8-Aug-2005 What's this? Big Mutha Truckers 2: Truck Me Harder, eh? Stop, please: my sides are in danger of splitting at the sheer hilarity of it all. This brand of puerile humour is supposed to be the domain of games journalists, not games developers, and I'm feeling a little aggrieved that Eutechnyx ?is trying to muscle in on turf that's rightfully mine.
Oh well, whatever. Infantile comedy is a major part of Big Mutha Truckers 2. Sometimes it works, as with the occasionally chortle-some skits on the ?GTA-inspired radio stations. However, sometimes it just doesn't - there's only so many times you can laugh at the same old 'rednecks - stupid, aren't they?' schtick before it becomes tiresome. Thing is though, if ?you can't stand that sort of humour then you're probably going to hate this game, because there really isn't much of one there to begin with.
TRUCKWIT The idea behind the main story mode is that, as one of four drivers, you have to raise the cash to pay off several jurors in your mother's forthcoming trial. Mainly, you do this by buying goods from one place, driving to another place where you can get a decent price for said goods, sell them, then buy some more. Repeat until you've raised enough dollars to bribe each juror. Of course, there's more to it than this. Reach your destination quickly and you can earn a bonus. You also get more cash for things like smashing up other vehicles, avoiding alien abductions and giving rides to hitchhiking hoboes. You even get the chance to do a spot of gambling.
Special one-off missions also crop up at certain points, and as well as giving you the chance to earn a bit of extra green, these further enable you to drive about in vehicles other than your rig. But this isn't Grand Theft Auto, so most of the time you're confined to the truck.
TRUCKING HELL Not that this is a huge problem: the trucking parts of the game are reasonably fun, as you have to contend with the cops and biker gangs as well as the scenery. What's more, the truck actually feels like a huge piece of machinery for once, able to smash obstacles and vehicles out of its way with satisfying ease.
That said, there's a pervading sense of 'console port' about BMT2, with nothing like the depth of gameplay you get from GTA: San Andreas. The map is insultingly small in comparison, although the scenery is fairly attractive. Plus, there's not that much to do except - to use a phrase we've been itching to pull out - keep on truckin'.
We've seen far worse 20 games, but Big Mutha Truckers 2 doesn't really offer anything special in any department. If humorous driving jaunts are your bag, do yourself a favour and bag San Andreas instead.
PC Zone Staff
// Overview
Verdict
Trailer trash
Uppers
Driving bits are mildly diverting Looks pretty nice Some jocularity works
Downers
Some jocularity falls flat Simple gameplay Nothing special
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Driving bits are mildly diverting
