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"If you liked 18 Wheeler then you love this but it's let down by the lack of multi player mode"

This is a game about trucking and it's nearest comparison is 18 wheeler so if you hated that or don't like 1 player games ,then stop reading now 'cause there be nothing in this game for you!! This game plays basically like a cross between the games Dopewars (buying good's low and selling them high) and 18 wheelers which gives it great depth of play compared to other driving games although some might complain it's a little bit repetitive but then again it's a DRIVING GAME.

Well you start off with four characters each with the own personality and all will start from different locations within the county. Although there may be more characters but I've not got that far since the game is very difficult to get first place in trial by trucking mode.

Firstly I would like to say that the trucks handle like real trucks unlike 18 wheeler, they even jack knife in this game which create a lot of chaos on the roads when busy.
Also like 18 wheeler the truck can get damaged which could be a nuisance if you are low on funds.
Also the graphics are also very nice and there is visible damage to the pedestrians cars when you ram them which is always a nice touch.

There are two main game modes in this game Trail by Trucking and Mission mode.

Mission mode IS arcade mode and has 24 missions overall most of them will be a delivery of some kind but with a twist to make things harder. Every time you complete a mission you will receive a mark out of 5 although there is no need for you to get 5 on all missions there might be something in it for you if you do!

Trail by Trucking is the 'real' game mode of the game which is very detailed and is fun to play and respectively BEATS 18 wheeler. The object is to win the company business by getting as much money as you can within 60 days while beating your other 3 siblings to the post.

In TBT mode you get challenged by other rival trucks, Lorry jacked by bikers (they steal you cargo) and chased by the police if you cause to much trouble and even thrown in jail ,borrow money from the WRONG PEOPLE and even upgrade and customise your truck. If you run out of fuel you'll have to pay the recovery server a hefty 'recovery fee' and also you can talk to the bar people of the city for info on what happening around the city or just chill and play the fruit machine and hopefully hit the jackpot.

You also can gain a reputation in this game for example if you crusade around the city destroying all the bikers you see and drive carefully (not destroying to many cars) then you are liked more by the cops and they will even forgive for doing minor offences like pushing illegal goods, speeding or DESTROYING THERE CARS!!. But if you do a lot of ILLEGAL jobs and cause a lot of mayhem on the roads then you'll be respected by the biker community so you won't become the target for truck jacking any more plus you are also given more opportunities to give shady customers a 'hand'. Also yo speed for delivers and racing is also recorded the faster you are the more likely you are to land the big jobs!! (secret missions)

There are also secret missions in this game but you have to be at the right place at the right time and even have the right sort of reputation for the job which IS a lot harder than it sounds.

If you are delivering goods around the city without challenging a rival racer you may take your time and explore a bit since there is no rush and the day don't end till you get to your destination. And even if you like to race YOU get to call the shots by saying were you want yo race to. Although you can go off road and take shortcuts but the arrows only tell you the direct way to go to YOUR selected detonation since you get to decide which city you want to go to peddle you goods. Overall this game allows more freedom than most driving games but don't expect the kind of freedom you get with GTA games since they are in a class of there own!.

Speaking of GTA that brings us nicely onto the music of the game. The music system is like GTA's it's RADIO, But although it's a nice touch it's defiantly not got as much music or as much verity as GTA although the music is fine because it suites the game (and also it has the song 'born to be wild' on it) it's just not the BEST although it has the same level of humour as GTA when it gets to the radio station adverts.

TBT makes the game and is quite a lengthy affair but you can save in the cites stop which is good so if you mess up to badly you can always reload if that's you sort of thing.

Also I mentioned earlier that you can upgrade and customise you truck well yo can change your trailer (this changes what goods you can transport) and repaint the truck and put a new symbol on it. You can also upgrade you truck by giving it better breaks or speed or even change the truck entirely and grab yourself an new and improved model.

But there are downsides to this game for a start the lack of a multiplier mode is missing. Also sometimes it seems that the whole world is against you when the bikers chase you and cars inadvertently ram into you because they don't move out of the way quick enough. Also you can get busted for the little things like speeding although most people would see that as a good thing it's not when your in a race and even more annoying when the rival trucker doesn't seems to have caught the police attention and he's ramming over signposts and the pedestrians and all the cars in his path. Although most of the time the police//bikers do give chase to all truckers (player or not) they always seem to get YOU at the most annoying time i.e. when your racing.
Also sometimes you trailer gets stuck onto the walls slowing you down although this happens rarely it is a bit of a nuisance.

Overall Verdict
Fans of trucking games and 18 wheeler will like this, Fans of racing games it's hit more miss it depends on what type of the driving game you want because this is more of a sim rather than a straight out racing game because there are a lot of decisions in this game an about 90% effect the game in someway or another.
Since the game has no multiplier the game modes must have replay value and I can say that the game will last you a while defiantly a lot longer than 18 wheeler.

If you say that you completed TBT and got first, first time around then I'll probably think your lying because I've done it a few times now and the best I got was second unless you reload every time you mess up which will make the game last a VERY long time.

Some also might find this a lil' repetitive but then again it's a driving game. You can make it more intresting by turning bad/good or by going on a rampage (which is always fun). Or better yet try the mission mode! there is a mission were you have to destroy cars or try the truck tug-of-war were you have to pull the truck enemy truck over the line to win, there is plenty of stuff to do in this game you just got to find it!

For fans of driving games or if your curious then I say rent it to see if it's your bag but for fans of trucking games I say buy it since this is probably the best trucking game out there!

Overall score - 8/10 - a good trucking game! ,If you loved 18 wheeler then buy this today because it's 10 times better but let down buy the lack of multi player mode!

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 02/07/03, Updated 02/07/03