Hard Truck: Apocalypse Preview

Imagine driving across a ruined landscape. Humanity has nearly destroyed itself with nuclear weapons. Civilization has fallen, leaving chaos and violence as the two dominant factors in humanity’s future. This is the world of Hard Truck: Apocalypse. The setting is very reminiscent of titles like the Mad Max series. There is no law except for this - the man with the gun makes the laws. Boasting an interesting storyline, multiple avenues to advance your character, and a large world for players to explore Hard Truck: Apocalypse has something for everyone. Driving game fans and economic simulation fans will both enjoy this title. While the controls are a little sticky in the preview version of the game, the game itself is engaging.

When you begin the game your character has hit the bottom. As a bounty hunter you haven’t had a mission go your way in quite some time. A chance encounter has brought you an opportunity to redeem yourself. The character-driven plot helps propel the player through the post-apocalyptic world. The plot is not the only concern for players - each town and area has a faction associated with it. Players can find themselves alone in a very harsh land if they damage their reputations with the “neutral” groups scattered across the landscape. Since these factions can also offer work to players it is a good idea to keep them happy. Towns are also the only places where players can repair their trucks and restock on fuel. If you ruin your reputation in an area it can make things decidedly unpleasant until you can reach a different faction’s domain.

The graphics in Hard Truck: Apocalypse have their good moments and their bad. The large world is wonderfully rendered along with the individual pedestrians, buildings, and cars. The world has a distinctive feel that comes through beautifully. The downside is that at times the graphics will cause small slowdown periods, especially when a player gets hit with some of the more advanced energy weapons available throughout the game. When plasma hits your truck be prepared for some distortion. The screen brightens up considerably and everything becomes fuzzy. It is a nice effect but it can be hard on the eyes and make navigation difficult until the effect passes.

Apocalypse has a very nice sound system as well. The character dialogue scattered throughout the game is high quality. The background music helps get a player into the mood of the setting and the occasional jumps into the fight-scene music will have your blood pumping. Weapons effects and explosions are also well done, although the explosions are a little louder than the other sound effects. Watch your fire, though, as some objects don’t handle bullets too well. Being next to a large stack of the infamous exploding barrels can do significant damage to your car - and your ears - when they explode. This can also be a benefit, as enemies caught too close can be damaged or destroyed by the blast.

In between fights players can explore the world around them. There are towns and villages scattered across the map for players to discover. Each town has a few objects that they are willing to sell and several objects that they need. Players can make a lot of money by running goods back and forth between the towns. It's not the most exciting way to make a profit, but it can earn players enough money to fully equip their vehicles without the risks of combat. The economic system grows and changes as the player interacts with it. If you find an area that badly needs scrap metal, for example, they might be willing to pay many times its standard value on the open market. Each time you sell the settlement scrap metal their purchase price will drop. Eventually this effect will take all the profit out of trading, a nice touch that encourages players to move along in the game.

The world of Hard Truck: Apocalypse is shown in fine detail and has an entertaining soundtrack. Listening to your character shout battle-cries when enemies appear is an amusing twist. The economic bent of the game, selling goods in various places for a large profit, can be redundant and boring at times. Fortunately every time things seem to be dragging along random bandits will attack, helping break up the monotony. The controls are a little stiff and sluggish, which creates some problems of its own. Combat can be fast and furious or long and drawn out depending on your play style. With the ability to customize their vehicles in many ways players can create heavily armored tanks with powerful weapons or lightning-quick cars loaded down with machine guns. The variety helps keep the game engaging for players, but the smaller problems can become irritating over time. If the developers are able to smooth away the small imperfections, Hard Truck: Apocalypse will be an outstanding title.