What intrigues me most about this game is just how fun it is to play. It's deceptively entertaining.
I should probably preface this by saying I have not played the original Euro Truck Simulator. Or any other truck simulations for that matter. I've also never driven a real truck before, so I can't really discuss the extent to which it feels like I'm actually driving a truck. However, I'm well versed in racing games, having completed various levels of Crash in Burnout. Anyway, on with the review.
Going into this game I didn't know what to expect. The interface is straight-forward for the most part. Other than some awkward navigation points or an occasional lack of description in what a button actually does, it's generally well-explained in the menus. In-game however, you could easily miss something as simple as pressing F2 to display wing mirrors as a sort of overlay if you don't pay attention to the tutorial.
The game has an interesting learning curve. With the truck driving itself you're simply thrown in and left to figure it out on your own. It's not really that surprising though, as you're sort of expected to know how roads work. The business side of things has a more gentle curve. You start off as a fresh, straight out of truck-driving-school driver. You pick up a few odd jobs for other companies before you get an email from the bank telling you that you can take out a loan. With this loan you can begin Euro Business Simulator. Essentially it boils down to upgrading your starting station, hiring employees, buying trucks for said employees, then buying new stations to increase your empire (for lack of a better word).
This whole side of the game was entirely unexpected. I thought I'd just be driving trucks around and that'd be it. The business management side is entirely optional too as there's no real end-game scenario. It's not overly complex but at the same time it doesn't feel like it was tacked on as an after thought. It was quite well done.
Speaking of well done things, I feel I should mention the modability. I had a pleasant surprise when I looked up mods for this game. There's an entire website dedicated to mods for this game. Even more surprising was just how easy to install they were. You just drop the files into a folder in your documents and that's it, they're activated! A word of caution though, removing the speed limiter off your trucks can lead to disaster.
The graphics in the game are actually quite astounding. They really do capture the feel of the countries that you're in. The roads themselves on the other hand are not as good. When you're in the UK, the structure of the roads doesn't really match what we actually have. Everywhere seems pretty much the same in terms of road layouts. The scenery matches what you'd expect in those countries - lots of expansive fields in the UK, or cobbled roads in France (Note: I don't actually know what sort of roads they have in France). The cities that you can see in the distance, as you don't actually get to enter any cities - just truck depots, are also fairly accurate, which is a nice touch.
The insides of the truck are interesting too. Just about everything changes depending on the type and brand of the truck you're in. So once you spend a while in a truck and then switch to an upgraded version, it can feel a little bit alienating which I can't help but feel may have been the vibe SCS were going for. You're also free to customise things on your truck - inside, outside and under-the-hood. (See that kick-ass red racing stripe? That doesn't come stock y'know.)
In terms of gameplay, there's not much variety. But what Euro Truck Simulator tries to do, it does well. I think that comes down to SCS Software having grown very adept at making these simulators by this point. You do begin to sympathise with real truck drivers when your cargo gets caught right on the edge of that tight corner you thought you'd make it through. You also get really frustrated when you're behind a slow car but you know you lack the ability to overtake. Of course, that doesn't always stop you. Which leads nicely on to the next point.
There's no real crash physics. When you slam into a car head on you expect to see some carnage. But what I actually found was that there's no visible damage. Your truck and cargo each have a damage indicator which you can see by hitting F7, but without that, there's no real consequence to banging your truck up. You occasionally get engine malfunctions that switch the engine off, which become more frequent the more damage you have. But I found that the biggest downside to getting into a crash is the €400 fine you get for doing it. And yes, there are fines for a number of things: crashing, speeding, running red lights, not putting your headlights on, going in the wrong lanes. These do add up over time, along with the truck maintenance. So be careful, because you can become overdrawn.
One of the more interesting features I found was the almost RPG-like element of having levels and XP. As you go up levels you can upgrade your character to complete longer journeys, carry more dangerous goods or maybe carry fragile goods. It does take a while to level up your character though, so it can be a bit tedious. It was another one of the unexpected features of this simulator. Oh, and I feel I should mention you can get bonus XP for parking your truck. Although, it could be a little too easy to get at times.
Overall, I have to say that Euro Truck Simulator is packed with surprising features which are well-done, but lacks a few you'd expect. The actual truck driving cannot be faulted, especially with the inclusion of such easily added mods that you can just download and throw in if you feel anything's missing. The menus are easily navigated although sometimes it takes a bit of a circular route to get where you want to go. Graphics are surprisingly good and it's just generally an enjoyable time.
It's not for those that want to get really involved, or race around super fast doing stupid things. But if you can pick it up cheap and you fancy a game where you can simply relax for an hour as you cruise around Europe delivering packages, I'd say this game is for you.
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