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System:
Arcade
Genre:
Racing
Publisher:
SEGA
Developer:
SEGA
Players:
1
Release date/year:
2000
Other systems:
DreamCast, GameCube, PlayStation 2
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- Eighteen Wheeler: American Pro Trucker
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2000 SEGA - SEGA - Arcade
- When I first saw this game at the arcade, I had to give it up for the originality that Eighteen Wheeler had brought to the table. Sure, I’ve played games where racing a hovercraft or some out of this world exotic sports car was the basis, but never a semi-truck with a full load on the back! What you have here is a game that takes a little bit of practice and plenty of patience as well as a boatload of quarters. Filled with challenge and wild races through the different busy freeways, you take your driver and the truck on a wild ride from start to finish while trying to beat the clock and an extremely difficult computer opponent.
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The Game Play
You can select from one of several different semi-trucks, each with their own set of attributes and otherwise that will either help or hinder you in the different races that you undertake. The differences here is that you’re going to have to beat a very tight time limit that is little more than an undertaking in patience and practice than it is actual skill. Through most of the game, you’ll be able to smash into cars for extra time and go off the beaten path, but you have to be quick with your reflexes in order to succeed and get into the later stages. However, the game is exceptionally difficult due to the control interface that you’re working with! Power ups and otherwise as well as the different stages all play a role in how the truck handles, so just take a little time to learn what everything does and the way that the trucks roll through the highways.
You aren’t working with a small control here either, nor are you working with a small steering wheel. Actually, what you have at your command is more of a giant wheel like you would find in a city bus or in an actual semi-truck. The forward motion of the truck as well as the breaking are controlled with foot pedals, but learning how to maneuver through the vehicle littered streets is the toughest thing that you’ll have to work with. Although the game isn’t that hard to play, learning to move that huge ass truck is something that can take plenty of time and practice for beginners and even veterans of racing games will have to learn to work with the control.
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The Visuals
Clean and crisp environments with different trucks at your disposal. However, most of what you’re going to be looking at is the back end of any given truck, so you’ll have to learn to live with very little in the vehicle department. The overall stages are exceptionally large and well done, through you may have a hard time actually getting into the feel of the game because most of what you see is the traffic in front of you or your opponent smashing through said traffic, creating a mess!
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The Audio
There really isn’t much here in the way of music, so you’ll be relying on your sound effects to carry you most of the way through the game. If you’re really not paying attention to the fact that there isn’t much music here, you may find that the sound effects do nicely with the feel of the game and really keep the theme. Possibly one of the more impressive, yet annoying features, is that the radio keeps you in tune with what is going on around you, but really grates the nerves after about and hour or so of having to listen to it.
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Why you might not like it:
Eighteen Wheeler has a Crazy Taxi feel to it that is simply lacking the speed. With checkpoints seemingly far and few between, you literally have to go through the game with a perfect driving route and not get caught up in the traffic or in the different barriers. Restrictions like this as well as a seemingly expert difficulty might be enough to turn just about any hardcore racing game fan away!
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The Verdict
Eighteen Wheeler is an interesting game with a rather unique twist on the presentation of racing games in general. Through the game play is exceptionally difficult, I’d have to bet that only experts would find this game to be easy, with everyone else having to struggle through the game just to have some fun. At a buck a pop in most places, this is an expensive learning experience that may leave the gamer to something of a fit of road rage after too long!
7/10
//KasketDarfyre
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