Euro Truck Simulator (PC) - Review
Posted by: George Finch on September 13, 2008 at 12:41 am .
Here is our review of the new PC truck simulator: Euro Truck Simulator.
Euro Truck Simulator is the first truck simulator to be set in Europe, with European trucks. Drive cargo through 17 different cities in 11 different countries. From Lisbon to Leon, Barcelona to Berlin and Paris to Prague. The auto routes bare a great deal of resemblance to their real life counter parts, whilst the cities have recognizable landmarks, the signs going into the city are in native language and the scenery along the motorways is very similar to real life, with subtle but recognizable differences in each country.
As usual with SCS, you start as a truck driver and you have to deliver certain goods around the place. One new thing with Euro Truck Simulator is that you have to pay to advance into the next country and you have to pay for 3 licenses, if you want to transport oil, petrol(gasoline) and acids. The longest trip you can do is from Warsaw, Poland to Lisbon, Portugal. This trip gives you a lot of money and takes you through many European countries. There are 15 different companies and 33 different types of cargo which you can deliver. You have to be law abiding, as you will be fined up to € 400 if you do not abide by the laws. These laws include driving with your lights on between 20:00 and 06:00, sticking to the speed limit, stopping at red lights and not hitting other trucks or cars. You will be fined €8,000 if you abandon the mission which you are on. There is added realism, as the docks are closed at night, just like in real life. One thing which I feel could have been improved is the borders into countries. Indeed, you don’t have to stop in the EU anymore, but there are more buildings than the ones portrayed. The rest areas are great, as you can see the AI buying petrol and AI trucks are resting there as well. One very clever aspect of the game is that the fuel prices vary between country and where you are. The petrol stations on the borders are more expensive than ones in the middle of the motorway. Unfortunately, the makers of Euro Truck Simulator were unable to get the rights from truck companies, to use their trucks in the games, so none of the trucks are real. However, they do look quite similar to models in real life.
The graphics in this simulator are amazing. The attention to detail of the trucks and the truck showrooms are brilliant and the AI cars are easily recognizable as European cars which you see on the road everyday. It’s not just the exterior of the trucks which is amazing, the interior is as well. You have a 270º view of the cabin, which is very useful as you can see both mirrors, when driving. The player can pan around the cabin, just as if they were actually sitting at the wheel.
One of the main things which we need to consider about this game is the physics. After all, this is a simulator and not a game. The physics of the trucks are generally very good. There is a noticeable difference when you have a trailer attached and when you don’t. The acceleration, steering and breaking are all affected. One thing which I think could be improved is that fact that the trucks speed up very fast when you don’t have a trailer, this is perhaps a little bit unrealistic. You seem to be able to go up to 60 KPH in about 7 seconds. The breaking also isn’t perfect, but is a vast improvement over the other games by SCS. I would like to see some minor tweaks in an update, just to make it that little bit more realistic. It is possible to drift the truck when it doesn’t have a trailer attached, which I feel is a little bit unrealistic.
The AI traffic on Euro Truck Simulator is a vast improvement over the older games by SCS. The cars here are easily recognizable European cars. There are different people driving each car and the cars have European number plates. The physics of the AI are a lot better than most games. They stop for you when you indicate; they honk you when you pull out in front of them and sometimes they emergency brake on the motorways, which just adds to the realism, as this does in fact happen in real life. The AI cars all drive at different speeds. This is defiantly one of the great things about the game.
As usual with SCS Software, sounds are not an important part of the game. However the sounds are very realistic for the truck engines and when you crash. The menu sounds work very well. One great feature is that the sounds change, depending on the environment which you are in. There are farms and if you listen carefully you will be able to here all kinds of farm animals. This is a simple but effective part to Euro Truck Simulator which I feel adds a great touch to it.
One of the things which makes this game so good is the easy to use menu. Everything is within a click of a button, which makes it a lot easier to adjust the settings you need to. The menus are clear and easy to read. One thing however, it took me quite a while to work out how to change the transmission, perhaps something which could be improved in updates to come.
Conclusion
An amazing game, no doubt. The realism is out of this world and the way you have to manage your costs, plan your routes to get there either quickly or economically. There are Mercedes, Scania and Renault lookalike trucks, as SCS weren’t given permission to use real life trucks in game, at this stage anyway. However, there are no DAF, IVECO and MAN trucks. Personally, I would like to see these in the next patch, which SCS have confirmed will have The United Kingdom as part of the map. Despite the minor issues, if you are looking for a change of scenery, feel like doing a bit of truck driving, this is the game for you. If you like fast action arcade games, then this probably won’t float your boat; however you should definitely download the demo. I can only tell you to buy this game, as SCS have worked very hard on this and deserve a lot of credit. Don’t download it illegally, it’s not fair.
Rating: 9/10
Here are some camera shots of the game (menu and gameplay)
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