Big Mutha Truckers 2: Truck Me Harder
Eutechnyx, Empire Interactive and THQ are back for another round of hardcore trucking. Hands-on impressions inside.
Published: August 17, 2005
As genres go, "trucking" isn't exactly something I figured would hold any sort of weight, but then Sega had other ideas, and luckily had the resources to build an entire arcade game -- short and sweet as it may have been -- around driving a big rig. It worked, thanks mostly in part to the fact that you got to sit in a giant cabin, turn a big ass wheel and basically make like you were king badass on the freeway.
Of course, when you strip away the quarter-munching approach and remove the huge wheel, a lot of the novelty is lost and it more or less just becomes a driving game with a semi. This apparently isn't a problem for some parts of the country, since truckin' is what some folk keep on doin', but it is a mysterious attraction for anyone outside the circle o' haulin'.
Perhaps that's why most of us didn't expect to see decent sales of Big Mutha Truckers, and certainly we weren't expecting a sequel so soon. But then, there's a lot about our hands-on time with Big Mutha Truckers 2 that surprised us. So far that's not necessarily a good thing, but to say that developer Eutechnyx has the basic formula down pat would be the understatement of the year.
The surprises started right with the title screen. BMT's subtitle is "Truck Me Harder" -- an amusing play on words (yes, we're still entertained by 6th grade humor, you'll have to be to enjoy the game) -- but even more interesting when you see the giant "Press Start Button" image covers up the "Tr" perfectly so as to suggest the title is something... else.
It's a perfect lead-in to the rest of the game's humor, which is mainly focused on poking fun at hicks, UFO attacks, moose punching, huge boobs and the like. There's a generic plot device involving Ma Jackson getting thrown in the clink, and her kids Bobbie Sue, Earl, Cletus and Rawkus having to drum up enough cash to pay off the jury on Ma's trial.
What this translates to is driving. Er, trucking. Truckin'. Whatever. Visiting the general store to pick up items then hauling it to another part of the "country" is what the game's all about. Luckily, a tap of the Circle button brings up a menu that lets you know how much the items are worth at each destination. This, along with a basic set of tags like "risky, rip-off, bargain and sale of the day" let you know how much of a return you'll get for your haul. Different trailers allow you to haul liquids and refrigerated goods if a flatbed doesn't do it for you.
By checking the menu and loading up on a destination's most-wanted items, it makes heading to the different bars across the country more rewarding. The bars are good for more than just moonshine and hooters, of course, they house valuable message boards (the analog kind), driving side jobs that usually involve some kind of checkpoint dash, and jury members that need to be paid off before they'll free Ma. Also, they have moonshine and hooters there.
In between the stores and bars, there's the driving bits that fill things in. Most of this was carried over from the previous game, so you'll still have to outrun the cops and take on bikers games, but things like crazy hicks, hobos, UFO attacks, speed traps all conspire to keep you from getting to your destination on time.
The countdown is actually crucial to making money, since you pick your time limit before you start (in "Truck Me Gently", "Truck Me" and "Truck Me Harder" flavors) that add 1, 2 or 3X multipliers to the total score when you finally make it the destination. Arrive late, and all the bonuses you got along the way for weathering those previously mentioned obstacles are wiped out.
We only spent a few hours goofing around with the game, making runs from city to city, taking a few side jobs and ogling the various female characters in the game, and it seems we've discovered most of what the game has to offer. That's not a bad thing, of course, since what's there is a nice mix of risk vs. reward, but we'll have to see how well the full experience feels once we've gotten hands-on with the final build of the game. Check back then for the final verdict.
Of course, when you strip away the quarter-munching approach and remove the huge wheel, a lot of the novelty is lost and it more or less just becomes a driving game with a semi. This apparently isn't a problem for some parts of the country, since truckin' is what some folk keep on doin', but it is a mysterious attraction for anyone outside the circle o' haulin'.
Perhaps that's why most of us didn't expect to see decent sales of Big Mutha Truckers, and certainly we weren't expecting a sequel so soon. But then, there's a lot about our hands-on time with Big Mutha Truckers 2 that surprised us. So far that's not necessarily a good thing, but to say that developer Eutechnyx has the basic formula down pat would be the understatement of the year.
The surprises started right with the title screen. BMT's subtitle is "Truck Me Harder" -- an amusing play on words (yes, we're still entertained by 6th grade humor, you'll have to be to enjoy the game) -- but even more interesting when you see the giant "Press Start Button" image covers up the "Tr" perfectly so as to suggest the title is something... else.
It's a perfect lead-in to the rest of the game's humor, which is mainly focused on poking fun at hicks, UFO attacks, moose punching, huge boobs and the like. There's a generic plot device involving Ma Jackson getting thrown in the clink, and her kids Bobbie Sue, Earl, Cletus and Rawkus having to drum up enough cash to pay off the jury on Ma's trial.
What this translates to is driving. Er, trucking. Truckin'. Whatever. Visiting the general store to pick up items then hauling it to another part of the "country" is what the game's all about. Luckily, a tap of the Circle button brings up a menu that lets you know how much the items are worth at each destination. This, along with a basic set of tags like "risky, rip-off, bargain and sale of the day" let you know how much of a return you'll get for your haul. Different trailers allow you to haul liquids and refrigerated goods if a flatbed doesn't do it for you.
By checking the menu and loading up on a destination's most-wanted items, it makes heading to the different bars across the country more rewarding. The bars are good for more than just moonshine and hooters, of course, they house valuable message boards (the analog kind), driving side jobs that usually involve some kind of checkpoint dash, and jury members that need to be paid off before they'll free Ma. Also, they have moonshine and hooters there.
In between the stores and bars, there's the driving bits that fill things in. Most of this was carried over from the previous game, so you'll still have to outrun the cops and take on bikers games, but things like crazy hicks, hobos, UFO attacks, speed traps all conspire to keep you from getting to your destination on time.
The countdown is actually crucial to making money, since you pick your time limit before you start (in "Truck Me Gently", "Truck Me" and "Truck Me Harder" flavors) that add 1, 2 or 3X multipliers to the total score when you finally make it the destination. Arrive late, and all the bonuses you got along the way for weathering those previously mentioned obstacles are wiped out.
We only spent a few hours goofing around with the game, making runs from city to city, taking a few side jobs and ogling the various female characters in the game, and it seems we've discovered most of what the game has to offer. That's not a bad thing, of course, since what's there is a nice mix of risk vs. reward, but we'll have to see how well the full experience feels once we've gotten hands-on with the final build of the game. Check back then for the final verdict.
