ECTS 2002Big Mutha Truckers hands-on

Earlier today we got to test-drive an almost finished PS2 version of Empire Interactive's truck driving game, which is also coming to the Xbox.

The game is single player only, and the main gameplay mode could perhaps best be described as a cross between Sega's 18-Wheeler, and the classic space trading game Elite. The story goes that Ma Jackson, owner of Big Mutha Truckers Inc, has announced to her three redneck sons and trailer trash daughter that she's planning to retire. To decide which of her offspring will get to take control of the company, Ma has challenged each of them to make as money as possible within a 60-day period.

After choosing one of the possible heirs to the Big Mutha Truckers throne, players take control of their own 18-wheel rig--each character's truck will handle differently--and set out to make as much money as possible by buying, transporting and then selling all manner of goods. The nature of the goods that players are able to carry will be determined not only by what they can afford to buy, but also by which of the three types of trailer they're currently pulling since those designed to carry liquids aren't ideal for cellular phones and so on.

Whilst in one of the five distinct town locations in the game, players are able to do a number of things in addition to buying and selling goods. Repairing and refuelling the truck is an important consideration, while time spent socialising at local bars can yield useful information concerning product prices and the demand for goods in certain areas. It's also possible to spend money upgrading the rig with bull bars, nitros, spoilers and the like, although the costs involved will need to be weighed up against the benefits that any enhancements will provide. Making money is the name of the game so unnecessary expenditure won't help matters--unlike a heavy bull bar on the front of a rig, which might be capable of knocking cops, bikers, and rival truckers out of the way whilst protecting the rig from costly damage.

The handling of the articulated 18-wheelers in the game is initially tricky to say the least, while the cab goes one way the trailer often seems to want to travel in another--this is realistic of course, and after around ten minutes of play we were definitely getting used to the idea. Getting from A to B in the game is made even more tricky by other road users, especially since in the unfinished build we were playing they had no idea of our location and so made no attempt to avoid us. Driving too recklessly saw us being pursued by cops on occasion, and biker gangs armed with shotguns and intent on stealing our cargo also made for some exciting gameplay.

The 60 days that the game plays for don't pass in anything resembling real time, which is a shame, because having a day pass by every 15 minutes or so could make for some really interesting decisions needing to be made on how long players can afford to spend visiting towns in between journeys. As it stands, a day basically passes for each trip that is completed, which means that there's really no great sense of urgency even when driving--unless there happens to be a biker gang pulling up alongside.

In addition to the main single player mode there are a number of special missions that players can attempt. The mission that we played was against the clock, giving us just three minutes to race from one town to another to deliver a couple in time for a shotgun wedding--another mission we were told about will involve transporting a trailer full of popcorn which starts to make the trailer vibrate as it gets hot, completing this mission will require the player to driver over fire hydrants so as to cool it down.

Big Mutha Truckers is due for release on PS2 and Xbox in November, and our brief encounter with the game at ECTS has definitely left us hungry for more. We'll bring you more information on the game as it becomes available.