On Truck Simulators and Romanticism

It's interesting to me reading other people's experiences when playing Euro Truck Simulator 2 and now American Truck Simulator. The way they let their imagination enhance everything and how their preconceived notions color the way they look at a particular part of the world is fascinating. Whether it's North Americans in Europe or Europeans in America, there's something about their perception of the world around them that is adorable, and I find myself doing the same thing.

We all grow up somewhere and our surroundings are largely what we view as simply being "the way things are". The streets, neighborhoods, buildings, nature, it's all there and we go about our daily routines in this environment all the time without giving it much thought. There isn't any mystique surrounding hopping in the car and going to the park, commuting to work, or getting groceries. We've been down those streets so many times that it's just going through the motions for the most part.

However, while far away countries have streets, neighborhoods, buildings, and even nature, we don't see them every day, so we have to fill in the nuanced gaps with our own ideas of those places. The shops will be different, possibly in another language, they have makes and models of cars there that we don't, there may even be completely different laws governing how one drives. We're fuzzy on the details but the whole thing sounds so exciting!

This really started to hit home for me when I was driving around in American Truck Simulator. Having lived my whole life in this part of the world, I found myself having a different take on the experience compared to that of Europeans who were sharing their thoughts on the game. They seemed to be blissfully embarking on their own personal Jack Kerouac-inspired road trip across the US of A. Kudos to them for having that connection with the game, but my thoughts hovered around how brown the experience was and the legions of classic 50s cars on the road. Do the developers genuinely believe that there are so many mint condition mid-50s Mercuries cruising America's highways? After a while, every time I saw one of these things the only thought that crossed my mind was that this game needs more Camrys.

There is still a lot of fun to be had. The game is very good. However, I couldn't get this romanticized je ne sais quoi while hauling across California. It was neat driving into Los Angeles for the first time, and the scenery can be pretty when in more lush, green parts of the state, but at the end I wonder if I'm just too close to all of this. Having seen these roads and many more just like them all of my life there isn't this wistful, dream-like state of mind that sets in while soaking up the ambience.

Meanwhile, I couldn't drive two blocks in Euro Truck Simulator 2 without being swept away by something distinctly not North American. "Is that a roundabout?!?" *swoon* "Look, flags! We're crossing the border again!" "Wow, England sure has an awful lot of speed cameras!" "Right-side drive really is the best thing ever."

These are the sort of things that I think about when playing ETS2. Europeans would probably look at me strangely and ask, "Don't you guys have these things?" No, not really. Side streets around my place started having things that look vaguely like roundabouts a few years ago to stop people from speeding, but we have nothing of the size and majesty of European ones, never mind having any sort of hope to get a big rig around them.

The point is that these are things that I have a basic concept of floating around in my brain, but since I don't see them everyday they seem far off and different. Driving around virtual Europe in my virtual, right-side drive big rig is like going to Narnia for me, while hopping in a Peterbuilt and taking some cheese to Sacramento feels like just another day of doing chores. The romance is gone. With that, I don't just look at games like ETS2 and ATS as simply being simulations, but rather an escape into a world we have a basic understanding of while dolling them up with our own biases, making what would normally be mundane somehow strangely magical.

Noteworthy February 2016 Game Releases

With the shortest month of the year right around the corner, February doesn't seem to be lacking for interesting game releases, especially for PC. I remember a time when the first three or four months of the year were nothing but tumbleweeds rolling by as game web sites licked their wounds from having to review dozens of games in short succession in the run-up to Christmas. Memories...

Anyway, looking at the games due out next month there are quite a few that stick out for me. As much as I'd like to play them all, time and my wallet won't be having any of that. Nonetheless, let's take a moment to look at some of the stand out titles due out then, at least the ones I'm interested in and know I should probably avoid so to whittle down my backlog instead.

Tales of Symphonia

While I've not religiously followed the series, I do enjoy picking up Tales of games every now and then. They have nice, light stories that feel like something out of an anime series and tend to sport fairly interesting combat systems. Missing out on Symphonia was something that I'd always regretted, especially when the Wii game's price started going up on auction sites as folks realized it was a bit rare and in-demand. Now, with it getting ported to PC there's a chance at getting the thing at a reasonable price, assuming Bamco doesn't get greedy.

