18 Wheeler: American Pro Trucker
Category: PlayStation 2 Game
Console: PlayStation 2 (Download Emulator)
Developer: Sega AM2
Publisher: Sega
Genre: Simulation / Arcade
Mode: Single-player / Multiplayer
Region: NA
Views: 1,698,116
Downloads: 1,213,132
Released: 13 November 2001
File Size: 195.6 MB
Rating: 4.1/5 (273 votes)
18 Wheeler: American Pro Trucker is an arcade game developed by Sega AM2 and distributed by Sega. The game was released in arcades in 1999 and ported to the Dreamcast in 2000. It was released for the PlayStation 2 in 2001 and GameCube in 2002 by Acclaim Entertainment.
Sega followed up on the success of 18 Wheeler with a sequel, The King of Route 66, which was released in the arcades in 2002 and ported to the PlayStation 2. This was one of the final arcade games to be ported to the Dreamcast after its discontinuation, before Sega became a third-party developer.
The main gameplay is to make it to the finish line with the truck's cargo. Players are given a set amount of time, but can ram into special vans that will add three seconds to the timer. There are several characters to choose from, each with a unique truck and attributes.
The game starts out in New York City, New York and players travel across the United States of America, ending in San Francisco, California. After Stage 1, the game gives the player a choice of trailer. One trailer is harder to haul, but provides a bigger payoff while the other choice is easier to haul but provides a smaller payoff. Money is deducted from the total when the trailer is hit.
Players can sound the truck's horn to make other cars on the road yield and slipstream behind large vehicles to gain a momentary speed boost. In addition to the time limit, players also compete with a rival trucker named Lizard Tail. Crossing the finish line before Lizard Tail yields additional money. In between levels, players can park the truck in a minigame to earn more cash and upgrades for their truck, such as an improved horn.
The home versions of the game received "mixed or average reviews" according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. Rob Smolka of NextGen said that the former console version was "definitely worth a weekend rental, but its lack of online play and limited number of stages in the arcade game flatten its tires".
