Sometimes obstacles will get in your way. Like, for example, these crates. Luckily your truck can power through them with ease. |
The tracks are a bit bland overall. Although the scenery changes a little from level to level, the basic courses are all essentially the same. The only variations are in the gradation of hills and whether the player is driving up them or down them. The only weather in the game, a twister that appears early on, doesn't really change driving conditions so much as it rearranges obstacles. Rain or snow - some element that changed the nature of the mechanics in some way - would have helped break up the relative monotony of the tracks a bit.
By that same token, the layout of the tracks doesn't really encourage experimentation or interesting stunts. Since each course is a relatively straight shot, players won't be looking for short cuts or alternate routes except where they are clearly marked. There aren't nearly enough places where players can take advantage of the fact that they are driving a huge semi. There aren't a lot of obstacles to be smashed through or ludicrous maneuvers (jack-knifing the truck, for example) that players can enjoy during the game. Ultimately, players may feel like they are just driving a truck along, trying to get to their next destination. Since 18 Wheeler isn't setting out to be a trucking simulation, feeling that way while playing the game is a little bit of a letdown.
One of the things Crazy Taxi did very well is keep the player engaged in playing the game constantly. It did this by rewarding the player instantaneously for pulling of crazy stunts, both with the exciting visual representation of the stunt itself and with the visible addition of tip money piling onto the fee the player could see in the corner of his screen. 18 Wheeler doesn't do any of this. Ultimately, a particular course is either completed in the allotted time or it isn't. If it isn't, the player has to redo the course. If it is, the player moves on. Not much incentive for players to break out the No-Doze and keep playing into the night.
The parking mini-game is really a lot like Crazy Taxi. Look at the area marked off in green lines. |
Strangely, the game's biggest weakness comes from its biggest strength. 18 Wheeler doesn't really exploit the fact that it is a trucking game nearly enough. For example, there is very little radio banter in the game. Whatever romance and allure trucking may possess (and it ain't much) comes from the almost mythological brotherhood of lone highway riders, linked to each other by comradery and CB radios. Even though each trucker seems like he or she is going to be a very distinct personality, when the player actually plays the game, there is very little difference in flavor. Each truck has a slightly different dashboard, etc., and, as previously mentioned, each truck has distinct handling characteristics. It's just too bad that the truck drivers themselves don't add much to the mix. They talk more in the extra modes than they do in arcade mode, but they still don't say much. By way of contrast, choosing a particular taxi in the original Crazy Taxi (and, to a lesser extent, in the sequel as well) was as much about the cabby as the cab. Sure, each cab might have had slightly different handling characteristics, but what players were really interested in was the personality of the driver. That same sort of opportunity existed in 18 Wheeler, and Sega missed it.
While on the subject of the mix, the music is as bland as the voice work. Some licensed country and country rock tunes would have enhanced the flavor of the game nicely and vocals might have covered some of the shortcomings in the voice acting. Good music would have helped to communicate some of the ideas the game is trying to portray. Unfortunately, what is included instead sounds generic and dull. Of course, with only four courses in the game, there isn't a lot of music either. Players who decide to keep replaying through the game can expect the same four songs repeated along with the same four levels.
While not "bad," per se, the extra modes, including the versus mode, don't add much to the overall package. The circuit-style tracks that the player (or players) race on in these extra modes don't really fit well with the motif of the game, and the mechanics of the races (including dropping cargo on your opponent to slow him down and lower his points) feel more gimmicky than genuinely fun. Added to this, the split-screen versus mode only plays from inside the cab. The rear view mirror isn't featured in the split-screen, and the result is that keeping track of other vehicles (and especially the opponent) is very difficult. Often times, the only way to hold a lead or drop cargo accurately is to "cheat" and observe the other player's screen. It feels cheap, and it is.
Lastly, Sega has become notorious for breaking promises when it comes to online gaming. 18 Wheeler is the latest in that list of ignominy. While it doesn't make or break the game, not having online play after it was promised by Sega highlights its absence more starkly. Clearly, a full-screen versus mode, with rear view mirrors or an external camera would have been a big boon to the game, and the nagging feeling that it should have been there is hard to shake.
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