Review
Release Date: 06.16.2003
Platform:
PlayStation 2Developer:
Eutechnyx, Ltd.Publisher:
THQ, Inc.Reviewed by
Wade Monnig on 9.30.2003
As you can tell from the “punny” name, Big Mutha Truckers doesn’t take itself too seriously. If the name doesn’t tip you off, the fact that it is set in Hick State County, somewhere in the Deep South should. Still not convinced? How about those main characters named Bobbie Sue, Cletus, and Earl? Imagine the cast of Dukes of Hazzard without their “class” and you’ll start to get the picture. Turn on the radio in your big rig and you’ll be treated to commercials for Achy Breaky Brakes or you might even dial in a foul-mouth (bleeped, of course) Southern-fried talk show host.
Besides the occasional grin, most of the humor found in BMT is pretty weak. Not surprising since this title is produced by Eutechnyx, a UK-based company famous for their driving game expertise. If you want quality regional-based humor, you should go to the source. Instead, Big Mutha Truckers gives what is a 3rd generation Xerox copy of redneck humor: Entechnyx’s take on Hollywood’s take on southern culture on the skids. And like any 3rd generation copy, it’s not too sharp, a little fuzzy in some areas and about as flat as the tires on that truck sitting up on blocks in Cooter’s back yard. Hmm, maybe I’m just putting too much thought into the storyline of a driving game but when they put it first and foremost in the packaging and the commercials, you would expect it to be the strong point.
What is not surprising is that, with Eutechnyx at the wheel of this gear grinding, 18-wheeler of a game, you have a solid driving model behind its toothless grin. More importantly, it puts enough extras into the mix to make it more than a walk away arcade title. The story mode is called "Trial By Truckin'" and it gives you 60 in-game days to compete against your siblings to take control of Big Mutha trucking from the retiring Momma. Each game consists of a trip between two destinations while fending off competing truckers, police with an attitude and some over-zealous bikers…or was it over-zealous police and bikers with an attitude? No matter, it doesn’t stop there; you’ll also find some extras that make it more than a simple point-to-point driving game.
It’s tempting to call Big Mutha Truckers a Rolling Redneck RPG because of some of the RPG-elements. You talk to a few seasoned bartenders (The Townspeople), you buy upgrades for your truck that include bullracks that cause extra damage (Your Sword), reinforcements for you rig (Your Armor) and bigger, better flatbeds (Your backpack to carry extra gold). You even manage to get into a few battles with competing truckers (okay, they are actually races) and those Harley-riding hooligans (okay, those are actually battles).
And, like any good RPG, you’ll need to find some gold. This is where Big Mutha Truckers becomes a stock market simulator….okay, not really but the concept is the same. The game centers on moving goods from one town to another making sure that you, using the laws of supply and demand, buy low and sell high. It’s not quite the gamble it may seem since talking to people will usually give you a good idea of what items are needed where and some simple word association doesn’t hurt either (i.e. wood, coal and iron ore sell well in Smokestack City while “classy folks” in Greenback pay top dollar for Beer and Pork Bellies).
It’s also worth mentioning that Big Mutha Truckers is a budget title and rings up for a cool $19.99 (U.S.). Hidden under than aww-shucks redneck exterior is the patented Eutechnyx difficulty (read-challenging) and a solid racing game with a unique buy/sell system that adds the much-needed replayabilty that the other big rig simulators lack.
