Eighteen Wheeler: American Pro Trucker (PS2 Review)

Once upon a time, video game arcades covered the land from sea to shining sea in every available space. Whether it was in a shopping mall, pizza parlor or even your favorite corner convenience store, arcade game cabinets could be found everywhere. What drew the never-ending flow of quarters was simply the fact that home gaming platforms just couldn’t compete with the video output and action of their arcade brethren. However, once the 32-bit gaming machines started appearing in living rooms across the planet gamers began to stay home for their enjoyment and fewer and fewer arcade games were created. 

 

Even in this day and age of the home gaming system. game makers have continued to eek out a meager stream of arcade titles, continuing even today. However, the flow of the river has somewhat reversed upon itself. Now, most of the big games are first being released on a home platform and then translated to the arcade, or developers are using this medium to test out new game engines for future renditions, which of course will be tweaked and tuned for home consummation.

During this most recent time, Sega has been one of the biggest players in the arcade. Probably one of their biggest hits would have to be Crazy Taxi, however they’ve had numerous other titles enter into top-seller status. One of these would be Eighteen Wheeler, where gamers got the opportunity to get behind the big wheel and compete in delivering various loads across North America, all the while racing the clock. Now, perhaps if this title had come to fruition in the era of the NES instead of the PlayStation, its place in history might be more well defined instead of just being a footnote. Nevertheless, this title has made it’s way to a home version and we all have the opportunity to give it a run. Does Eighteen Wheeler deliver the goods on time, or does it fall a few miles short of its destination? That’s what we are about to find out. It’s time to shift into the high gears and take this baby for a ride.

Unfortunately, every video game has both it’s good and bad sides. Sometimes the bad outweighs the good, but usually there is enough silver lining the dark clouds to make the game at least palatable. Eighteen Wheeler: American Pro Trucker (EW:APT) is no exception. Personally, I like to get the bad news out in the open first, so lets take a look a the one glaring problem facing this title. Since this is a direct port from an arcade game, lack of depth and overall length is the big negative issue.

Since most quarter-munchers are designed with a high difficulty to keep the inflow of cash coming and short bursts of gaming between checkpoints to give the player a sense of accomplishment, EW: APT really lacks in the shelf-life department. With five different levels of difficulty selectable, gamers can tone down the frustration factor of racing a too short clock, but only having four stages of competition can allow gamers to complete the entire arcade section is about an hour.

Another issue is the rather meager selection of trucks and trailers available. Players can choose between just four different tractors and eventually seven different trailers for the complete game. There is no customization available and the only upgrades are those won in the three bonus areas between the driving stages. Moreover, you only have one competitor throughout the entire race to match wits against and the computer AI is rather suspect. If he gets a good lead on your truck, for some strange reason you’ll find him chugging along letting you have a final chance of beating him to the finish line. However, if the contest is a close one, or you are in the lead, quickly will the afterburners come on and you’ll soon be munching on a mouthful of dust.

Controlling your simulated big rig is incredibly simpler than that of real life, and this is coming from a guy who drives them for a living. Sega has allowed the player to completely customize their preferred layout so you get to pick which button does what on the DualShock 2. Personally, this has always my preferred method of gaming and I literally do flip-flops of joy whenever the option is available. My only complaint is that the right analog stick cannot be used for acceleration or braking, something that I’ve conformed to ever since picking up my first copy of Gran Turismo back in 1998. Nevertheless, when you hit a button to do something, it happens instantaneously with no delay at all, which makes for a very enjoyable gaming experience. Even though I’ve had limited experience with the Sega arcade titles, I do believe that Eighteen Wheeler is running on the same game engine of that of Crazy Taxi, which received numerous amounts of praise from both gamers and the media alike. If this is the case, I can easily understand why the game is such a joy to control.

Visually, EW:APT is an exact duplicate of the arcade version. In all honesty, this is a good thing, as the graphics definitely are not weak by any definition of the word. Environments are bustling with background action and there is a plethora of interaction between the sidewalks. Traffic is always coming and going on both sides of the roadways and it varies from other big trucks to tiny subcompacts. The environments are also just as fitting for whatever part of the country you are supposed to be driving through. There is no clipping, slowdown or even the tiniest bit of draw-in evident and the framerate maintains a constant flow no matter how many other vehicles are on the screen at the same time.

Along with the direct port of the arcade version, Eighteen Wheeler has two additional modes; Parking and Score Attack. Both modes have four individual levels to complete in where the regular assortment of tractors and trailers are available to be chosen. In the Parking mode, players are forced to manipulate their rigs along predetermined paths that range in various levels of difficulty. Each level has five different parking situations that the player must master before the expiring timer, well…err…um, expires. Penalties are accessed, in the form of time reductions, for hitting stationary objects, so it pays to keep control of your rig at all times.

The Score Attack mode has drivers looking to rack up as many points as possible while completing three circuits on one of the four available tracks. Players receive bonus points for wrecking specific vans and get penalty points for hitting other vehicles or smacking your trailer into barriers or walls, all the while racing the same driver you have competed against through the entire game. These two modes help to expand the rather limited shelf-life of the game, but neither do much more than adding a few hours of play at the most.

