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- Publisher: SCS Software
- Platform: PC (Steam)
- Release Date: February 2nd, 2016
- Price: $19.99
- Where to buy: Steam page
- Official Website
American Truck Simulator (ATS) is the sequel to the award winning and critically acclaimed Euro Truck Simulator 2 by SCS Software. This time the hauling is taking place in North America, starting with California and Nevada, but expanding over time (via expansions and DLC) into the rest of the country including Canada and even all the way up to Alaska. ATS puts you squarely in the driver’s seat of a big rig, taking jobs to haul cargo into dozens of cities and over thousands of miles of roads. Along the way you earn money which you can use to upgrade your truck, buy new trucks, purchase garages for your trucks, and even hire drivers to operate your trucks for you, creating a trucking empire for yourself.
ATS strikes an unusual balance between hard and light sim. Light enough in it’s mechanics that casual gamers can enjoy the gameplay, yet enough of a serious sim game to keep even the hardcore sim fans entertained. The developer’s catch phrase “it’s not driving, it’s trucking” serves to make clear the distinction that unlike racing games, this is more of a driving simulator, in that it’s gameplay is distinctly not face paced nor adrenaline pushing yet engaging and challenging enough to hold a player’s attention. Many fans have labeled the game as relaxing and soothing, a refreshing lack of urgency, but still fun enough to entice them to rack up dozens or hundreds of hours of game time.
Adding to the game’s allure are the gorgeous graphics, and this is one area where ATS really shines. There is a lot of detail in the world maps and plenty to see, indeed some people play the game simply to go out for scenic drives and sightseeing. The map in ATS boasts more detail than in Euro Truck making it’s world feel more alive and lived in. Cities bear striking (sometimes even photographic) resemblance to their real world counterparts, although they are scaled down in street density and size. While driving you can witness beautiful sunrises and sunsets, experience mild rain or terrible thunderstorms, the visual atmosphere is excellent.
So sit yourself in the seat of a truck, take on a job, haul some cargo, listen to some tunes, and enjoy the open road like a real virtual truck driver!
- Drive highly detailed truck models officially licensed from truck manufacturers like Kenworth and Peterbuilt, with more to come soon.
- Customize trucks by upgrading engines, chassis, wheels, paint, and other accessories.
- Many types of trailers from reefers to flatbeds, from dumpers to lowboys and goosenecks, with a wide variety of cargo to haul.
- Deliver cargo to a variety of companies and locations like refineries, oil storage, gas stations, car factories, or construction sites.
- Longer trailers than ETS2, up to 53 ft, which will challenge your skills and patience while hauling and parking.
- Police cars can now fine you if caught speeding or breaking the laws.
- The inside of the cabin is fully adjustable. Adjust your seat, mirrors and position your head to get the best view of the road.
- Weigh stations are now implemented, obey the law or pay a fine.
- Earn experience and level up your skills to open up higher paying jobs.
- Earn money to upgrade your truck, buy new trucks, buy garages, hire drivers, and build a trucking empire.
- The GPS now also supports custom routes with many waypoints.
- Add ambience to your trucking by listening to your own music or online radio stations via the game interface.
- Capture Kodak moments with the built in photo mode and editing options.
- Full support for various steering wheels, head tracking, gamepads and other input devices.
- Includes challenging Steam achievements and hand painted Steam trading cards.
- Long term support for the game, including both many free updates plus various DLC adding more states.
Video Links
- Official Launch Trailer
- American Truck Simulator Gamescom 2015 Trailer
- Squirrel's ATS Trucking Diaries
Reviews
- VideoGamerTV's excellent review: "It's just...it looks like such a bag of fucking wank, but it's so wonderful!"
- Destructoid Review
- PC Gamer Review
- Rock Paper Shotgun's Feature Article
- Rock Paper Shotgun's Review
- Gamepressure Review
- Lazy Games Review
Screenshots
Mods are starting to appear for ATS already. This will be a continuously updated section, and some mods may be early or in development yet, so use at your own risk!
