Software:18 Wheeler: American Pro Trucker

Short description: 1999 video game

18 Wheeler: American Pro Trucker
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Developer(s)	Sega AM2
Publisher(s)	Sega
Director(s)	Keiichi Matsunami
Producer(s)	Yu Suzuki
Composer(s)	Keisuke Tsukahara Tomoya Koga
Platform(s)	Arcade, Dreamcast, PlayStation 2, GameCube
Release	December 1999 Arcade JP: December 1999 NA: November 9, 2000 Dreamcast JP: October 12, 2000 NA: May 22, 2001 EU: June 1, 2001 PlayStation 2 NA: November 13, 2001 EU: November 23, 2001 JP: December 5, 2002 GameCube NA: February 20, 2002 EU: May 31, 2002 JP: September 12, 2002
Genre(s)	Vehicle simulation, action
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer
Arcade system	Sega NAOMI

18 Wheeler: American Pro Trucker, known in Japan as 18 Wheeler (エイティーン･ホイーラー, Eitīn Hoīrā), is an arcade game developed by Sega AM2 and distributed by Sega. The game was released in arcades in 1999 and ported to the Dreamcast in 2000. It was released for the PlayStation 2 in 2001 and GameCube in 2002 by Acclaim Entertainment. Sega followed up on the success of 18 Wheeler with a sequel, The King of Route 66, which was released in the arcades in 2002 and ported to the PlayStation 2. This was one of the final arcade games to be ported to the Dreamcast after its discontinuation, before Sega became a third-party developer.

Gameplay

Players start the game going from New York City, New York to Key West, Florida (shown here), driving a tank truck.

The main purpose of the game is to make it to the finish line with the truck's cargo. Players are given a set amount of time, but can ram into special vans that will add three seconds to the timer. There are several characters to choose from, each with a unique truck and attributes.

The game starts out in New York City, New York and players travel across the United States of America, ending in San Francisco, California. After Stage 1, the game gives the player a choice of trailer. One trailer is harder to haul, but provides a bigger payoff while the other choice is easier to haul but provides a smaller payoff. Money is deducted from the total when the trailer is hit. Players can sound the truck's horn to make other cars on the road yield and slipstream behind large vehicles to gain a momentary speed boost.

In addition to the time limit, players also compete with a rival trucker named Lizard Tail. Crossing the finish line before Lizard Tail yields additional money. In between levels, players can park the truck in a minigame to earn more cash and upgrades for their truck, such as an improved horn.

Ports

The first port of the game was released on the Dreamcast. Released by Sega, it is faithful to its arcade counterpart, but the voice actors for the characters were changed and it lacks the arcade's cross-country map loading screens. One of the selectable truckers in the arcade version, Nippon Maru, was now made available as an unlockable character. A split-screen multiplayer mode was added, allowing two players to race against each other. The game was released by Acclaim Entertainment (who also released Sega's Ferrari F355 Challenge on the Dreamcast) on the PlayStation 2 and GameCube after Sega stopped making consoles and became a software based company.

Reception

Reception

Review scores Publication Score Dreamcast GC PS2 Edge 6/10 N/A N/A EGM 6.33/10 5.5/10 N/A Famitsu 29/40 N/A N/A Game Informer 8.5/10 6/10 7.25/10 GameRevolution C N/A N/A GameSpot 6.5/10 4.6/10 6.3/10 GameSpy 6.5/10 68% N/A GameZone N/A 4.5/10 6/10 IGN 7.8/10 5/10 5.5/10 Next Generation N/A N/A Nintendo Power N/A 2.8/5 N/A Nintendo World Report N/A 4/10 N/A OPM (US) N/A N/A BBC Sport N/A N/A 72% Maxim 6/10 N/A N/A Aggregate score Metacritic 67/100 52/100 61/100

The home versions of the game received "mixed or average reviews" according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. Jake The Snake of GamePro's July 2001 issue said of the Dreamcast version, "Your rig handles well, taking into account the weight of your load, and the driving action is great, with lots of mayhem as you run through cars and buildings. But while four levels were plenty for the quarter-munching arcade version of the game, they go by pretty fast at home; the four Score Attack courses and variable difficulty modes don't add much replay. So it'd be a good idea to rent this gem first to see if you'll still want to play after beating it." Ten issues later, however, Pong Sifu said of the GameCube version, "Is 18 Wheeler worth renting or playing at a friend's house? Sure. Does it warrant a $50 price tag? No way." Rob Smolka of NextGen said that the former console version was "definitely worth a weekend rental, but its lack of online play and limited number of stages in the arcade game flatten its tires." In Japan, Famitsu gave the same console version 29 out of 40.

Also in Japan, Game Machine listed the arcade version as the second most successful dedicated arcade game of March 2000. Jon Thompson of AllGame gave the same arcade version three stars out of five and wrote that it "does have a fairly thorough scoring system that some will take to, but it lacks the gameplay that great arcade titles such as Crazy Taxi possess. That isn't to say it's a bad game: it's beautiful to behold and [it] will give you short term thrills, but it isn't one that you'll find yourself coming back to again and again after you've thrown down a couple of dollars playing it. In the end, it's a fun but short ride." He later gave the Dreamcast version two stars out of five, saying, "The game's graphics are crisp, although not as impressive as the arcade version. The music is fun, and the voices that come over the 'CB radio' are fairly entertaining. Still, the decent aural and visual package have little to do with the gameplay, and become dressing on a title with limited entertainment value. It is hard to even recommend this title for a rental -- those who wish to try it out are advised to find it at a local arcade instead." Scott Alan Marriott gave the GameCube version a similar score of two stars out of five, saying, "Without at least ten more routes in the main game, additional modes of play, bonus vehicles, or incentive to attain high scores other than for posterity, 18 Wheeler cannot be recommended for a purchase. The simple, straightforward nature of gameplay is over far too quickly and the appealing aspect of smashing into buildings and cars is largely neglected. In the end, this payload is too basic to keep players occupied for the long haul."

See also

• Big Mutha Truckers
• 18 Wheels of Steel
• American Truck Simulator
• Crazy Taxi (video game)

References

• "System 16: Naomi hardware". http://www.system16.com/hardware.php?id=721. 

External links

• Official website (archived)
• 18 Wheeler: American Pro Trucker at the Killer List of Videogames
• MobyGames is a commercial database website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes over 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms. Founded in 1999, ownership of the site has changed hands several times. It has been owned by Atari SA since 2022.

Features

Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers". This approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months. The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing. A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.

Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

History

Logo used until March 2014

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school. Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information. In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount. This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign. A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art). Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel, and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million. The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager. Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface. This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue. Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.

On February 13, 2025, Freyholtz stepped down as the site lead to move onto new projects, leaving operations to Tracy Poff, a veteran coder on the site, and Atari staff.

See also

• IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions