18 Wheeler: All American Trucker
March 26, 2002
Straight from the Arcades and Dreamcast, Sega delivers 18 Wheeler: American Pro Trucker, the follow up to their insanely fun Crazy Taxi. While Sega chose to not directly port the home version of 18 Wheeler to any other consoles other than the DC, Acclaim was ready with open arms to continue their relationship with Sega and port over another title for them. While this title has been seen on a variety of platforms, only the GBA and Xbox have not seen this title yet. Those of you who are without a DC or PS2 will be fortunate to know that the GameCube port of 18 Wheeler is just as fun as the original DC title–but lacks a little charm that the arcade version had.
For those of you who have no idea what 18 Wheeler is, allow me to explain. In 18 Wheeler, you control one of four truck drivers: Asphalt Cowboy, Highway Cat, Long Horn, or Stream Line. Each of these drivers offer different toughness, torgue, and speed skills. Your goal is to make it to the finish line in each of the four levels ahead of your �rival truck� before the time runs out. To extend the time you have remaining, you can hit a time bonus car or cross a checkpoint. However, should time run out on you, the game will end and you will be forced to start over from the beginning of the level or end the game completely.
Besides the standard Arcade mode, players can also participate in a split screen 2 player mode, where you can race three laps around the specified course against your newest rival. Also, you can choose the Parking challenge. This mode will let you try and park your truck in a variety of different places while you are timed. Finally, you can play in the Score Attack mode where you earn money while racing around the tracks.
While 18 Wheeler isn’t quite as nice looking as the original arcade and it lacks the feel of the big steering wheel, Acclaim has done a pretty good job bringing it over to the GCN. Unfortunately, this title, like many other arcade conversions isn’t quite as deep as other console titles. Because of this, you may find that 18 Wheeler is �renting� only material. If you don’t already own it on another home platform, I recommend you at least pick it up and rent it. If you are like me, you will want this one in your library for some arcade fun.
CVG Report Card18 Wheeler: All American Trucker
Developer: Sega
Publisher: Acclaim
1 Player Game
Genre: Driving
Rating: B-
Platform: GameCube
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