Euro Truck Simulator 2 (FINALLY)

Introduction

            After a long and torturous month of study filled with tests and mental tears, I am finally back with more reviews! Sometimes on those long trips back home, I feel so sad that I am unable to do what I like to do, and it’s writing these game reviews! So without further ado, the game of this week is… 

What is this game?

            Euro Truck Simulator 2 is a (surprisingly) sequel to the first Euro Truck Simulator, with additional trucks, countries and a larger scale map, and more endless strips of road. And if you haven’t guessed by now (you haven’t, right?), yes, it is a simulation game. 

            A variety of truck brands are in this game, such as the well-known Volvo (thanks Dota 2) which has a truck model which possesses the highest horsepower among all, other brands include Renault, Scania and Iveco, among other brands. However, whatever brand of truck you prefer, it’ll be the truck that is your home away from home in this game.

 

home away from home

            The main goal of this game is using a truck to transport cargo from point A to point B. Sounds simple? Nope, you can’t expect a simulator game to ever be easy, ever.

The Review

            The gameplay of this game is pretty damn good in my opinion, despite the game sounding like an absolute bore-fest. Of course, if you intend to drive some 300km of road to get to point B while doing nothing but staring at the animated road, then you’re doing something wrong. 

 

Looks pretty damn boring right

Once your truck hits 90km/h, hit that cruise control button, pause the game, open iTunes, and resume driving. Music combined with this game and its realism is really the reason why I play this game, because this combination is just that soothing and relaxing.

Gameplay mechanic-wise, the game first puts you into a category of delivery jobs classified as “Quick Jobs”. This category does not require you to own a truck, something you are unable to purchase at the start. Quick Jobs basically start you at the pickup already, with the trailer attached to a truck already, when normally the player has to go in reverse and attach the trailer manually, but this is already done for the player, thus all the player has to do is get to point B as soon as they are able to and collect their pay, with cargo undamaged… or less of it if the cargo IS damaged.

 

The two options

After a few Quick Jobs and earning a few thousand of dem’ dollas, the player can then purchase a truck. However, usually only one truck is available that is within the player’s budget, and the other trucks are only accessible once the player hits a certain level, this level is attained by finishing jobs and gaining experience, this experience can be decreased if the cargo is damaged, yep, pretty realistic so far…

 

yep i am pretty much a pro at this (jk)

The one other category of getting jobs is called the Freight Market, which can be done by the player once he/she owns a truck of their own. The pay is much better in this one, the experience gain as well. As the player completes more and more jobs day in day out, praying to not get speeding tickets, wrong road driving fines, and from “not switching on the headlights” … he/she can finally… loan money from the bank to start their own company.

Yes, the player is able to start a company of their own consisting of various truck drivers. The player is capable of starting an entire empire of truck drivers, but to do this, the player must invest a lot of money into it, which can be loaned but then ultimately have to be returned to the bank. This loaned money is used to upgrade the truck company with more truck garages and of course, the trucks themselves. Drivers also must be employed and soon you realize the loaned money is all gone, repaid only through hard work and dedication to driving along huge stretches of asphalt across the European/UK road networks, with cargo undamaged, of course.

 

just a taste of what TWO PERCENT of damage costs

Customization also exists in this game, in the form of either truck engine improvements in its horsepower and tires, or cosmetics such as headlights, spoilers, mirrors, all of which cost money (what doesn’t) which is unlocked at a certain level, after which it can be unlocked and purchased. Gotta make that truck look swaggy yo.

 

their eyes... would be red with fury (YEAHHHH!!!!)

All in all, the game plays real solid and is only flawed by its lack of replayability, as the player always has the same goal of delivering certain kinds of cargo, however this is remedied by the fact that this is a simulation game, which involves attempting to replicate real-life scenarios into a game and allowing it to play out smoothly, and this is what the game is strong (also weak) in, as it replicates the job of a truck driver well, but is flawed by this good replication which makes it not replayable after a while, as it may get boring driving from point A to point B.

However, the game is surprisingly very soothing to play with music; the game even has a built-in radio able to sync with the European radio stations presently, and driving a truck with music is definitely something relaxing and worth playing just for that experience.

A TL:DR Summary of the Game/Final Thoughts

Gameplay: 9/10. Combining the gameplay with music is one of the most soothing things to do on the computer, not even kidding.

Graphics: 9/10. Graphics are extremely decent and it definitely helps to give a feel that this is a simulator game, and not some arcade game involving driving.

Sound: 7/10. It is not that the sound is not present or particularly bad, it’s just that normally on the road, you never really hear anything else besides “vroom vroom” and the rare “BAM”. Main menu sound is pretty good though. The sound you should be hearing is your music anyway!

Replayability: 5/10. After several jobs and driving a huge distance, the game does get slightly boring as it only has the sole goal of driving cargo from point A to point B across a large simulated distance.

Depth: 9/10. With a variety of truck brands to choose from, and after that, a variety of truck models to choose from, all coming with customisable options (after leveling up of course), paintjobs, the ability to choose what cargo to carry, coupling in the “build-a-truck-empire” mechanic and yup this game has a very decent amount of depth, and allows the player to do a variety of things within the game.

Overall: 8/10. A game flawed by its slightly low replayability value, but is otherwise an extremely great game to pick up and the experience of playing the game with music is definitely something everyone should try. Don’t let the title fool you, this game definitely has the means… to keep you trucking.

dat scenery

For subsequent reviews that come weekly, that might have to be put on hold until the end of school term, which is about 2-3 weeks from now. So, until the next review, happy reading and big love to all my readers!

 P.S. The game is 24.99USD but when it is on offer it usually goes for 6.49USD and when it gets even lower its 3.74USD. GOOD THINGS COME TO THOSE WHO WAIT.