Monster Truck Madness
First entry in Microsoft's Madness racing series.
Monster Truck Madness is a racing video game developed by Terminal Reality and published by Microsoft, released in North America on September 9, 1996. It is the first entry in Microsoft's Madness series of racing titles, which later included Motocross Madness and Midtown Madness. The game received a massive following and was generally praised for its gameplay, graphics, and physics.
Quick Facts
- Developer
- Terminal Reality
- Publisher
- Microsoft
- Designer
- Joseph Selinske, Gaither Simmons
- Programmer
- Richard Harvey
- Robert Minnis
- Mark Randel
- Greg Seehusen
- Artist
- Chuck Carson
- Drew Haworth
- Terry Simmons
- Composer
- Kyle Richards, Tom Wedge
- Engine
- Photex
- Platforms
- Microsoft Windows
Facts from the source article.
Gameplay
Monster Truck Madness includes twelve monster trucks such as Bigfoot, Grave Digger, and Snake Bite. Players compete against computer opponents in four single-player modes: Drag, Circuit, Rally, and Tournament. Drag mode features arena and stadium venues like BC Place and Tacoma Dome, with knockout races involving jumping over rows of cars. Circuit offers five short tracks, while Rally has long exotic tracks themed after Arizona, the highlands, and the Yucatán. Checkpoints, hidden shortcuts like a broken bridge, and objects such as cacti and fences appear on tracks. In the garage, players modify tires, suspension, and acceleration-to-speed ratio for terrain like mud and grass. Multiplayer is supported via modem, LAN, or TCP/IP. Camera angles include blimp and cockpit, and replays can be watched and saved.
Development and release
Terminal Reality, the studio behind the 1995 game Terminal Velocity, later partnered with Microsoft on titles like Fury³ and Hellbender. Before that, they had an unreleased 1995 MS-DOS project called Heavy Metal Truck, codenamed Metal Crush, which they renamed Monster Truck Madness in 1996 and rebuilt for Windows 95. The game aimed to faithfully recreate monster truck events, including drag races and circuit tracks, and simulate how the vehicles handled on the ground, in the air, and during crashes. Sound effects were recorded directly from real monster truck races. All twelve trucks appeared under license, including Bigfoot and Snake Bite from Bigfoot 4x4, Inc. Announcer Armey Armstrong provided commentary, delivering lines like "Bigfoot is doing it in the air!" and "when it's going your way, it's going your way." The game debuted at the 1996 Electronic Entertainment Expo on May 16, with Microsoft announcing a fall release. It launched in North America between August 31 and September 9. Monster Truck Madness was an early title to support force feedback and Direct3D, and it required a video card for smooth performance. It also included an online manual and full-motion videos of real monster truck events. Terminal Reality offered a free Track Editor Version 1.0 for download, then released Monster Truck & Track Editor Version 1.1 after popular demand for a truck editor, plus a POD management tool called Podman.
Reception
Monster Truck Madness was a commercial success, accumulating a worldwide following. It peaked at number 10 on PC Data's PC games sales charts in October, and sold 144,000 copies in the U.S. in the first six months. The game received mainly positive reviews. Jeff Lundrigan of Next Generation praised its ability to achieve high frame rates without 3D graphics accelerator cards, but found the physics model unrealistic, citing a truck jumping almost 100 feet above a hill. GameSpot's Rebecca Anderson enjoyed the game and praised Armstrong's commentary, though she noted visual glitches near static objects. Bernard Dy of Game Briefs called it one of the greatest Windows 95 games, comparing its graphics to NASCAR Racing and stating the physics were designed for fun, while cautioning that players expecting realism would be disappointed by the lack of a printed manual and an absent damage model. PC Zone likened the game to a hybrid of Stunt Car Racer and NASCAR Racing.
Legacy
Monster Truck Madness kicked off Microsoft's Madness racing series. Its 1998 follow-up, Monster Truck Madness 2, was built by Terminal Reality with the Photex2 engine, adding more vehicles and courses. Microsoft then released Motocross Madness in 1998 and Midtown Madness in 1999, both spawning sequels. A 2003 Game Boy Advance version, developed by THQ and Tantalus Media, used 2.5D visuals, power-ups, and a time trial mode. Terminal Reality also created another off-road truck racer called 4x4 Evo.
More in Microsoft Franchises
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced