I enjoy sarcastic humor and parodies, so I have enjoyed a lot of songs and games that push the limits of what others find offensive or not funny at all. I think being open minded and not taking things too seriously is a good thing. Then again that is my right and who is to really argue one’s taste? When THQ Released Big Mother Truckers, I found the game to be okay and to be fair some of the driving was fun and really different. I enjoyed the humor for the most part and while I would never recommend it as a game of the year, it entertained me enough to make me happy.

I was not surprised I found the game to have certain parts I enjoyed and the game’s only real problem was finding it’s balance. I think the developers could not decide on either making it more of an insane arcade type driving game or going for the potty and senseless puns and gags. Still the game was enjoyable to have a semi and run ramped across the country side was fun. The humor was, of course, in the way of parodies and stereotypes and playing up that angle.

I notice the ads for the sequel and the budget price and thought the game would offer more of the same fun I had in the first game. Sort of like when you see a movie that is a sleeper hit and then they make a sequel. Chances are it’s not going to really be as good. This is due to the people behind the first sleeper hit trying too hard to make it a hit. The result is often a flop not another hit. Read on to see if the sequel to game has the same fate.

Gameplay

The storyline is set-up to fit a sequel as you find Ma Jackson awaiting her trail and she calls her kin folk to help her pay off the jurors so she can go back to smuggling goods and life on the open road. Okay, it fits and while the graphics look pretty poor right away, it caught my interest. You have to play as one of the crazy Jackson family members and each one has certain skills, if you want to call them that. Each one is crazier than the next and, yes, they do poke fun and use every redneck joke and pun out there to get their point across.

I still could find humor even though it was not as funny as the fist game. The problem is when they made the sequel, rather than deciding to raise the bar on the over the top diving angle or the tasteless humor, they revamped the driving aspect and watered it down while at the same time pushed the humor to the point of being too overboard. In short, the best part of the game was ruined which was the wacky and insane driving missions.

For that hard earned $19.99, gamers are left with a game that will make you drive back and forth from one area to another in a story that is really lame. Every mission is pretty much the same and even though it may look or feature something new or presented with another angle, it’s all timing and knowing the roads or paths, beating it then repeat. The developers really could have pumped out a great arcade driving game, left in the gags and it would have played a lot better.

Instead, it’s pretty boring and even those who think Larry the Cable guy is a comic genius will get bored at the lame jokes and site gags. What irritated me the most was the fact they did not have to dumb down the driving aspect to keep the humor at the same level. This hurt the game in a big way. I don’t care about redneck humor since I call myself one and chances are if you call yourself one, you ‘is’ one. I will stop with the blue collar humor but I think I made my point.

The game just becomes one huge mistake and what could have been a riot and a good time almost is a chore just getting to the game’s ending. They did add a few things I enjoyed, but it was not enough after they changed the game’s mechanics that worked well in the first game. Sequels are hard enough to sell even when they improve on a game, maybe the developer thought the games appeal was the humor, but it just does not work and looks and plays poorly, and that is being kind.

Control / Playability

The learning curve is about 15 minutes for those who have never played the first game. You have the left trigger for the brakes and the right trigger for the gas. You can control the trailer and that is a bit harder even though it’s not as hard as the last game. Then the other controls are for the radio and the game’s story mode. The right analog stick steers the truck and the buttons control the nitro, air horn and casino games. You will need to talk with a wide verity of characters and for that you use the A button. As you can see the controls are very basic and respond well for what the game offers.

Graphics / Presentation

The game is not going to push the Xbox’s limits at all in fact even the cut-scenes are poor, there are a few exceptions but not many at all. The other problem with the game is its all about getting to each loading area in each town the fastest way. However, the graphics are pretty much the same for every place you visit. They added a few touches like snow on the ground or the lights may be different, but throughout the game you feel like nothing changes except for the names.

The only neat part graphically was the fact they used well-known people and their likenesses as the characters you meet. The one crime boss looks like Dean Martin and really shows the game could have looked better. They spent more time on the gags and adding the look to some characters. Maybe they ran out of money to make the rest of the game look good. It’s harsh but I am not kidding, because the roads all look alike for the most part and if you did not have the map, you would not know you were in another area of the game.

Audio

The voice-over work is exceptionally done and the talented artists really made the game bearable. Some of the best work I have heard in a game, yet the trouble is most will never hear it. They really sounded convincing and tried to make the game work from this angle. The music fits the games with great groups like Skynard and a selection of radio stations that will play country and western, southern rock and even a talk radio station.

Definitely more work was put into this area and that may be due to trying for the gags and not the driving aspect. The voice work alone impressed me and also further proved they could nave made the overall game better. The alien’s voices, Hobos and others really stood out, but it was not enough to save the game form being lame.

Replay Value

If you enjoyed the first game, you may find enough in this one to keep you mildly amused and interested but it will be hard. Once you beat the game, even though you could go back with another character and see and experience a few moments of new gameplay, I doubt most will. This is a classic example of a game that had something going for it but veered off in the wrong direction. Big Mutha Trucker 2 tried too hard for the punch line and left the fun factor in the developer’s headquarters. It may be worth a rental at best. It’s too bad they made this one a non stop gag reel and not the mix that worked for the first one.

Overall Score

Overall Score: 4.8/10 [not an average]

Additional Comments

I had a few laughs with Big Mutha Truckers 2, but even I had a hard time finishing. It shows that a game can go wrong when you try to change the best parts and this one had me shaking my head many times throughout the whole story. I expected the mayhem and the crazy action of driving the big rigs and instead got hours of poor humor and gags. Also, keep in mind that the game is very short. That maybe the kindest thing I can say next to the talented voice-over artists and their work to this one.

Related Links

Filed under: Reviews

Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!