New and improved graphics; realistic sound A well-simulated game world lets you get a true feel for the open road from the cab of your personalized rig! 18 Wheels of Steel: Haulin' offers more than 35 beautifully detailed trucks, and there are many ways to upgrade and customize your own.
You can interact with other characters, even hiring other truck drivers to work for you! Open-ended gameplay puts you in the driver's seat Visit 40 American cities all across the country, delivering over 45 unique cargo types! A huge game environment gives you the ability to make your own decisions at all times.
Newcomers to the genre will learn the basics in five minutes, but trucking and simulation enthusiasts will also be pleased by the game's depth and complexity. Get the show on the road and download 18 Wheels of Steel: Haulin' now! 18 Wheels of Steel - Haulin Review Load Up the Trailer America is just overflowing with stuff that people all across it want. The only problem is that this stuff is seldom produced where it’s needed most. This is where you come in; in 18 Wheels of Steel: Haulin,’ you get behind the wheel with one enterprising trucker who’s getting ready to start his own business. It’s not going to be an easy ride, though, for you’ve got to deal with traffic, weather, cops, expenses and your own physical needs.
Not the Most Exciting Visuals Graphically, there’s not much to be said about Haulin.’ Vehicles look as they should, and each one that appears in game is based on a model you can find in real life. They don’t look nearly as real in game, of course, due to simple textures. One thing that’s a particular shame is the fact that the mirrors have no reflection. This is notable because it means you can’t see behind yourself using the rearview mirrors, which renders the first-person view unplayable. It isn’t a huge deal, but being able to play from the perspective of the driver would have made the experience much more immersive. The backgrounds are a mixed bag. On one hand, they’re incredibly varied and designed to be as accurate to the setting as possible.
You’ll drive through desert badlands while in Nevada, streets lined with palm trees in Florida, and so on. The same can be said for the cities; things like the Strip and Washington Monument are perfectly visible in Las Vegas and Washington D.C. There are also some fairly rudimentary weather effects and a day-to-night cycle that gradually changes over time to good effect. However, despite their variety, the backgrounds ultimately aren’t much to look at, being even more bland and lifeless than the trucks.
Ultimately, it’s hard to appreciate the scenery most of it is liable to blend together after extended playtime. Drive Down Highways from Coast to Coast!
Perhaps, though, the bland graphics can be justified. If there’s one thing that can be said about Haulin,’ it’s that the map is absolutely sprawling! It covers pretty much the entire continental United States, includes over 40 cities, and most impressive of all, is never once split up by any loading screens.
You can seamlessly drive from one end of the country to the other, which you might very well do should you take the right job. The roads are appropriately laid out in a realistic fashion and never once does the game force you down a specific path to your destination; you’re free to navigate your own way. Sadly, despite the United States being famed for its varied terrain, all the roads you’ll traverse will always be flat. You won’t be scaling much in the way of hills aside from the occasional ramp.
Mind the Rules of the Road This isn’t a race, it's a simulator. As such, you’re going to be expected to have some modicum of decency on the road. You need to obey traffic laws, avoid running through red lights, and stay on the correct side of the road.
In true trucker fashion, you’re also required to get your weight inspected at various checkpoints that litter the map. Failure to do any of this gets you a fine whenever you encounter a cop. This sounds good on paper, but in practice, it’s kind of weak. Just violating the law will get you a fine, whether or not an officer actually saw you. Worse, the game can be quite erratic in docking you for criminal activity.
Making a turn into a road with a red light active while your light is green, for example, can very well get you a ticket. This can be especially bad because you may not encounter a cop for some time after a violation, and thus won’t even know that you’ve broken the law until it’s too late. The game ends when you lose all of your money, so you may want to save carefully if you’re running low on funds, lest you accidentally ruin your game due to an alleged misdemeanor.
Taking Care of Your Truck The truck may be the undisputed king of the road, but even it needs to be looked after. Both collisions and basic wear and tear will damage it over time, and you also have to keep tabs on things like your fuel and water temperature. Service stations can refuel and repair your machine good as new, but if you really want to show your devotion to your truck, you also have the opportunity to customize it. There are a wide variety of upgrades available for purchase. You can install new engines, transmissions, brakes and tires, all of which have different effects on your vehicle. They can alter the truck’s speed, mileage, durability, torque, and other things to varying degrees.
If that’s not enough, you can also purchase any number of cosmetic accessories and alter the paint job to really make your truck look unique. The amount of customization to be found in Haulin’ is impressive, and it’s very unlikely two players’ trucks will look and perform the same way. Fun with the Radio Driving on the highway often seems like a long and monotonous process, both in real life and in Haulin.’ Fortunately, the game allows you to listen to music using the on-board radio.
Better yet, it doesn’t play any old in-game music, but a custom soundtrack of your own making. It adds a nice personal touch to the whole thing, and can help liven up the experience with a sound that you enjoy. In addition to music, your truck is also equipped with a handy CB radio. This allows you to communicate with your fellow truckers, ask them about weather and traffic conditions, or just chew the fat. It’s not a deep feature at all, but it is a fun one nonetheless, especially since the comments made and heard over it can be amusing at times. The Destination Unfortunately for Haulin,’ it should be noted that though it isn’t a bad game by any stretch of the imagination, it’s no longer quite the definitive edition of 18 Wheels of Steel. That would be American Long Haul as of 2012, which includes everything in this game on top the addition of Mexico.
