegrounds I enjoyed (Finally a Game that had Atlanta in it.) But it was bittersweet. Crush it I wish didn't exsist (The ONE game that gave Avenger working Headlights too... was complete ASS). So.... I'm personally going to wait and see on Steel Titans. It LOOKS promising, but it can change at a moments notice like POD did.

[@TheIcpfan23]

Mtm64 had the unlockable track if I remember one or two tracks

[@Jarekthegamingdragon]

Yup, you pretty much nailed it. I've wanted to make this video for years but it wouldn't really get views since my viewership is coincidentally based on shooters like halo. At least I know what my demographic wants. That's ultimately the reason for all of this. Monster Jam isn't trying to sell games to monster truck fans. They're trying to sell their games to the mainstream gamer that knows nothing about monster trucks. As it turns out, regular gamers don't give af and you should make games for your actual audience. Also steel titans 1/2 both ended up sucking so nothing has changed in 2022.

[@monsterjamin24-79]

I have a few good memories of these games, especially Urban Assault and 07'. But for the most part, these games have been time killers at best and absolutely unrealistic trash heaps at worst. These games have done nothing for Monster trucks other than give them a bad name to people who don't follow the sport like we do.

[@Psychedeli_Jelli]

Even if Monster Jam did make a true simulator it would be based on their shitty event structure. No more bus stacks or camper vans, and pretty much every truck is the same these days. Only difference is the bodies.

[@kushgoblin51020]

Man, I love this video. I went looking for a monster truck game I played when i was 10 years old and came across your video and I've got to say it's really well done! I think the game I played might of been monster truck madness 1 or 2.

[@qshark5266]

I relate to this video soooo much. I’m DM’ing this to monster jam game their self.💯

[@GraveDigger35]

i unfortunately didn't know about RoR till high school, i got stuck with Urban Assault and Path of Destruction, and i will agree, they are bad games, but they sure as hell were time killers lol

[@Nick.Koehler]

Another thing to prove your point. For the kids that couldn't get ror or beamng working or didn't know about them. They started the same thing on roblox. Building and competing.

[@wireoneunplugged]

Steel Titans has potential to be exactly what everyone has been asking for. However, I actually tagged the official twitter with this video so hopefully they see it!

[@fishtank7739]

Wire One not exactly Still closer than ever though

[@aydenvalverde-rios3364]

It’s honestly not that good

[@MainEvent_J]

@@aydenvalverde-rios3364 you can't tell me with a straight face that the 2 steel titans games aren't better than the absolute garbage that was path of destruction.

[@ColdintheShade]

@@MainEvent_J bro what are you talking about?

[@yyello6072]

Monster truck destruction for mobile has been my go to for that simcade feel and it is really well made especially for a mobile game

[@laurentderrien]

Very interesting, you should make more of these videos ! (though I guess it takes times..) Thx

[@nicksessions868]

I remember your name from Mayhem. As desolate as that site became, I loved coming home from middle school and watching Thunder Chicken piss everybody (including myself) off. Do you remember when that Australian promoter had an utter meltdown and said he'd name his new truck Freakshow Mayhem after all of us on the site? That was amazing to witness in real time. I only ran a couple events because I sucked, but I drove Arachnaphobia in RORMJ. I only remember going blown away by whoever was driving Shock Therapy, then flipping after like one hit in freestyle like I was Chris Bergeron haha. Those were fantastic times.

[@saintsheepy6682]

19:17 actually aged like wine, surprisingly, since there is a sim called "Monster Truck Challenge" that's out. It looks fun but people have complained that the camera shaking when you land is annoying.

[@sohumchatterjee9]

MTM and MTM2 were very much ahead of its time with their ability to create mods and add-ons. I still have the two games with me (and MTM2's soundtrack is still a banger to this day) I still play both games whenever I get the chance to, there's a pretty sizeable small community dedicated to this series of games

[@mtfan]

Also something important is to note that the mobile game Monster Truck Destruction is proof that a simcade-style game with somewhat realistic event formats can be popular. The game came out in 2012 and still extremely popular despite the limited resources of the Australian company that developed it.

[@SwineBrothers]

I remember passing up a few monster truck games as a kid, just bought something else those days, and regretting it. Then I looked up the games I passed up on KZbin years later...Man I made the right choice.

