Software:18 Wheeler: American Pro Trucker

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18 Wheeler: American Pro Trucker
18 Wheeler American Pro Trucker cover art.jpg
Arcade flyer
Developer(s)Sega AM2[lower-alpha 1]
Publisher(s)Sega[lower-alpha 2]
Director(s)Keiichi Matsunami
Producer(s)Yu Suzuki
Composer(s)Keisuke Tsukahara
Tomoya Koga
Platform(s)Arcade, Dreamcast, PlayStation 2, GameCube
ReleaseArcade
  • JP: 2000
  • NA: November 22, 2000
Dreamcast
  • JP: October 12, 2000
  • NA: May 22, 2001
  • EU: June 1, 2001[1]
PlayStation 2
  • NA: November 13, 2001[2]
  • EU: November 23, 2001
  • JP: December 5, 2002
GameCube
  • NA: February 20, 2002[3]
  • EU: May 31, 2002
  • JP: September 12, 2002
Genre(s)Vehicle simulation, action
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer
Arcade systemSega NAOMI

18 Wheeler: American Pro Trucker, known in Japan as 18 Wheeler (エイティーン・ホイーラー, Eitīn Hoīrā), is an arcade game developed by Sega AM2 and distributed by Sega. The game was released in arcades in 2000 and ported to the Dreamcast in 2001. 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.

Gameplay

Players start the game going from New York City , New York to Key West, Florida (shown here) driving a tank truck.

The main purpose of the game 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 the "Lizard Tail", a rival trucker. Crossing the finish line before the 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.

Ports

The first port of the game was released on the Dreamcast. Released by Sega, it is faithful to its arcade counterpart, but the voice actors for the characters were changed and it lacks the arcade's cross-country map loading screens. One of the selectable truckers in the arcade version, Nippon Maru, was now made available as an unlockable character. A split screen multiplayer mode was added, allowing two players to race against each other. The game was released by Acclaim Entertainment (who also released Sega's Ferrari F355 Challenge on the Dreamcast) on the PlayStation 2 and Nintendo GameCube after Sega stopped making consoles and became a software based company.

Reception

Reception
Review scores
PublicationScore
ArcadeDreamcastGCPS2
AllGame3/5 stars[7]2/5 stars[8]2/5 stars[9]N/A
EdgeN/A6/10[10]N/AN/A
EGMN/A6.33/10[11]5.5/10[12]N/A
FamitsuN/A29/40[13]N/AN/A
Game InformerN/A8.5/10[14]6/10[15]7.25/10[16]
GameProN/A4/5 stars[17]2/5 stars[18]N/A
GameRevolutionN/AC[19]N/AN/A
GameSpotN/A6.5/10[20]4.6/10[21]6.3/10[22]
GameSpyN/A6.5/10[23]68%[24]N/A
GameZoneN/AN/A4.5/10[25]6/10[26]
IGNN/A7.8/10[27]5/10[28]5.5/10[29]
Next GenerationN/A3/5 stars[30]N/AN/A
Nintendo PowerN/AN/A2.8/5[31]N/A
OPM (US)N/AN/AN/A3/5 stars[32]
BBC SportN/AN/AN/A72%[33]
MaximN/A6/10[34]N/AN/A
Aggregate score
MetacriticN/A67/100[4]52/100[5]61/100[6]

The home versions of the game received "mixed or average reviews" according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[4][5][6] Rob Smolka of NextGen said that the Dreamcast 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."[30] In Japan, Famitsu gave the same console version 29 out of 40.[13]

Also in Japan, Game Machine listed the arcade version in their March 15, 2000 issue as the second most-successful dedicated arcade game of the month.[35] AllGame wrote that the same arcade version "does have a fairly thorough scoring system that some will take to, but it lacks the gameplay that great arcade titles such as Crazy Taxi possess. That isn't to say it's a bad game: it's beautiful to behold and will give you short term thrills, but it isn't one that you'll find yourself coming back to again and again after you've thrown down a couple of dollars playing it. In the end, it's a fun but short ride."[7]

