18 Wheeler
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.
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.