[@hotrodd02]

It's Hilarious how a fan-made monster truck mod for beamng is better than officially licensed monster jam games

[@BertonDirt]

I met some of my closest friends in my teenage years on mtm2 and the stone age of RoR. It was some of the best and funnest times I had. I'm convinced that all game developers are idiots and don't listen to the target audience and it goes beyond the monster truck world Great video as always man

[@wireoneunplugged]

Man I lost this video for years and thought it got deleted. SO HAPPY I FOUND THIS AGAIN!

[@billymercury3897]

Video Idea: History of NHRA Licensed Games

[@brandonadam7167]

I used to watch you compete on Sim-MonstersTV back in 2011-2012 when I was only 6 or 7 years old Lol, this video essay was well put together dude, awesome job

[@Panda5ace]

I feel like we’re slowly working our way back to mtm status, although it has some issues steel titans shows promise, I have a feeling the next game after or patches to steel titans might bring us back to where we need to be

[@Corky3D]

I was surprised you didn't put any footage in for BeamNG monster trucks with Beam-Monsters. Especially since the trucks are more breakable. I've been in the RoR/BeamNG community for many years. I did a season or two with Sim-Monsters years ago. I stuck to more heavy equipment modding and stuff though in RoR. Which actually led to me being a small tester for BeamNG at the start of it. RoR will always be #1 for me compared to BeamNG, BeamNG is missing quite a bit of features from RoR.

[@AustinOgonoski]

RoR and BeamNG aren't official monster jam products.

[@Corky3D]

@@AustinOgonoski I know that, I just figured since you put a thing about RoR and sim monsters in, i figured you'd but something about Beam-Monsters. Like bring light to games that were pretty good for monster trucks, even though they're not licensed. I run a across quite a few people that love monster trucks that know nothing about monster trucks in either games. Some of them people were already playing the games. Not saying anything was wrong with the video, I enjoyed it and agree with you. Just a little surprised is all.

[@catmand5h]

The BeamNG insert was nice. There is a monster truck mod in that, that scratches the itch.

[@DaltonHastings1]

I just wanna know where you got the old TNN Motorsports fonts, those made the whole video.

[@Joshua_From_Wii_Sports]

I like the older ones better, they don't try to go overboard with the tricks and combos like monster jam crush it or mjst1 and 2

[@SKULL0fD3ATH.]

Hey Austin, I noticed you used my Monster jam Battlegrounds clip. Its cool and all that you used it, but for future reference can you put the youtube channel names you borrowed the clips from some people can check them out if they wish? I found it funny that I found my video on another video because I never had this happen to me before lol.

[@nathanmcdonald610]

Hey look! It's my old KZbin account at 19:15 lmao. I'm still waiting for that authentic Monster Truck simulator. BeamNG has the PERFECT physics engine to make something like this happen.

[@ChubertChug]

It’s flat-out embarrassing that Nascar, one of their main competitors, has had some absolute gems since 2002 (Dirt to Daytona anyone?) and Monster Jam has been completely oblivious to their fanbase since the dawn of the sport. Here we are now, the year of our lord two-thousand-nineteen, and Steel Titans MIGHT be something in the realm of what we’re looking for.

[@AustinOgonoski]

Keyword being "might."

[@MainEvent_J]

From the future, steel titans and titans 2 are actually really good on both controller and wheel.

[@lucid__official__]

What hurts even more is that an Australian *mobile game* company using both classic 90’s & 2000’s trucks and trucks I didn’t even know existed before they were in the game made ‘Monster Truck Destruction’ in 2015, with a demo that even included proper staging (later removed in the full game) as far back as 2013….and I’d say it’s in contention for the top 5 best monster truck games ever made. So, if you want a good monster truck game Odd Games, who made MTD, announced a sequel is in the works but is still in the early stages of development so it will take a while to finish. But when it does eventually come out, I think we might finally have our good modern monster truck game. And if you’re worried that it’s still going to be mobile, they did say before that they want MTD2 to be on a many platforms as they can get it on including consoles & a proper PC release too. Odd Games is definitely a company to look out for because it seems that they actually care about what fans want and they seem to want to definitely deliver.

[@RichboyJhae]

I love this video so much. It so properly documents my personal torment as a monster truck fan growing up. Monster truck madness 64 was the first mt game I had and I hated it for obvious reasons. Next I got maximum destruction, which was mostly awful. I'm surprised you didn't mention the stadium freestyle mode in the game. For me, that was the only part of the game worth a damn. I got a little more mileage out of monster 4x4 as the physics were an improvement, but once again, NO REALISTIC STADIUM RACING. The only use I got from that game was running my own freestyles on the beach area of that city map that had some grandstands and a few maps. I guess between 4x4 and the official mj games, I found out about the mtm2 mod community, and that changed everything. I distinctly remember the morning I stumbled upon an mtm2 video on KZbin and didn't even believe it was a game at first(I assumed it was some sort of animation because I had been so conditioned to believe that there's no way we could ever get a semblance of a realistic monster truck game. I had high hopes for POD, but that ended up being the most disappointing game I ever played in my life. Steel Titans is a step in the right direction I guess but still leaves so much to be desired. I feel like a battered housewife hoping for any release of a realistic monster truck game.

