Release Date: 16/01/2013
Played On: Win
Available On: Lin / Mac / Win
Time Played: 198h
Progress: About 70% of company headquarters owned (still driving)
Developer: SCS Software
Publisher: SCS Software
Much like the Farming Simulator series, Euro Truck Simulator 2 has to deal with being a decent simulator game amongst a gallery of jank. Thankfully though, there's enough simulation here to make it interesting, while cutting back on some of the more tedious aspects of driving a truck around Europe.
Don't be fooled though, the entirety of Euro Truck Simulator 2 is made up of driving from place to place, with various cargo that makes life difficult or a breeze. It's no secret that this is one of the most highly regarded simulators and has a huge player base, so they must be doing something right… right?
I guess the main focus in a truck driving game has to be how it feels to drive the trucks available. This is probably most of the reason why everyone loves this series, because the "game feel" of driving trucks around Europe is excellent.
There are a range of real-world truck manufacturers in-game that have a range of real-world trucks for sale. It's nice that they've kept it authentic and managed to secure licenses from big brands like Mercedes and MAN, but once you have enough money you'll probably just end up driving the best Volvo, which out performs the rest.
Each truck you buy can be customised to feature different engines and under-the-hood improvements, but they quickly become irrelevant when you have enough money to upgrade every new truck to the best specs. However, the real fun is found customising all the external aesthetic elements like bull-bars, flood lights, and paint jobs.
Whatever your choices, the trucks feel good to drive as you cruise the streets. Braking is suitably slow when you're pulling a heavy load, or super sticky when you have no momentum. Plus, the cabin rocks and moves against the engine, which really helps immersion as you pull up quickly to an intersection and are rocked back and forth against the brakes.
By far the best part of Euro Truck Simulator 2 is how it manages to convey the weighty feeling of driving the trucks. It sounds like an obvious statement to make, but even some racing games fail to make their vehicles feel good to drive, so it's as welcomed as it is important here.
Additionally, the trailers you pick up with different cargo really change the way you can drive and add extra weight or length to your vehicle. It's hard getting around a small roundabout in traffic when you're pulling a flatbed with heavy forklifts on top. Every now and then you're presented with a scenario that actually requires some thought and skill to manoeuvre through without messing everything up.
However, if you're like me and end up running off the road because you're not paying attention, you'll just damage your truck and cargo. It doesn't mean a lot in the grand scheme of the game, but you'll have to pay for repairs, and will probably lose some of the payment you were due for delivering the cargo busted.
If anything brings the game down, it's that it takes some personal role-playing to really make it difficult. For instance, you get speeding fines for driving above the limit, or you get a fine for driving through red lights, but neither are expensive enough to make any difference. Especially when you have your company up and running well, these little fines become redundant and worthless as an incentive to do anything.
As with Farming Simulator, this game is only difficult at the start; as you buy your first crappy truck and run small jobs to build up a bank account. Before too long though, you've hired other drivers and bought them rad trucks to drive, and they're out there earning money for you every day. Pretty soon it's easy to sit back and watch your bank account fill up without any input.
For someone like me, it's a good thing that I can just mess around in some trucks without worrying about an economy. This is the kind of game that's best played when listening to a podcast, as you push through miles of open road enjoying the scenery.
Thanks to all the driving though, you do need to pay attention to what's happening on screen, unlike Farming Simulator that can be ignored as long as you like. The main difference between the two is that I wouldn't watch a TV show or movie I haven't seen before if I'm playing Euro Truck Simulator 2, as it's much better suited to something that you don't need to look at. At the same time though, it's worth remembering that you might need something to listen to while you're out there trucking… it's trying to be a simulator after all.
Thankfully the game doesn't feature an entire reproduction of Europe, as that would be a nightmare to navigate and take far too long to get around. Instead they've constructed a shrunken version of the major cities and highways that weave across the map. Sure it's weird to drive into Paris and find it's only a few blocks in size, but it's an acceptable compromise between having realistic locations with enjoyable gameplay.
That's not to say that I wouldn't be down for a truck simulator set in a realistic sized world map. Imagine driving into actual cities and navigating their actual layouts… then again, this is a video game and if I really want to experience a foreign city, perhaps I'll go there.
Anyway, the last thing that I want to highlight, as I believe it's one of the game's greatest strengths; is the huge catalogue of mods available. There are countless cosmetic mods to download that let you customise your truck cabin and add crazy anime paint jobs to that beautiful cabin you're practically living in. More importantly though, there are a bunch of mods that add different cargo and job types for you to enjoy, which is the real meat and potatoes of the game.
Each job has different specifications and requires different requirements to be met in order to get the best payout. Some trailers need some creative driving just to park them on a lot properly, but it all adds to the fun of trucking. I was decent enough at reversing trailers when I started playing Euro Truck Simulator 2, but now I'm a god and nail it in a couple of moves each time.
Let's face it, there's an awesome bit of satisfaction to be found effectively reversing a trailer.
So this is the second (and possible the last) simulator I've played that actually does a good job of balancing enjoyable gameplay with real world challenges. Of course there are limitations like driving around tiny cities, but ultimately if you want to put on some music and drive across a continent, this is a pretty good way to sit back and make it happen.