Conclusion - A Great Choice For Truck Driving Fans Regardless, on its own merits, 18 Wheels of Steel: Haulin’ is a deep game that lets you take control of both the driving and business sides of trucking. If a truck-driving simulator isn’t your kind of thing, it won’t change your mind, but fans of the genre will find a lot to enjoy here, thanks to its branching roads, stretching map, and expansive amount of customization. Dave Galvin is a freelance writer and avid gamer. Somehow, he managed to find a way to combine the two passions.
Review by David Galvin. About Download Free Games Recommended by PC World Magazine , The Miami Herald Online (Sept. 25, 2004), and Downhome Magazine (2005 – Favorite Games Site), Download Free Games has provided its users quality downloadable games since 2002. Game players from around the world play tens of thousands of DFG’s free games every day. DFG is constantly expanding, striving to bring its audience the most entertaining game downloads found on the Internet. Download Free Games is a small business owned and operated by iWin Inc.
18 Wheels Of Steel Haulin Colombia
I must admit I expected more from this game. The graphics are nice, but not brilliant. The music is only on while on menus and disappears during the game.
However, what I didn't really like was the gameplay itself. The trucks are quite difficult to control (maybe due to the fact that I've never driven a truck in my whole life). I spent 10 minutes moving around the garage just to get my cargo trailer attached. Plus, campaign mode doesn't tell you what your missions or your aims are - or at least I wasn't able to find them in my notebook. In all, a somewhat disappointing title.
You may as well give it a try and let us know what you think about it. Become an American truck driver and take deliveries all across the United States. Author's review. North America’s open roads await! You ain't working for the Man any more! You're the owner of your own trucking business and you call the shots.
Build your empire one rig at a time to dominate the roadways and outbid the competition. Can you handle the pressure? Your American Dream starts behind the wheel of your own big rig. Bid May the best man win. Do you take what the company is bidding for a job or do you move on and lose valuable time?
Remember – Profit is King! Haul Start behind the wheel transporting 45+ types of cargo including livestock, chemicals, and mobile homes, cross country to bring in the big bucks. Handle These beasts don’t drive themselves! Back up to loading docks, manage your fuel, and maintain your trucks in peak condition. Dominate Move it better and faster than your competition. Build your reputation coast to coast as you long haul across 48 states, Canada and now Mexico!
Grow Build your business and add rigs to your fleet. Own up to 37 mammoth machines and trailers. By Anonymous This game is awesome with lots of replay value. This is one of the best driving games ever made. If I was runni. This game is awesome with lots of replay value.
This is one of the best driving games ever made. If I was running SCS I would considering putting 18 WOS(Wheels of Steel) online. Lots of old truck drivers would love it. This is just one of the first 18 WOS. I loved it when I played it before, and I am sure I will love playing it again. Keev65 Pros: The realistic driving.
Driving an 18 wheeler. Cons: Needs more Trucks and different loads reviewed on September 25, 2014.
By Anonymous A good trucking game. 18 Wheels of Steel is a good series, I have almost all of them. The thing about 10 minutes. A good trucking game. 18 Wheels of Steel is a good series, I have almost all of them. The thing about 10 minutes in the cargo bay isn't true, I done that in 10 sec. Pros: -Developed by SCS -Lots of truck available -Detailed gameplay Cons: -Only a few engine noises -The traffic system is bad(They stop for no reason and they brake when it's wellow, so player's cannot stop and either crash or speed the red) reviewed on January 31, 2011.
By Anonymous 18 Wheels of Steel - American Migraine! Okay, I've played several of the games in thi series and the only one t. 18 Wheels of Steel - American Migraine!
18 Wheels Of Steel Haulin
Okay, I've played several of the games in thi series and the only one that didn't glitch, hang or crash to the desktop was 18 WOS-AA (18 Wheels of Steel - Across America), Which was the most primitive of the bunch. SCS Software who produces this line of games, has made the Holy Grail of headache producers with the Prism3D game engine. My expirence with the game.
Eighteen Wheels Of Steel Haulin
Demo installed easily, game activated quickly after coughing up the price, graphics are excellent compared with the others in the family, and the maps and city layouts kept me on my toes during play. All in all a pleasant expirence. Then out of the blue, WHAMMO! Game hung up and wouldn't do crud. After having to reboot the machine to get it unstuck, I tried again. Game proceeded to play right up to the point of using the interface to change drivers, trucks, let my dude sleep, whatever then Whammo again!
Okay once was fun, twice was ticking me off. Looked on Valusoft's website and their idea of tech support is to have everything possible under the sun blamed on the user's inability to keep his/her computer updated correctly with the correct video drivers or not meet the system requirements in the first place. I got told via e-mail that my machine did not meet the specs required for the game even though I have an HP m7257c 3.0 GHZ Pentium 4 with 4.0 GB of RAM and a 512 Radeon HD 2600XT Video card) Okay, I'm ranting. So, the tech support is almost nonexistent for this game, if you can handle doing things on your own you're good, if not, steer clear.
When it works the game play is good, try the high end of the difficulty ladder and it is a challenge to get from point A to B and keep your books in the black. Pros: Reasonably good graphics Decent game play Cons: Prism3D Engine shuts down with amazing regularity Tech Support from Valusoft is CRAP! Excedrin Migraine costs as much as the game reviewed on May 8, 2008.
Articles about 18 Wheels of Steel.