Players: 1 or 2
It's taken a while for this coin-op to reach the Dreamcast, but 18 Wheeler
is worth the wait and has some bonus stages on top of the arcade version.
Quite simply, it's a racing game but in a huge truck - hence the title -
and there are times when I like to take a break from racing Porsches
and Lamborghinis and would rather cause some mayhem on the road instead.
There are four to choose from, each with their own speed limits and handling.
When I first played this in the arcade I preferred to ignore the principle
of getting past your opponent and just smashed into as many cars as possible.
The four stages take you driving from New York to Key West,
then from St. Petersburg to Dallas, the third moves you from Dallas to Las
Vegas and finally from Las Vegas off to San Francisco, each of which contains
two or three check-points to pass, but you'll be
hard pressed to do so if that damn rival of yours keeps cutting you up or
you miss the chance to smash into the "+3" van which adds three seconds to
your time - and believe me when I say these are important. So often will you
be close to zero when you cross the line.
Once past the initial stage, you have a choice of cargo - the heavier one will
mean more difficult driving but the $$$$$ rewards are higher. Beat the rival
and you'll get a chance to boost your coffers with a bonus parking round.
Parking practice also comes in one of the supplemental rounds as you get to
test your skill behaving yourself for a change. As well as a two-player option,
the Score Attack mode means that points make prizes as you circle the track
three times as you gain cash from a bash.
It looks arcade perfect, it sounds the same but there's not a great deal to
get excited about and handling the truck is fine once you get used to it.
While I've enjoyed this game now, the incessant playing makes this
a short-lived experience like
Confidential Mission
as I progressed quickly through the levels and completed it in an afternoon
while watching Big Brother 2 on E4. By the way, when it came to the
fourth and final stage, I got through it in one go!
Oh, and ignore the "online gaming" on the cover artwork. There is none.
GRAPHICS SOUND EFFECTS AND MUSIC PLAYABILITY ORIGINALITY ENJOYMENT
As of April 2009, Blu-rays and DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TH-37PX80B
37" Plasma TV with a Sony BDP-1500 Blu-ray player and played through a Yamaha DSP-AX820 amplifier.
PC games reviewed by the editor are on:
Since Jan 2011: Intel Quad Core Dell XPS 8100, i7 CPU 860 @ 2.80Ghz, 8Gb RAM, nVidia GeForce GTS 240, Windows 7
Since Nov 2005: Intel Pentium D 830 3.0Ghz, 1Gb RAM, 128Mb nVidia GeForce 6700XL, Windows XP
Since Aug 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.66Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb GeForce4 MX440 graphics, Windows XP
Since May 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.6Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb ATI Radeon 9600TX graphics, Windows XP
Since Jun 2002: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, 64Mb ATI Radeon 8500LE
Since May 2000: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, Voodoo 3 3000 AGP
The four stages take you driving from New York to Key West,
then from St. Petersburg to Dallas, the third moves you from Dallas to Las
Vegas and finally from Las Vegas off to San Francisco, each of which contains
two or three check-points to pass, but you'll be
hard pressed to do so if that damn rival of yours keeps cutting you up or
you miss the chance to smash into the "+3" van which adds three seconds to
your time - and believe me when I say these are important. So often will you
be close to zero when you cross the line.
It looks arcade perfect, it sounds the same but there's not a great deal to
get excited about and handling the truck is fine once you get used to it.
