Theres a unique feeling
that almost every gamer knowsthe whoosh of the arcade doors, the smell of vidiot
sweat, the sound of palms slapping the side of a joystick accompanied by the gulp of Ms.
Pacman swallowing a power pellet. When youre in an arcade, you have that feeling of
hyped-up adrenaline and unparalleled joy that you can only get in a room filled with
monster video games, both the classics and the brand-spanking new. Its not odd to
pump numerous quarters into a game that is fairly simple and walk away totally satisfied
with the experience. The only problem comes when you strip away the arcade, take away the
adrenaline rush, and slip a game, which has been only slightly modified from its arcade
equivalent, into your PS2 . Shelling out fifty bucks at the store tends to give us a more
critical eye when looking at the console children of arcade parents. Some games still
inspire the simple arcade joy while others leave us wishing we had left our arcade
memories in tact. Eighteen WheelerAmerican Pro Trucker is one of the latter. With
all of the variations of racing games out there that are beautiful graphically and have
phenomenal gameplay, the only reason a person might pick up 18 Wheeler is probably
nostalgia.Pro Trucker has an arcade mode, "parking" and "score
attack" sideline games, and a versus mode. There are four truck options with
differing speed, torque, and toughness, yet the only real specialization occurs when you
can choose your trailer (everything from logs to gasoline). In the arcade mode, you are
given four cross-country trips with bonus games being earned by beating your rival
trucker. Each trip has checkpoints that you have to make in the allotted time, or you are
forced to concede defeat and start over. The difficulty setting in the arcade mode can be
set on very easy, easy, normal, hard, and very hard. The Parking mode tests your ability
to park your truck in five places in a given time and Score Attack is a three-lap run to
get both points (from hitting special bonus cars) and money (by finishing in a short
amount of time).
The
graphics on this game look like PS1 graphics. No, really. Granted, I may be getting
spoiled, but after looking at tasty games like GT3, I have much higher standards for what
I expect even in a simple racing game. The landscapes lack detail and tend to blend into
one another. I know what the technology can do for vast cityscapes and this game
doesnt even attempt to put that kind of time into the environment. With all of
America to choose from, there should have at least been something to sink our teeth into.
Perhaps the designers felt like we wouldnt really notice, as we blazed down the
freeways, but trust me, we do.
The
control of each of the trucks is varied slightly, with lighter trucks being faster and
having more load shift and heavier trucks taking longer to come up to speed but being very
solid on the road. The type of load also tends to make a difference in your acceleration
and up-hill pulling, although I didnt really notice any other effect in arcade and
versus mode. When parking, load type and size is an issue, and the rearview mirror is
helpful in negotiating the challenges. The difficulty settings in the arcade mode do make
a difference, but with as unenthusiastic as I am for the game, the added challenge
isnt enough to really give this game any longevity.
The
quips from rival truckers and the announcer are the most annoying thing in the game. There
is almost no variation in responses, and I found that instead of wanting to beat the rival
trucker, I wanted to try and run them off the road. However, the game didnt really
give me that option. You can definitely steer someone off the road, but it isnt a
permanent solution. On the other hand, the game doesnt really let you get too far
off-track yourself, so I guess this is only fair. The music is actually the most
interesting part of the sound overall, inspiring you to start using trucker slang, lay on
your horn, and start dreaming about rubber-ducky in "Convoy," but you get woken
up much too soon by the inane chatter of the announcer or your rival.
Some of
the updates of arcade favorites have included the old-style gaming along with some new
surprises, and these are the best mixes of arcade and console
of classic and the
brand-spanking new. When the stakes are the price of a new game, we expect a little more
than a trip down memory lane for our dollar. If we want just a simple racing game, we
still expect high level graphics and at least the option of more complex gaming
through specialization, environments, or plot (gasp, she wants a real plot!). Eighteen
Wheeler gives us the nostalgia, but just doesnt deliver the type of console gameplay
that the savvy arcader has come to expect. If you want the thrill of American Pro Trucker,
save your quarters and take yourself to the arcade.