The sound options for Eighteen Wheeler are rather average. There is no surround sound support and gamers are limited to the regular mono or stereo options. Nevertheless, your world is filled with background noises aplenty, including some rather interesting CB conversation from your racing competition. Personally, I would have preferred more depth in this area, but the existing options are more than adequate for this title.

Unfortunately, the extras for Eighteen Wheeler: APT are exceptionally scarce. One might think that a title of this nature would require an online option, however, it was released before Sony had their online act together. Hence, gamers are forced to stay home and invite their friends over to take on the two-player versus mode instead. In this option, two players go head-to-head in the Score Attack mode. Players have, once again, a rather restrictive selection of trucks and trailers, four and seven respectively, to use in the competition. Furthermore, you have the exact same four tracks that were used in the one-player Score Attack to compete on. Although this mode is a a nice treat, it really is like handing a candy bar to a starving man; it takes the edge off the hunger but it doesn’t do much for nourishment.

There are some unlockable trucks and trailers available for completing the extra modes, but the one truck and two trailers really does little to expand your horizons.

Besides this, the only additional feature for the game is the ability to utilize the Logitech Driving Force steering wheel in place of your DualShock 2 controller. While this might not usually be a big deal, the Driving Force wheel is only surpassed in excellence by the official GT4 wheel, also developed by Logitech. Unlike the steering wheels made by other companies, the DF actually does what you want and helps to expand the gaming experience. Kudos to Sega for including this option.

Eighteen Wheeler: APT gives players as many ups and downs as an amusement park roller coaster. The gameplay and the control both are topnotch gaming while the depth and overall length of the title are extremely lacking. Although this is perfectly okay for an arcade machine, having something of this nature on a home system is just unacceptable. Here, quantity must at least equal quality and unfortunately the fuel tank is less than half full. EW: APT is completely fine as a rental, or as a back-up, back-up choice from the bargain bin when you just can’t find something else that tickles your fancy. It just doesn’t have the power to pull itself through the gaming gorge. This one ends up in the breakdown lane, waiting on the wrecker to arrive.

Difficulty: 5

Control: 8

Audio: 5

Visuals: 7

Replayability: 3

Overall: 5.2

Aero Elite: Combat Academy (PS2 Review)

Throughout all of history, man has quested after the power of flight. Life is truly ironic. Great minds like Leonardo Da Vinci, Isaac Newton and Daniel Bernoulli were unable to get their feet off of the ground and two simple bicycle repairmen were the ones to make powered flight a reality. Since that windy day in 1903, man has progressed through many stages of flight design and has even landed upon the soil of another heavenly body. 

 

The video game industry has moved forward with the same leaps and bounds. What began as a simple distraction of a few white dots moving on a black background has evolved into photorealistic graphics and movie quality production values. Where games used to be completely designed by a single person over a four day weekend, they now have a staff of a hundred or more people working for two or three years. How fitting that these two elements have finally come together to create a wondrous marriage where everyday people can enjoy the best of both worlds, without all the risks involved with leaving the security of the solid earth.

Each genre of gaming has their elite. Saying the names of Halo, Gran Turismo or Zelda will either cause a player to get that dreamy-eyed look or their face to explode in a crimson fury. There just is no in-between. On another page of the same book, most PS2 flight fans have come to consider the Ace Combat series the weight upon which all other flying games are to be measured. Some feel this is true because of the lack of competition, while others believe that it is one of the best arcade flyers because it is done so professionally. No matter what side of the coin you prefer, the why really isn’t important, since the end justifies the means. Ace Combat is the reigning ace of aces when it comes to PS2 flight games and there are very few game developers willing to take the series on. 

Then out of nowhere, Sega suddenly emerges onto the scene with Aero Elite: Combat Academy (AE: CA). With their great reputation for quality gameplay coupled along with hard-core action, this looks like there may be a new heavyweight contender to take away Namco’s crown. The game options are long and deep and the list of playable aircraft is huge. It’s everything that flying fanatics everywhere desire. However, let us examine if the cake is moist in the center or if it’s nothing more than creamy icing over cardboard.

To start off with, there really isn’t a heart to the game. In flight games, there usually is a Story Mode with a bunch of side modes tossed in for good measure. AE breaks with tradition and recreates the wheel. Everything is evenly spread across five separate sections: Arcade Mode, Training Mode, Aero-meet 2002, Free Flight and the 2 player Vs. Battle. No one section is dominant over another.

The Arcade Mode is a way for players to get a quick fix. You have only four available aircraft to choose from and the missions are all the same no matter what plane you pick. This option has its good and bad points. On the bright side, ammo is unlimited and you have the freedom to use as much as you would like to complete this section. The bad is that you cannot save your progress in-between the missions, so it’s either finish what you’ve begun or give up and come back to start over when you have more time. Missions are all timed, but don’t learn to rely on that counter to tell the truth about how much time is actually remaining. An example would be the final contest, where you are tasked to take out a bomber before it can obliterate your base. I have personally experienced losing this section with ten minutes left, out of the original fourteen, on the timer. The lesson learned from this was to finish each segment as quickly as possible.

