Developer
Eutechnyx

Released: June 23, 2003
Genre: Racing / Economic Sim
Players: 1
ESRB: Teen

5
7
7
5
6.0

Supported Features:

Screw your family, your truck, other road users, and buy, sell or swindle your way to a fortune!"

With a description like that you know you are in for some tongue in cheek redneck fun. Big Mutha Truckers (BMT) offers up a unique game that combines the great American profession of truck driving with the thrill of balancing your checkbook. Where else in the gaming world can you go from hauling beer to deciding what cargo will bring you the most money? Nowhere.

The basic premise of BMT is very simple. Choose one of Ma’s young’uns and try to earn Ma’s respect and more money than your siblings so that the retiring Ma will give her business to you. Along the way you will have to deal with many different types of characters and angry people trying to stop you from achieving your goal.

Anyways, after choosing what child you will play as, it doesn’t seem to matter which you choose, you are then given some game options. The options for gameplay are Trial By Truckin’ and Mission Mode. I’ll get to Mission Mode later but first let’s dive into the main part of the game.

Trail By Trucking is the basic story mode of BMT. Here you will compete against your siblings for the honor and fame of owning BMT. The game has a very basic concept with a humorous redneck twist to it. Ma is nice enough to give you your first load to haul, which will get you started. The basic object of the game is to haul loads to various locations and sell them to make as much money as you can. The one flaw with the game is that there is no real incentive to get your load there as quickly as you can because each time you haul a load it takes one day off of the calendar no matter how fast you get it there. However there are other truckers in the game that will bet you some big money that they can drive faster than you and it is a good way for you to make some extra bucks. Or lose money if you can’t drive.

Once you get to your destination you must try to quickly pull your rig into the loading dock so the lazy dockworkers don’t have to carry stuff very far. If you don’t do it fast you don’t get the bonus. After the truck is parked the real challenge begins. At each site you are offered some choices like entering the bar, the garage and the store. At the bar you can get some info from the bartender about which loads are fetching the best prices. It always pays to see the bartender before deciding what load you to haul next. The store is where you buy and sell your goods. You can determine how much and what type of stuff you want to buy and sell. There are numerous items available from medical supplies to beer. Just remember that you will need a trailer capable of handling your cargo. You can get the correct trailer and other things at the garage. At the garage you can upgrade your truck, fill up with gas and repair any damage you did on the last trip. Gas and repairs cost money so drive smart to save yourself some of the green.

The business side of the game takes up some time away from the road where the really fun part of this game happens. On the road you can have some obstacles to overcome but nothing that is exceptionally challenging. You will have to deal with other motorists, biker gangs and the smokies. These things are more of a nuisance than a challenge. The bikers climb on the rig and you need to shake them off. This costs you some time, as you need to swerve erratically in order to shake the potential hijacker off of the trailer. The cops slow you down, as you must smash their cars in order to keep them from arresting you. The other motorists in the game pose no problems, as most of the small cars and vans are no match for a speeding semi.

The controls of the rig are very simple. You use the X button to accelerate, the Square button to brake and the Circle button to back up. The R1 button is also used to kick up the gears on the rig. The rig is a little difficult to drive however. There is a big problem keeping control of the big rig, as the trailer likes to slide out a lot. I guess this is to be expected when you are barreling down the highway at breakneck speeds. This minor issue aside, the game is relatively easy to pick up and offers some big rig fun for the kids or the kid in you.

The characters in the game are well drawn and exhibit the features you would expect of road weary, truck driving hillbillies. The characters that show up in the game are varied and diverse. From the gay sailor to the shady mechanic, all of the characters add to the overall experience of the game.

The scenery and settings are average and really don’t add much to the title. The roads between the towns are severely lacking in ambience. There is a lot of room to add buildings and other roadside attractions even though the game is supposed to take place in a rural county.

The driving sounds are really decent albeit a little below standard. They are not incredibly deep and authentic but like I have said repeatedly, what do you expect for twenty bucks.

In defense of BMT though, the game is fun. The redneck humor and the fact that there aren’t many truck driving titles out there make this a deal and a purchase that delivers great value for the money. If this title were not budget priced you would be disappointed.