[@RedneckRacin]

Random dudes added more tracks and more trucks than game companies ever had. Chad move

[@TunerGuy_90]

*****. True. I've always wanted a legit Monster Truck game. Like "Spin Tires or Wreckfest" but with monster trucks. Realistic damage, engine issues, missing tires. Build your own tracks, racing, freestyle etc. Create your own truck, graphics. Need For Speed "Monsters Unleashed" lol. Idk.

[@theskicker8856]

Say what you want but some of my best memories from when I was little was playing Urban Assault and Path Of Destruction on the Wii. I got Monster Jam (2007) for the Wii and BIGFOOT Collision Course for the DS and those are freaking awesome. I can’t get ROR to work and if I did I’d still probably play my old games more.

[@ricardoearellanes7293]

I remember playing MTM2 as a kid and loving it along with the Monster Jam games from the 2007 game up until Path Of Destruction. Since then, it been so disappointing seeing the downfall of Monster Jam games. I remember being so excited for Steel Titans as the physics and graphics looked awesome in the trailers but once I started playing, I was pissed and wanted my money back. On a side note, ROR has come a long way since it first came out and continues to progress which is awesome. It's basically the iRacing of Monster Trucks

[@chisdiecast]

At that point the best licensed monster truck sim is in the form of kids toys

[@ABgamerX]

The original 2 MTM games were goated games, everyone can agree with that, great blend of realism (at least at the time) and tomfoolery as well. The N64 version is not the worst game, however (and this will be the case for all future games) it doesn't need powerups, at all. And for all future games, I really hate the boost features as well, we don't need them. The trucks themselves on Maximum Destruction look really good, but he game itself is just bad. Monster 4x4 Masters of Metal I really enjoyed playing growing up. For an arcade racing game it was pretty creative, I feel like it is one of the better Monster Truck games out there, even though the physics are weird at times, especially when doing donuts and stoppies. Monster Jam 2007 is a step down from Urban Assault, enough said. Urban Assault's physics are trash tier, especially in freestyle, however racing has been pretty fun, both in stadiums and outdoors, along with launching your truck like a ski ball (it's stupid but it's the kind of stupid that I can enjoy, lol). I also like how they have highlight videos of trucks you can unlock (and speaking of unlocking, Blacksmith's unlock requirement is one of the worst requirements period). Path of Destruction is the last good Monster Truck game we've gotten imo. The trucks did look very good in this game (and the last game to do so imo) The truck customization options, while extremely limited, was still a great feature to have. The game has one of the better stadium racing modes out there. Offroad racing is a step down from Urban Assault imo. And for freestyle tracks, I feel they are half good and half bad. At the very least if you don't use air controls, the physics are actually ok. Not great, but ok, which makes me feel like this is better than most, if not all, other monster truck games out there (other than MTM1 & MTM2). Battlegrounds was GARBAGE. Unexciting modes, VERY small stadium selection, the trucks looked BAD (some trucks bodies were just badly positioned and scaled, especially NEA) tracks were kinda meh (which was my thoughts on all tracks from this era onwards), and hit a crush car and you can do a double backflip. That's realistic right? I also remember the force respawn areas in racing being beyond garbage tier as well. Crush It is just a port that either fixes or breaks things more (here's a hint, it's not the bodies that are fixed). The freestyle tracks seem a bit better, but it's honestly the same game as Battlegrounds, it's literally Battlegrounds's DLC pack. Steel Titans is definitely a step up from the past 2 pieces of shit, but that's also not saying much. Not realistic again, the truck literally look like R/C trucks compared to the ramp sizes, and the other modes just aren't interesting at all. Steel Titans 2 is the DLC pack with minor improvements, but still not great. Right now, Rigs of Rods, Beamng, and even MTM2 to this day are the best for monster trucks. It has everything you want, from competing online to track/truck making on more realistic physics engines. And each of these games are either free or cost much less than the $60 shitty games these companies are pushing out.

