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18 -
Wheeler |
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Swap
the taxis in Crazy Taxi for huge monster rigs and swap the passengers for heavy loads of
logs and fuel and you’ll get an idea what 18-WHEELER: American Pro Trucker is
all about; a mad dash across the US of A hauling cargo to earn your living. The more you
haul, the more cash you’ll make and the only rule seems to be ‘don’t stop
for anything’…! There are four main types
of play to choose from starting with Arcade, a race from loading bay to destination where
checkpoints must be reached in order to continue. Then there’s a parking challenge
that will test your skill with the controller as you attempt to navigate into parking bays
against the clock and without causing too much damage to the course. Score attack mode
entails completing course laps and collecting points and finally there’s a versus
mode where you can challenge friends in a split screen head-to-head. Whichever way you prefer
to play you’ll have a choice of four great rigs with four manic drivers and in the
Arcade mode you have the infamous Lizard Tail to beat to your destination. He’s the
meanest trucker of them all and will stop at nothing to stay ahead of you but by charging
other vehicles out of your way and crashing into time bonus cars, you just might just beat
him to the depot. Other bonuses will give
you the chance to earn power-ups in the parking challenges but the emphasis is firmly on
speed. It hardly matters what you destroy along the way although some larger vehicles and
street furniture may slow you down a little. Just make sure you reach those checkpoints
and arrive ahead of your rivals…! Graphically the game is
pretty good too and, although it doesn’t have the same depth of gameplay as Crazy
Taxi, many of the features are similar and with the clock counter ticking away in the
corner you are sure to have that accelerator jammed down hard…! The PS2 version varies
very little from the Dreamcast and those changes are mainly in the aesthetic department. The
environments are nicely detailed, and the player's field of view is generally cluttered
with traffic, buildings, mountains, bridges, and other assorted objects. The rigs have a
slightly better amount of detail and in the cockpit view you can see items such as road
maps on the dashboard and swinging dangly things on the rear-view mirror. Sadly,
whichever version you play the longevity of the title is not as good as it could have been
and the depth of gameplay is, to say the least, lacking. The idea, however, is sound and
what gameplay you do get is exciting, fast-paced and graphically very good. Some of the
truckers comments can get a little repetetive but that's just a personal comment. I
suppose replayability issues could be minimised by players continually trying to beat
their own best scores, but as a pick up and play title it will get the pulse quickening
for a short while. |
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