See also

References

  1. "Sega-Europe". 2001-06-19. http://www.sega-europe.com/english/news/000035/000035.php. 
  2. "ACCLAIM ENTERTAINMENT, INC. HAULS HOME NEXT-GEN HOLIDAY FUN WITH '18 WHEELER AMERICAN PRO TRUCKER(TM)'". November 13, 2001. http://www.acclaim.com/company/pressReleases/product/18WheelerShips.html. 
  3. "ACCLAIM ENTERTAINMENT, INC. HAULS HOME ARCADE ACTION WITH '18 WHEELER AMERICAN PRO TRUCKER(TM)' FOR NINTENDO GAMECUBE(TM)". February 20, 2002. http://www.acclaim.com/company/pressReleases/product/18WheelerGCShips.html. 
  4. 4.0 4.1 "18 Wheeler: American Pro Trucker for Dreamcast Reviews". CBS Interactive. https://www.metacritic.com/game/18-wheeler-american-pro-trucker/critic-reviews/?platform=dreamcast. 
  5. 5.0 5.1 "18 Wheeler: American Pro Trucker for GameCube Reviews". CBS Interactive. https://www.metacritic.com/game/18-wheeler-american-pro-trucker/critic-reviews/?platform=gamecube. 
  6. 6.0 6.1 "18 Wheeler: American Pro Trucker for PlayStation 2 Reviews". CBS Interactive. https://www.metacritic.com/game/18-wheeler-american-pro-trucker/critic-reviews/?platform=playstation-2. 
  7. 7.0 7.1 Thompson, Jon. "18-Wheeler: American Pro Trucker (ARC) - Review". All Media Network. http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=24063&tab=review. Retrieved 6 December 2014. 
  8. Thompson, Jon. "18-Wheeler: American Pro Trucker (DC) - Review". All Media Network. http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=24921&tab=review. 
  9. Marriott, Scott Alan. "18-Wheeler: American Pro Trucker (GC) - Review". All Media Network. http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=35068&tab=review. 
  10. Edge staff (Christmas 2000). "18 Wheeler American Pro Trucker (DC)". Edge (Future Publishing) (92): 100. https://retrocdn.net/images/c/cc/Edge_UK_092.pdf. Retrieved September 10, 2021. 
  11. Mielke, James; Hager, Dean; Sewart, Greg (July 2001). "18 Wheeler: American Pro Trucker (DC)". Electronic Gaming Monthly (Ziff Davis) (144): 107. 
  12. Sewart, Greg (May 2002). "18 Wheeler: American Pro Trucker (GC)". Electronic Gaming Monthly (Ziff Davis) (154): 112. 
  13. 13.0 13.1 "18WHEELER (エイティーン・ホイーラー) [ドリームキャスト"] (in ja). Famitsu (Enterbrain). https://www.famitsu.com/cominy/?m=pc&a=page_h_title&title_id=12355&redirect=no. Retrieved September 10, 2021. 
  14. "18 Wheeler [American Pro Trucker] (DC)". Game Informer (FuncoLand) (98). June 2001. 
  15. Leeper, Justin (April 2002). "18 Wheeler [American Pro Trucker (GC)"]. Game Informer (FuncoLand) (108): 79. http://www.gameinformer.com/Games/Review/200204/R03.0804.1048.04635.htm. Retrieved December 6, 2014. 
  16. "18 Wheeler [American Pro Trucker] (PS2)". Game Informer (FuncoLand) (104): 95. December 2001. 
  17. Jake The Snake (May 24, 2001). "18 Wheeler: American Pro Truckers Review for Dreamcast on GamePro.com". GamePro (IDG Entertainment). http://gamepro.com/sega/dreamcast/games/reviews/14149.shtml. Retrieved December 7, 2014. 
  18. Pong Sifu (March 11, 2002). "18 Wheeler: American Pro Trucker Review for GameCube on GamePro.com". GamePro (IDG Entertainment). http://gamepro.com/nintendo/gamecube/games/reviews/21504.shtml. Retrieved December 7, 2014. 