[@mroostache]

this video has a really calm mood 👌

[@j.stewey4793]

One of the best, if not the best, monster truck game I ever played was a game called Stuntman. Once you won the monster truck, won all the arena creator tools and money, of just used the cheat codes to unlock it all, you could make extremely realistic monster truck tracks. It was an old leafer monster truck, but damn was it fun to play with. If you added a car, then a jersey barrier, then car, jersey barrier, 2 more cars, and then 2 of the little lead up ramps to the car, then set a jersey barrier on each side of the 4 cars so they wouldn't roll away, then you had the perfect set up. You could use the ramp side and it would act and the truck would react just like a real monster truck hitting a race lane and if you approached the other side of the cars (the "Iron Wall" side) the truck would react just as a real monster truck would attempting a sky wheelie. Plus if you applied the same car/jersey wall formula to other stuff, then you could build van pyramids, bus pyramids, utilize the dirt side of the arena creator to really build a huge track, and have a blast. Me and my couple of diehard monster truck friends would play this for hours and hours. We always said, "They need to make an entire monster truck game exactly like this!"

[@kfcnyancat]

As someone who isn't into monster trucks, these Activision games sound like they're based on what people who aren't into monster trucks think monster trucks are

[@The_Gunner9]

What I have been thinking for years. Thank you for this video. Oh and video game companies give us a full simulation game with team management

[@IKEA_SSB]

my god i remember watching this video years ago and have been wanting to watch it ever since but could not find it for the life of me (somehow it was a rather simple search today lol). love this thing how in depth you go with each one and even going into unofficial mods and sims that outdid the real things, def earned a sub!

[@bungieman2810]

I've had Urban Assault on the DS ever since I was a kid. It honestly wasn't too bad on the handheld. If I remember correctly the stadium racing was pretty good too.

[@copsarepigs8269]

I miss the MTM2 community. Incredible modding community and the leagues we're absolutely fantastic. The talent as well. Guys like Josh Rhodes, Kouvre, Scott Bergman, Dave Collard, Kevin Payne, Jordan Robson, Kyle Carr, RKM, even guys who went on to become actual drivers and involved in the sport (Ryan Anderson, Coty Saucier) list goes on and on. Such good times. Shame it all seemed to disappear. People just went their own ways in life and some moved onto ROR and now Beamng. Which I'd love to get into myself personally one day. Now that is a good sim. We Monster Truck fans have been duped for so long by Disney/Feld and video game creators of Monster Jam by being force fed the most outrageous and disgusting ARCADE physics. They straight up think the entire fanbase is 6 years old with shit they crap out.

[@420Impeller]

I never grew up with MTM. I did grow up with the 2 Activistion published games, and I never really experienced the sim feel of MTM. I enjoyed those 2 games a lot as arcade racers for a bunch of fun but I can totally understand knowing more history, as to why people didn't like them. I hold those in my heart through nostalgia and they are honestly good games. Just not what the fans wanted. I'm glad Rigs of Rods came around with the monster truck modding scene. Gave the sim side of monster truck fans including me as I got a little older, so much satisfaction. By the way RORMJ, that channel was also my childhood. Loved that stuff. I hold a lot of love for the arcade feel of the Activistion games and the much more realistic feel of RoR. Id say late 2000s early 2010s what the best time frame for monster truck fans. Rigs of Rods growing MTM2 modding and the arcadey games for those who liked it. Since Path of Destruction shit has simply gone downhill and I've experienced that now that I'm older. Disappointed with every single game that's come out since because they don't cater towards either side of fans really and are unfinished disasters. BeamNG has the only game since that was good that has monster trucks in it, even as a mods. I've never touched MTM, just wasn't around for that but it's a shame nothing official has really captured MTM1s feel. Only games not designed for monster trucks, and it was done by random fans and not a studio with a budget. It's really a shame how shit monster trucks games have been. There's been some good there's been plenty of bad. Official games for monster trucks will never be good again. Even both the Steel Titans games were mediocre. Stick to RoR, BeamNG, and MTM. If you want a silly arcade game Monster Jam 2007 is a solid game. Loved monster trucks since I was a kid but I don't anymore. Official games suck ass, the sport has gone downhill and become so boring to watch. Sucks how far it's fallen.

[@patrickracer43]

And we all thought Indycar was down bad when it comes to video games

[@XeCuTioNR]

Would you consider looking at this topic again, with Monster Truck Championship & both Monster Jam Steel Titans 1 & 2?

