Video Games : Euro Truck Simulator (PC CD)

Rating: - A FUN GAME THAT PUTS YOU IN THE DRIVING SEAT.
This game which has some of the best graphics this side of the Microsoft Train Sim. Is a real must for the Simulation gamer and makes you feel like a real truck driver. It's a shame it's based on mainland europe and excludes the UK even though we are part of the EU ?. It loads in minutes with no fuss and install's Direct X9 so your Graphics card will do it's job. However once you get used to driving ( on the wrong side of the road ) and get used to, driving the truck with the Arrow keys which is a pain !. This game is quite emersive and follows the rule of the road so you must drive resposibly at all times. Which means this isn't like many PS3 Driving games were you can cause carnage. You have free roam over the whole of Europe but you must service your Truck and pay for fuel on the way. And driving offences must be paid from your wage when you deliver your load. My P.C which is now two years old performes brilliantly with this game as it detects your system spec's by itself. All in all not a bad game if only the control of the truck itself was more fluid. It would be better if you could use the mouse to control the steering but you can't have everything I guess.

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Rating: - Love Just Driving Around
There is a brilliant old Spectrum game called Turbo Esprit in which you drive the car of the title around virtual towns attempting to catch villains. But I always loved the fact that you could ignore the missions and just drive around and explore. There were traffic lights to obey and petrol stations to refuel at. A simulator of sorts.

Euro Truck Simulator evokes memories of that earlier game in that it simulates just driving around. The aim of the game is to deliver cargoes from city to city which in turn earns cash to pay for fuel, repairs, upgrades to your truck or access to new countries. There are penalties for driving through red lights, not using headlights at night or damaging cargo but once you get the hang of things these are easy to avoid.

By default driving is easy - accelerate, brake, steer left, steer right and automatic gears. Have not tried manual gears yet. The main thing to watch for is controlling your speed around corners. It is possible to crash and damage goods which reduces the amount you are paid on delivery.

My only criticism is that you can find yourself travelling back and forth between the same two cities for a while before you earn enough money to access cities in other countries but that changes as the game progresses and new cities become available. I highly recommend this game if you love just driving around.

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Rating: - Lots of stuff missing
I enjoyed previous titles for this game, and while this latest one is still good in terms of graphics and gameplay, I can't understand why so much stuff is missing.

There is no radio chatter, no music option, and much less interesting sound effects. There are no bridges to drive over, no tunnels (so far), very few side roads or alternative routes to take,(no more choosing between taking the fast highway and treacherous back road). There is much less variety in the city and open road scenery, and there are also fewer loading docks to choose from, with only one, or maybe two per city.

Gone is the excellent cargo planner from previous versions, and gone is the ability to buy second or third trucks and hire drivers. The road junction layouts are simple - so far I've seen no fly-over junctions or clover-leafs. Also missing in this game are weigh stations - a key element of earlier versions. With border crossings no longer even requiring you to slow down there is very little you have to do between picking up and dropping off trailers other than going at full speed. And worst of all: no police and the removal of the great police / crime red bar idea- which was great. Instead you just accumulate offences and pay at the end of the trip.

This game does have good graphics and a good feel, and does introduce some new stuff such as career goals and stats, but far too much of the gameplay elements and scenery of Haulin' is missing. Hopefully it will come back in later versions.

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Rating: - Euro Review
When I first ordered this game I thought, it's bound to be just like all the sims around but, how wrong can you be.

This is the best game I have ever played on my computer, I cannot stop, the scenery is breathtaking and I thank the game designers.

The review that slags the game as "boring and a waste of money" is totally misguided and that person should stick to the shoot em up games if he wants instant gratification.

Lorry driving is a tedious job sometimes, as the real drivers out there work long hours doing the same things day in day out.

My father was a lorry driver years ago and he says it has everything that a real lorry driver has to do in his job included apart from the roadworks scenario as described in a previous review.

Maybe a patch can put this to rights in the future.

So to sum up,

BUY THIS GAME IF YOU LIKE PROPER SIMULATIONS.

Aussie Fan

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Rating: - EURO TRUCK RUBBISH !!
What a load of rubbish this game or should i say simulator is.
You got to be sad if you think this game represents driving a real truck, what a simulator is supposed to do.
The controls are far to sensitive, you end up wandering all over the road just touching the steering controls.
One route looks more or less the same as all the others.
To proceed to access another country you have to build up a sum of money. To achieve these goals you must have to play this rubbish non stop.
If this was not brought for me through my account i would not waste my hard earned 'TRUCK DRIVER' wages on it.
Avoid