Arslan: The Warriors of Legend

An anime where big armies face off against one another? Sounds like the ingredients for a musou game. Tecmo Keoi certainly seem to think so. Musou's gonna musou, so I suspect fans of the genre will keep an eye on this one while the haters will keep on hating. It looks pretty nice visually, and the folks at Famitsu rated it reasonably well with all eights, so I guess it plays reasonably well. I'm not in a rush to pick up the game myself having recently binged on some Dynasty Warriors, but could see myself being tempted by it at a Steam sale.

XCOM 2

Part of me is genuinely a bit annoyed that this game broke with tradition and put a number after "XCOM". That's just not how these things are done. We've had Enforcer, Interceptor, Terror from the Deep, and a bunch of others. Those are interesting. Engaging. Sexy. "2"? Not so much. I'm sure this won't be enough to stop folks from grabbing this day one and embarking on another adventure to save earth from an alien threat, marveling at just how bad some of their units aim is. "The thing is right in front of you! Why do you keep missing?!?"

American Truck Simulator

Before Euro Truck Simulator 2, I had no idea that I could fall in love with big rigs and drive them like proper semis. Previously, the only time I'd play a game with such a vehicle in it was in GTA or Twisted Metal because the things were big, heavy, and could wreck carnage with ease. As it turns out, these mighty vehicles can also haul freight across vast distances and the whole process can be extremely relaxing. I even developed a new found respect for backing up trailers and roundabouts while playing that game. Soon, we'll be heading to the even vaster, though less roundabout-intensive, United States where the highways are numbered and roll on for miles. Will there be opportunities of raunchy rendezvous in remote rural restrooms as players embark on long, transcontinental hauls? Only time will tell, but even if there isn't maybe someone can patch it in with Steam Workshop or something.

Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc

This has been out for ages on the Vita, but it's heading to the PC in February, which has caught my attention. A visual novel that combines Battle Royale and Phoenix Wright, high school students try to get away with murder in order to escape the facility they've been trapped in by a sadistic robot bear. You don't see a premise like that every day.

Street Fighter V

After several years of dominating the fighting game scene, it's finally time to put Street Fighter IV out to pasture and bring in number five. It's Street Fighter, so most people have a pretty good idea of what to expect here and those in the know have been playing the beta for months now. I'm just happy to see a mountain man Ryu skin. There will also be a lot of other outfits, as that's the thing folks demand in a fighting game nowadays. So, if you want to see Chun Li, Laura, and the gang oozing out of their clothing, that'll be an option. Personally, I'm holding out for a Rufus outfit that does this.

Disgaea PC

Miss console strategy RPGs of the early 2000s? Like grinding out hundreds of levels on each of your characters? This may be a game to consider. Disgaea getting a PC port is quite the pleasant surprise, as it's something that I don't think anyone was expecting, but here we are. It's a solid game with a fun, lighthearted, and often rather humorous story. What I want to know is if we'll see more of these games if this one does well. There are tons of Disgaea games, as well as stuff like La Pucelle, Phantom Brave, and Makai Kingdom. I'm kind of hoping that this game succeeds and opens the flood gates for other titles in the genre.

Project X Zone 2

Sometimes when franchises crossover we can be in for a fun ride as popular characters team up. I was hoping this would be the case in the original Project X Zone, but found it got bogged down by trying to introduce too many characters. It got to the point where the first few hours of the game felt like the fight scenes from the Anchor Man movies with its cavalcade of cameos. By the sound of things, the sequel will be addressing this with a more fleshed out story which happens to focus a lot on Ryo from the Shenmue series. On top of this, the game will still have the interesting team-based combat system of the first PxZ, so it could be one to watch.

Fire Emblem: Fates

It's finally almost time for a new Fire Emblem game (February really is a great month for fans of strategy games and RPGs). Combat is shaping up to be what one would expect from the series with characters gaining an affinity for one another, permadeath, and all that good stuff. Interestingly, or expensively depending on how you look at it, the game is being split into separate editions. Each of these will focus on a different country in the game as war breaks out. There will be a lot to do in each version of the game, as they clock in at around 30 hours each, but it'll be interesting to see how sales do for the game with Nintendo trying this unconventional means of release out.