[@TheIcpfan23]

They both are just like others terrible physics.. Ain't Nothing change

[@Akito756]

Beamng's monster truck mod is the best monster truck game I've ever played which is sad but the mod is amazing with beamng's physics engine

[@Dog-man682]

Monster 4x4 Masters of Metal, Monster Jam 2007 game, Monster Jam Urban Assault, and Monster Jam Path of Destruction are good games.

[@speedtracker9556]

Agreed.

[@mtfan]

There was actually a SNES and Genesis-based Monster Wars game that made it to summer CES 1994 but did not make release.

[@KrazyKeith4]

I had Monster Jam 2007 for the Nintendo Wii, and it really wasn't bad. My folks got me the Urban Assault game that was released on the Wii, but I kept going back to the original.

[@twistedsky_97]

Now I need this video again, but this time talking about both Steel Titans games

[@ColdintheShade]

And Showdown

[@TheFelloMello]

I miss the mtm2draggers days so much

[@jamiewilliams1410]

I could not afford a wheel back when MTM 2 came out but I loved it more than any other racing game. For the last 3 years I have been playing Wreckfest developed by BUGBEAR who is now a part of the THQ NORDIC team along with Rainbow Studios. I am very confident that they are capable of delivering a great game. This is my most anticipated game coming out this year along with MechWarrior 5. I only mention Wreckfest because Bugbear has been passionately tweeking the model physics and road dynamics, if you have been playing the game from the beginning you would understand. I have over 300 hours of play time in Wreckfest alone. I know Rainbow is developing this game but being part of the same studio makes me believe this will be worth the 21 year wait. I was a big fan of the cross country races in MTM 2. I hope those will be part of the game.

[@Cyberbrickmaster1986]

So what about the indie scene when it comes to monster truck games? Also, how would you compare Monster Truck Championship to the Monster Jam games?

[@NewWorldCT]

Back again to see my boy make a fucking banger

[@wireoneunplugged]

Do you know who needs to get behind the wheel to dev these games? The king of mixed arcade realistic racing games. Codemaster.

[@paulpickering6820]

As someone who started with MTM, I think your contention that it was the early 2000s before MTM2 took off as a mod game is wrong, we were doing stadium tracks and replicas for MTM1 before MTM2 was released, and MTM2 continued that......

[@StevenWatters]

I played Monster Jam Steel Titans 2 so far and THQ is doing good that it deserves a 3rd sequel to the game. I grew up watching Monster Jam, and NASCAR and this video has so far helped with what game is a great Monster Truck sim. And that would be Rigs of Rods, I would like to thank you for a great suggestion of the game. I'll make sure I check it out, I also checked out NR2003 and it's also a good game and I even got the ICR mod to go with it.

[@minequaft]

I have MTD on my tablet too, and tbh, it's Pretty good. Insane compared to almost all the games released after MTM.

[@minequaft]

And man did I play a trap ton of urban assault on the ds in my youth

[@TheIcpfan23]

You forgot to mention in 2003 Microsoft was suppose to make Mtm3 but stuff started happening and it got put away.

[@BonemanHanson2000]

were did you find that info about MTM3?

[@TheIcpfan23]

@@BonemanHanson2000 the old fourms back in the day around that time.

[@BonemanHanson2000]

the MTM2 Fourms or something else?

[@TheIcpfan23]

@@BonemanHanson2000 it was all over random monster truck fourms back then. Monster style.com did a bit on it in 2004.

[@BonemanHanson2000]

ah. thanks for clearing it up.

[@greatmutaconcerto1308]

Basically we need a monster truck game with the freenes of beamng drive.

[@dieselhead7961]

Seeing another real person played RoR and was in RoRMJ was a flashbang I was unprepared for. Somehow even sim-monsters is still around

[@j.stewey4793]

Steel Titans 2 is the best monster truck console game so far, but even that needs work. Like you said, us diehard monster truck fans have been f****d in the a** without the courtesy of vaseline when it comes to monster truck games. Just once, I want a game with a lot of trucks to choose from, a ton of dlc trucks, actual competitive touring, realism, physics, racing, freestyle, actual arenas and stadiums, and maybe even a truck creator.

[@jurassicattack31]

I’ve loved monster trucks since I was four and seeing my favorite Motorsport being turned into garbage really made lose faith in there ever being a good game. (I loved urban assault and path of destruction. I think I was just young and didn’t understand how bad it really was) Idk wtf battlegrounds and crush it were but I’m glad I didn’t buy em. Hopefully THQ Nordic doesn’t fuck this one up.

