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18-Wheeler American Pro Trucker

Posted September 16th 2006 by Adrian DeHerrera.

18-Wheeler American Pro Trucker is one of those arcade ports that... well, should have stayed in the arcades. Although it's an interesting game and very fun to play, it's very obvious that this wasn't made to be a console game.

Features:

Exciting Arcade Mode and tons of twisted Mini-Games.
Naomi-based technology provides unparalleled gameplay.
Split screen 2 player Versus Mode, featuring 4 different raceways.
5 over the top drivers, each behind the wheel of their own unique rig.
"Down home" audio, from ho-down Country music to CB prompts and taunts.
Multiple camera angles for maximum jack-knife action.
Park the trucks in Parking Mode
Rack up money in Score Attack.

Originally an arcade game from SEGA, 18-Wheeler American Pro Trucker is a game with personality. Not often do you get to play a game where your racing with 18-Wheeler's. In the game, you're an American Pro Trucker who is set out to be the best; however, there is one thing preventing you from doing this – your rival. The rival in this game has an interesting personality. He's one of those guys who always "has to look out for number one" – number one being himself, anyway. Thus, he'll constantly intimidate you – by telling you that you're the one causing a traffic jam, among other things – and ram into you and other people. Yes, the rival is one nasty fellow, but you'll have to overcome him in the end.

You'll be racing against the clock; usually it's a challenge to beat the clock, especially because of some things in the way. Since your cargo will hold some major value, you'll need to protect it all costs. Doing things such as crashing into cars or other things will bring the value down. It's all about money, and to do this well you'll need to deliver things FAST. To help you out, along the way there will occasionally be a vehicle that you can crash into – guilt free – in order to earn 3 extra seconds on the clock. It may not seem like much, but you'll really want to have every second you can. Many times you'll reach the finish line at the very last second, or reach short of it. Also, there are several shortcuts, although only effective if you use them right.

The game's controls use a trend that seems to be spreading these days. Instead of accelerating with your usual "A" button, you'll need to press the "R" button. The "L" button is used to break, the "A" button will be used to shift gears, the "X" button changes the way you see your vehicle, the "B" button reverses your car and the "Y" button honks. Although it's nice to have a chance once in a while, I found that the "R" button being used for acceleration is hard to hold for a long period of time. I found myself constantly switching which finger I press the "R" Button with, and my fingers became sore from the controller. Oh, well – maybe it's just me. You can, however, change the settings under Options.

Controlling the vehicle can be a challenge and you'll have to manage tight corners and squeezing in between vehicles to pass by. It's definitely one big vehicle, that's for sure, but it all adds to the uniqueness of this game. The levels for the most part are pretty small, but some gamers will find that getting past them a pretty big challenge, because of the time constraint.

The game is very entertaining, but the problem comes when you actually beat the game. The game only features FIVE levels – hardly enough to hold any gamer down these days. Some players have reported beating the game in simply five minutes. It's quite clear that this game wasn't meant for the consoles because of the very short gameplay. It would have been better off as an exclusive rental.

However, the game doesn't stop there. To add to the short game, there is also a parking mode – where you can park the big rig – and a score attack, where you see how much money you can rack up in three go-rounds.

Unluckily, the graphics also hold the game down from its potential. Originally for the Dreamcast, the game just LOOKS old. Although definitely arcadish, it's very disappointing that the graphics look somewhat of an N64 game. The game lacks detail. The game's environment and cars aren't constructed of too many polygons and you'll also spot some pop-up problems. Besides that, the graphics don't exactly hinder the gameplay, although they definitely prevent this game from becoming what it could be.

The sound is pretty enjoyable, however. Your rival's comments add to the game a lot. Although they can get repetitive and annoying at times, they really sound like a rival would sound. You'll also hear sounds from the highway that you'd normally hear. However, while this adds to the realism, music is pretty much non-existent as it is drowned out by everything else going on. Other than that, I appreciated the sound in this game.

This game gets an N-Philes score of D.

Overall, 18-Wheeler American Pro Trucker is another unique racing title. And I like unique titles. However, it isn't "unique" enough to keep me for long. The game can wear off pretty fast. Sure, there are a few extra modes – and the multiplayer adds on even more to it – but it's nothing that couldn't be done in a rental.

Posted in: Reviews