Preview: '18 Wheeler American Pro Trucker'

Platform: Sega Dreamcast

From...

By Star Dingo

(IDG) -- Just when you thought they'd never come up with another worthwhile, original idea for a racing game again, along comes a big Mack truck to save the day. Sega's "18 Wheeler Pro Trucker" puts you behind the big honkin' wheel in the cab of a big ol' truck to haul ass across the countryside.

In Arcade Mode -- the more "traditional" game mode -- you race against the clock, dodging obstacles and other motorists, trying to be the first to bring your payload in on time. Along the way, you'll encounter a lot of the situations that real-life truckers would have to deal with every day -- like barn-demolishing, vehicle-hurling tornadoes; crazy, reckless rival truckers; and -- if the game is as addictive as Sega hopes -- sleep deprivation. Beat your rival to the finish line, and you'll have a chance to park your big rig in a bonus stage, where a successful dock earns you a new toy for your truck such as a more macho-sounding horn. There's also a full-fledged time-trial Parking Mode, in which you try to maneuver your truck around obstacles and park within designated flashing green rectangles.

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If you're worried that the big-rig theme is just a graphical gimmick, worry not. Having a giant trailer swinging around behind you as you drive significantly changes racing (especially in Parking Mode) and the different types of payloads you can haul noticeably affect your truck's performance. The home version plays and feels pretty much exactly like the arcade version, but the absence of the big honkin' steering wheel is a cryin' shame. Switching to the in-cab view helps bring back the arcade feel, because the screen (and your air freshener) shakes, rocks, and rattles with every bump and pothole in the rode. In the preview build we got, the music and CB-voices weren't as funny or quirky as they could have been -- a missed opportunity, but certainly not a fatal flaw. "18 Wheeler" was one of the most unique driving games to hit the streets in a long while, and it looks like the arcade experience looks like it will translate to the home mostly intact. But will the experience last at home? Or is "18 Wheeler" just a cool novelty act whose tires don't come with a lifetime guarantee?

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