Little Mutha Truckers...
User Rating: 7.4 | Big Mutha Truckers DS
Origianlly released in 2003 for then-current generation consoles, BMT was a game made to capitolize off of the big rig craze, which also included the games 18 Wheeler: American Pro Trucker and...well, maybe just those two games. Injecting some semblance of humor in the world of long hauling, the game was a servicable time passer, which in theory would translate well to the portable arena. Does it succeed? Read on, fair gamer. Read on. While BMT '03 had the backing of THQ and decent production values, the DS version does have a budgety quality about it that you'll notice from the start. THQ's name is nowhere to be found, the in-game rendered NPC's and locations have been turned into low-res stills, and pretty much all of the spoken dialog and radio chatter is gone. All of this would have been a major detriment if the core gameplay wasn't left intact. The story of BMT places you in the shoes of one of four truckers, supposedly siblings, although one of them looks like Samuel L. Jackson, which is, in a bit of irony, the family name, while the others do not. Apparently, Mama runs a trucking company and she's looking to throw in the towl and pass the torch to one of the Jackson children. You have 60 days to make the most money and prove your ability to take over. I was never really a big fan of BMT on the Xbox, which I still own. While fun in short bursts, it never held my attention for long. I have the same problem with this version, but it's more acceptable here, seeing as how that's the nature of handheld gaming. This is NOT a Super Mario 64 DS or Pokemon Diamond. In fact, I found myself restarting and saving over my previous game many times, just because it didn't matter at first. Once you get into it, however, you'll find yourself engorssed in getting the most profit while spending the least amount of money possible. The gameplay is pretty much the same as before. Drive from Point A to Point B, drop your load (not like that!), rinse and repeat. Along the way, you'll have to watch out for traffic, the police, and bikers, but all of them can be avoided with careful driving. As a matter of fact, you'll have to drive carelessly on purpose to invoke the ire of any fellow commuters. You'll also have to watch out for damage and reful occasionally, all of which costs money. There are a few side activities, such as gambling and bonus missons, but I don't bother with them seeing as how they're too risky and could cost precious money. The game also uses the touchscreen, but only for things like menu progression. It would have been nice to have some stylus-specific controls, but I guess they were trying to preserve the feel of the original. The best aspect of the game by far is the graphics engine. The game maintains the same basic look of the original, albiet a lower quality. This is ne of the games to show off the 3D capabilities of the DS. A side-by-side comparison of screens from this version and the GBA version will tell you right away that 3D is at home on the DS, and a parlor trick on the GBA. This version is Ridge Racer 64 and the other is Pole Position, to put it in perspective. There is plenty of traffic on the road, unlike most portable driving games of note. The world is pretty big. You can see buildings in the distance and then proceed to drive to them. It wouldn't hurt to take a leisurly drive just to get to know the area. The game has some sort of multiplayer, but I haven't used it, since it requires another cart and I doubt there are too many fellow owners out there. As I said, the sound is lackluster. There are a few vocal snippets here and there, but nothing special. The radio is missing the chatter of the original that made it so funny, and the songs are of MIDI quality. Is a few lines of dialog too much to ask? All in all, a good game for fans of the original, and not a bad purchase for anyone else. If you can find it on the clearance rack as I did, it wouldn't hurt to pick it up.