The training section is very detailed and well presented for flight rookies. You have nine separate stages, that are broken down even more internally, that go through every aspect of flying from takeoffs to complex flight maneuvers. All of the lessons have a visual tutorial explain what is to be done and you are given tips while going through the motions as if the instructor was sitting next to you in the plane. These instructions are of high enough quality that they could easily be used for persons interested in learning how to fly a plane in real life.

Areo-meet 2002 is presented like a simulation competition, but comes off more like an edited story mode. You have four main categories (Air, Ground, Maneuver and Recon) from which you can take part in and the later stages are much more challenging than the arcade mode. Ammunition is in short supply and your fuel is limited. Add to this a clicking timer and the stress levels go up even higher. Successfully completing missions in this section unlocks more available aircraft to be used in the game. Although the air and ground sections are self-explanatory, the maneuver and recon sections are unique and add more flavor to the flight tastebuds. Performing the recon missions simply require you to stay below a certain flight level and take a picture of a target when you get close.

This may sound like a cakewalk, but it’s more challenging than first perceived, especially since you only have one chance to take a picture. Most terrain vary greatly with obstructions, like mountain ranges or towers, that force you to keep low and dive through valleys to keep from being detected. The maneuver part of the game matches you up on target fields with balloons and other non-lethal objects where time is your biggest adversary. Once again, your ammunition is limited and you have bunches of targets that you need to obliterate before the countdown reaches zero. Having a heavy trigger finger will not get the job done and only by releasing short, well-aimed bursts of firepower will let you have enough weaponry to finish what you started.

Free flight mode lets the player experience twelve different environments in three different options. Solo flight lets a player enjoy the wild blue yonder without the burden of enemy fighters buzzing about. You also have the choice of either an air-to-air or air-to-surface attack. There also is the ability to have all of your mission options chosen randomly. Wingmen become available in the later stages, once they are opened, and can be directed by a push of a button to watch your back, take on enemies head-on or simply to stay out of the way.

The final playable selection is the two-player vs. battle. You can either choose whatever option that please your soul, or have them all randomly generated. All of the planes that you have unlocked are available in this one-on-one confrontation where it can finally be decided who is the true king of the skies.

Game options are plentiful. The DualShock 2 can be completely customized to however the player prefers to have it coordinated. Sound selections allow the choice of the standard mono or stereo speaker output, along with individual settings for the background music sound effects or voice dialog. There also is a music player which will let you listen to all of the Top Gun styled in-game music.

Some of the smaller extras that AE has to offer help to round out a nicely put together product. The Replay room will allow the player to watch saved missions or your most recent flying endeavor if there hasn’t been one personally saved by the player. One can also watch training missions to get a closer inspection on what is needed to be done to complete them properly. The data bank keeps track of all of your flying statistics, the multiple unlockable squadron emblems and an aircraft glossary and encyclopedia. One exceptional finishing touch is the ability to have red or black outs when you are pulling excessive G’s in your craft of choice. AM2 really tried to assemble the complete package. Unfortunately, they missed one specific element; the control factor.

Only one factor was neglected in the making of Aero Elite, and that was having the planes actually react like their real-life counterparts. No matter which fixed wing craft you choose to pilot they all handle the same; like a dump truck with a full load of gravel. Turning, climbing or diving makes no difference. The only factor I found to make maneuvering partially tolerable was to power down the forward thrust of the plane to turn the ship, and that still didn’t give me the reaction that I was looking for. The helicopters are on the complete opposite side of the fence. Fast and exceptionally loose, these craft are so twitchy that it makes locking onto targets well beyond difficult. After everything that Sega had to offer, they forgot the most important thing and it totally destroys the entire experience. 

Although it may not be the first, AE is the oldest game that I have found, so far, to actually support the newly released PS2 Hard Disk Drive (HDD). The game disk is still required to play the game, but I have noticed shortened loading times with it being installed. Aero Elite also has a wide-screen option which, when used on a big-screen TV, gives you a better surrounding view for your flight operations.

Aero Elite: Combat Academy has so much going for it that it was very difficult for me to give it its final grade. What should be a flyboy’s erotic dream, turns into their worst nightmare because of the horrible control. Sega had themselves a surefire winner and they let it slip through their fingers. Even with this massive obstacle, I still found myself attempting to continue to work my way though the game, repeating the same mission or test over and over again. Nevertheless, I can in no way give this game a quality score by overlooking such an important factor. This game can only be recommended to flight fanatics or those into self-abuse. All others should just taxi themselves over to Ace Combat 4′s runway or just wait until Ace Combat 5 is launched off the carrier this fall.

Difficulty: 6

Control: 4

Audio: 7

Visuals: 8

Replayability: 4

Overall: 6.0