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0 Through my time running Thumb Culture, I have been to many press events. Running around herding sheep, watching motocross bikes fly through the air, a banquet dinner at Warwick Castle. One thing that these did not have though… Monster Trucks! The amazing people at Plaion and Milestone Italy invited us to not only see Monster Jam Live at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, but to get our hands on their upcoming title Monster Jam Showdown too. What made it even more incredible, was that the aforementioned amazing people, also allowed the TC Mini Crew to come along!
We packed our bags, got the Mini Crew dressed in some Monster Truck outfits, headed off along the Motorway! Once in Cardiff we headed straight to the Principality Stadium to meet the Plaion team members and get our Pit Party tickets. What’s a Pit Party you may ask? Well the Pit Party allows you to get up close and personal with the trucks. Get some photos, and autographs as well as see quite how big these trucks are! Honestly, seeing the trucks up close gives you more of an appreciation of what the drivers are handling and just how big those tyres are!
Pit Party
Whilst down in the Pit Party, we got to see which Monster Jam Trucks we would be seeing in action later in the main show. The trucks were El Torro Loco, Grave Digger, Megalodon, Max-D. Then you had the Marvel Trucks, Iron Man, Black Panther, Thor and The Amazing Spider-Man.
We asked the TC Mini Crew who they were rooting for, Big was going for El Torro Loco and had brought along his smaller version of the truck. Whereas Small was firmly in The Amazing Spider-Man camp. Although truth be known, he was also rooting for Megalodon and Max-D as well.
Even though there were hundreds of people all around the floor, it never really felt overwhelming. You could however, see who the fan favourites were when you saw the length of the queues for Grave Digger and for Megalodon. Even the queues just to get photo opportunities with the Trucks were long enough.
Exploration Time
Once our allotted time at the Pit Party had come to an end, we met up once again with Plaion who took us up to the Press Box. Our location for the rest of the day. The view was incredible and with nice comfy seats we were in for a treat.
In the press box was a number of computers set up to show off the upcoming Monster Jam Showdown game which meant the Mini Crew were instantly on board! Who doesn’t want to drive Monster Trucks around tracks and smash into things?
Show Time
As the time approached for the Monster Trucks to take centre stage, we grabbed some seats and gave the Mini Crew they ear defenders because let me tell you…these trucks are LOUD! Once this article has gone live there will be a YouTube video with some highlights of the event. So keep your eyes peeled to hear just how loud these are!
When the countdown reached zero the trucks started their engines and headed out for a welcome lap. Unfortunately, The Amazing Spider-Man had a bit of a false start and had to be rescued by the JCB Crew. This put his involvement in the next round into question. Much to the Small’s relief the engineers managed to get whatever problem sorted so that Spidey could get back out doing what he does best…tricks!
JCB Racing
The announcers gave us an overview as to what we should expect. First up was the JCB Racing, taking place around a short but technical track to see who would come out as the fastest Monster Jam truck. Head to head truck racing, showing close control to get around the tight corners whilst managing to control the throttle. It was quite simply… amazing.
Skills Challenge
Next up was the skills challenge, where the drivers were allowed to do 2, 2 wheeled tricks, or one Donut. The majority of the drivers chose to carry out some well-balanced nose wheelies, balancing these behemoths on their front wheels, and in some cases even tracking forward whilst doing it. There were a couple of donuts on show as well, Black Panther in particular who span so fast the dust was kicked up nicely!
Break Time
After the first two events, it was half time. Time to grab some food, relax and enjoy the stadium. We were also joined in the press box by a few of the drivers who did the rounds talking to the vast majority of the people at the event.
Freestyle Time
After the half time show of the motocross bikes nailing some tricks, and the driver of The Amazing Spider-Man, Bernard Lyght doing some flips and tricks for the crowd to enjoy. It was time for arguably the main event, the Freestyle Competition. Giving the trucks around 3 minutes worth of time to show off what they can do. This brought a lot of high-octane tricks, as well as a few pretty insane crashes. The highlight of the night was Grave Digger tearing up the track. With some amazing saves, plenty of big air jumps and an ending up on its back spitting sparks out into the air! Honestly, wait for the YouTube video!
Overall, the whole show was incredible, so much so that now the TC Mini Crew want to tear up the bottom of our garden and create our very own Monster Truck course!
Monster Jam Showdown
Let’s not forget that whilst all the other bits of the event were incredible, we were there to also get hands-on with the soon-to-be-released (August 29th) Monster Jam Showdown by Milestone Italy. The Mini Crew had a few races around, and whilst one of them had more control than the other, they both absolutely loved the game. To the point where they just wanted to carry on playing rather than watch the show! Driving a number of different trucks, in differing environments gave an insight into what you would be taking part in as you play through the game.
When it was my time to take over the controls and have a go, I wondered why my truck kept veering off in all directions. Turns out the Small was tilting the right stick, causing the rear wheels to turn. Once I realised I was able to counter this, but only so far. Coming dead last in the race! Thanks, Small One!
Having a quick look around the game I could see there will be 3 distinct biomes in the game, covering a multitude of events. With over 140 liveries available to unlock through the game, there is going to be plenty for you to get stuck into. As well as the recently announced post launch plan. Bringing a season pass that adds 17 new trucks, as well as a new environment featuring 6 tracks and 1 arena.
Final Thoughts
Monster Jam Showdown is shaping up to be a massive amount of fun and personally, I can’t wait to get hands-on even more.
All that is left to say is once again, massive thanks to Plaion and Milestone Italy, the whole TC Family enjoyed this event. An even bigger thanks for the merch that was kindly given to the TC Mini Crew! Plushie Monster Jam Trucks!
Monster Jam Showdown is due for release on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PC. Dropping on August 29th 2024, with Early Access from August 26th 2024.
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