[@blackspike9462]

I know mtd is a good game it with racing and freestyle and practice mode

[@TheIcpfan23]

Try ror and beam

[@wendigockel]

Take a sip whenever he says "like" or "shit"

[@joribremer5260]

Remembered monstertruck madness 1 and 2 very well :) , had a lot with them :)

[@chrismusiclover9893]

I don't know but personally I think Path Of Destruction was the best in terms of more realistic physics and oh boy did I have fun with the create your own monster truck system

[@JJfan48]

I’m glad BeamNG monster trucks has gotten as good as it has. Same issue still exists.

[@obs.on.40s86]

Turn10 needs to get licensing to make a monster jam game

[@fishtank7739]

Gta5 king04 they should have monster trucks in fh5 Maybe just as the expansion

[@xWORLDxCHAMPIONx]

The first time I saw that box 5 grave digger video I lost my shit in the school computer lab.

[@bfaproductions7121]

Funny enough I was making a skin for BeamNG Drive while listening to this video. While I have nostalgia for the Activision games do think Rigs of Rods and BeamNG are better for Monster Truck realism. While not 100% realistic themselves, I feel the games offer a more arcade feel. Like I enjoyed the big cross country races in the 2007 game, Urban Assault, and the truck customization in Path of Destruction

[@SevObzen]

Surprised you didn't talk more about Beamng as that's the best depiction I feel I've ever seen in a video game. Otherwise great video. Thanks for confirming what I've always assumed from looking into what Monster Jam games exist. Never bothered trying to to play any because they all look like shit and unfortunately I don't have a PC capable of running beamng.

[@fishtank7739]

Sev Black tbh Beam is mostly superior to ROR now except for multiplayer options, it costs $20, and a restriction on body styles when it comes to monster trucks

[@stevendudley5687]

@@fishtank7739 Yeah, there are no 3d trucks in the mod.

[@fishtank7739]

They are still working on simpler bodies they may get to it later

[@Nick.Koehler]

The beamng community is a lot more. Umm, how do I put it. They tend not to share their models. As much as the ror community.

[@SevObzen]

@@Nick.Koehler unless you're talking about something else the beam monsters website and files seem pretty accessible to me. I certainly had no issue.

[@thatbloodyvalentine]

Monster Jam Steel Titans 1 and 2 both are awful and SOOO janky , physics are broken, the events dont translate to what you see live or on tv. you can backflip on a wall but cant on a proper backflip ramp.

[@Fandom_Junkie]

There's a monster truck mod for Rigs of Rods's successor game, BeamNG as well

[@JVC1103]

From what Rainbow has shown so far of MJST it maybe a monster truck game like MTM2!

[@aaronleblanc540]

until they showed the racing aspect in my opinion

[@JVC1103]

@@aaronleblanc540 Now after looking at what they show since 4/10 The game looks like POD that is between arcade and sim. To you point they did show gameplay at least now 2 different Head 2 Head types for Stadiums 1 in 3 Person and 1 in Cockpit, They have not shown the Area racing style yet. This is from there Instagram by the way!

[@roblomoyt]

I love how the swear words came out of nowhere lol

[@gamerageandhobbyrcdu]

31:47 can we just appreciate that monster jam guys are training with a g29

[@ColtCobra2002]

I never thought I'd need to do this, but I'm going to come to the defense of the MTM2 Community here, your rightfully negative about console releases In the 00s but you are also casting mtm2 in a light that isnt correct. The truth is until probably around mtm2s 10th anniversary, and some small buzz around an mtm3 in the mid00s there wasn't really a huge call for a new game. MTM2 didn't ship with any real world tracks, but the community had become so good at doing it ourselves and the various series so fun and that we really didn't feel like we were missing anything. Now, obviously all things and, and the truth is MTM2 did get old, but but in its day(99-12) that community was the absolute best gaming community there was, and it also transferred into real life, with several people transitioning the show running skills they picked up a enjoyment for into real world monster trucks, also a few current drivers and crew guys got started into monster trucks via MTM2. So I feel you are selling it short when you say it was only there because nothing else was available, when as someone who was there since Dec 96(mtm1 for Christmas when I was 12 the MTM series and community was so good that nothing else was needed for those 15 years.....

[@jeremyotto8401]

well said colt, well said. this video brang back alot of memories of leagues and just making stuff just so it was made to my liking.

[@DaytonaPrototypes]

Monster Truck games are alot like Motocross games. They are literally incapable of making a proper game anymore.