Platform : PC
Reviewer : Strawbz
Ever wondered what happens to all that garbage you put out on the pavement every week? With the new Garbage Truck Simulator from Astragon and Excalibur Publishing you can now turn all those bags and bins into cold, hard cash as you carefully build up your own Garbage Truck Empire.
Start your business by buying a shiny new garbage truck with either a manual or automatic transmission in the colour of your choice. To make things easier you only have one depot to report to at first and your initial routes are short, with only a few pick ups. However, be sure to check your job instructions carefully before you set off so you don’t end up driving round and round the city looking for your bins.
There is no in-game tutorial to help ease you into this game, but there is a detailed manual available on the disc that you can print out for easy reference. Waiting for this game to start up is a true exercise in patience, there is plenty of time to go make a cup of coffee - and maybe even a three-course meal.
The driving simulation is pretty spot on, however beware the maniac drivers on the road who are forever driving into your truck every time you turn a corner, forcing you to constantly pay for repairs. Also, keep a sharp eye on traffic signs and rules of the road as fines can quickly eat into your profit margins.
In one job I had to drive my truck out to a not-so-nearby dumpsite, halfway there I found myself looking for a non-existing fast forward button. Some of the routes are long and repetitive with multiple pauses as the game loads the next area of the map.
There are plenty of games that don’t sound very exciting and then turn out to be surprisingly addictive and fun; unfortunately this is not one of those games. Somehow trying to play a very realistic game where your main aim is to pick up and deliver garbage all day gets repetitive and mind-numbingly boring very quickly.
When you are tired of the garbage pick ups you can drive your truck around the city on your own time in free-play mode but with the amount of stop signs and traffic lights you end up spending more time standing still than actually driving.
The only redeeming feature of this game is the business side of managing a fleet of trucks and balancing the work load - but even that is too little too late to save this game.
I would not spend my own money to buy this game but since it’s now part of my collection I might dust it off and give it another go, one day, when I’m really, really bored.
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