  19. Chris G. (June 2001). "18 Wheeler: American Pro Trucker Review (DC)". CraveOnline. https://www.gamerevolution.com/review/340415-18-wheeler-american-pro-trucker-review. 
  20. Shoemaker, Brad (June 25, 2001). "18 Wheeler American Pro Trucker Review (DC)". CBS Interactive. https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/18-wheeler-american-pro-trucker-review/1900-2779792/. 
  21. Davis, Ryan (February 21, 2002). "18 Wheeler: American Pro Trucker Review (GC)". CBS Interactive. https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/18-wheeler-american-pro-trucker-review/1900-2849420/. 
  22. Ahmed, Shahed (November 15, 2001). "18 Wheeler American Pro Trucker Review (GC)". CBS Interactive. https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/18-wheeler-american-pro-trucker-review/1900-2825016/. 
  23. Vash T. Stampede (June 13, 2001). "18 Wheeler: American Pro Trucker". IGN Entertainment. http://www.planetdreamcast.com/games/reviews/18wheeler/. 
  24. Suciu, Peter (March 8, 2002). "18 Wheeler: American Pro Trucker (GCN)". IGN Entertainment. http://archive.gamespy.com/reviews/february02/18wheelergcn/. 
  25. Surette, Tim (April 4, 2002). "18 Wheeler: American Pro Trucker Review - GameCube [score mislabeled as "4/10""]. http://gamecube.gamezone.com/gzreviews/r17040.htm. 
  26. Krause, Kevin (December 17, 2001). "18 Wheeler: American Pro Trucker Review - PlayStation 2". http://ps2.gamezone.com/gzreviews/r17040.htm. 
  27. Chau, Anthony (May 31, 2001). "18-Wheeler American Pro Trucker (DC)". Ziff Davis. https://www.ign.com/articles/2001/05/31/18-wheeler-american-pro-trucker-4. 
  28. Casamassina, Matt (March 5, 2002). "18-Wheeler American Pro Trucker Review (GCN)". Ziff Davis. https://www.ign.com/articles/2002/03/05/18-wheeler-american-pro-trucker-review. 
  29. Perry, Douglass C. (November 14, 2001). "18-Wheeler: American Pro Trucker (PS2)". Ziff Davis. https://www.ign.com/articles/2001/11/14/18-wheeler-american-pro-trucker-2. 
  30. 30.0 30.1 Smolka, Rob (July 2001). "18 Wheeler: American Pro Trucker". NextGen (Imagine Media) (79): 84. https://archive.org/details/NextGen79Jul2001/page/n85/mode/2up. Retrieved September 10, 2021. 
  31. "18 Wheeler: American Pro Trucker". Nintendo Power (Nintendo of America) 154: 133. March 2002. 
  32. "18 Wheeler: American Pro Trucker". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine (Ziff Davis): 125. January 2002. 
  33. Gibbon, David (August 21, 2001). "Let's play: 18 Wheeler (PS2)". BBC. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/funny_old_game/1502714.stm. 
  34. Porter, Alex (March 13, 2001). "18 Wheeler: American Pro Trucker (DC)". Biglari Holdings. http://www.maximonline.com/articles/review_videogames.asp?videogame_id=894. 
  35. "Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25 - 完成品夕イプのTVゲーム機 (Dedicated Videos)" (in ja). Game Machine (Amusement Press, Inc.) (606): 17. March 15, 2000. 
  1. Ported to PlayStation 2 and GameCube by Acclaim Studios Cheltenham.
  2. The PlayStation 2 and GameCube versions were published by Acclaim Entertainment.

External links