Big Mutha Truckers is a Racing Game developed by Eutechnyx and published by Empire Interactive (in Europe) and THQ (in North America) in 2002 and 2003. It was released on the PC, PlayStation 2, Xbox, and Nintendo GameCube, with handheld ports coming out on the Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS in 2005.
The game takes place in Hick County, which has several cities including Greenback, Smokestack Heights, Capital City, Salt Sea City, and Skeeter's Creek. Ma Jackson, owner of the family business Big Mutha Truckers, Inc., is retiring from the business. But to determine her successor, she is issuing a challenge to her four children - Cletus, Earl, Rawkus, and Bobbie-Sue - to compete and earn the most money with in 60 days. Whoever makes the most in the time period will take over the business.
Players play as one of the four children as they drive around from city to city to earn cash after making deliveries of certain items. How much money a player can earn on a trip relies on supply-and-demand. Where one city might sell one item cheaply, another city would see it at a more expensive price. Players can buy the item cheaply in the former city and sell it off in the latter city to make a nice profit. In addition, players can also earn extra money by competing in races and taking part in parking challenges. And while on trips, players might have to avoid biker gangs and cops who might try to stop them. Between trips, players can visit the garage to upgrade, refuel and repair their trucks, the store where they buy and sell their goods, and the bar where they can get tips on which city has higher demand of certain items. And if at Ma's House, Ma herself replaces the bar and she can tell how well her children are doing, saying how much they all earned in comparison.
The game would receive a sequel, Big Mutha Truckers 2: Truck Me Harder, which was released on the PS2, Xbox and PC in 2005. In it, Ma Jackson goes to prison for tax evasion. Her children make trips to earn money so they can buy a lawyer to get her off the hook.
Big Mutha Tropes:
- All Bikers are Hells Angels: From time to time, players might find themselves being attacked by bikers who will jump on the truck and try and steal the trailer by detaching it from the truck. But players can easily shake them off the trailer and lose the bikers.
- Ambiguously Brown: One of Ma's sons, Rawkus Jackson, has more darker skin than the more whiter Cletus, Earl, and Bobbie-Sue. With dreadlocks, he could very well be African-American. It's unknown if he's of mixed race or if he's adopted.
- Awesome Moment of Crowning: Whoever ends up earning the most money at the end of the 60-day deadline will get a cut-scene of one of the children in the executive office doing a Chair Reveal showing that they're now in charge of Big Mutha Truckers, Inc. with money raining down to drive the point home.
- Bestiality Is Depraved: Implied with Cletus, who is said he likes to spend special time in the fruit cellar with his friend, Stuart the Pig.
- Deep South: For an area called Hick County, this is surprisingly zig-zagged. Ma Jackson and her children all have the appearances of the stereo-typical hillbillies. As for locations, it has Ma's House, which while a big house, has the look of the backwoods redneck area. The city Skeeter's Creek has the rundown and broken-down areas that you would associate with the stereotypical Deep South. On the other hand, Hick County also has some areas that are actually quite high-brow, such as Capital City, with the store there being of an art museum ran by a Frenchman. And of course there's the Las Vegas-like city, Greenback.
- Family Business: Big Mutha Truckers, Inc., owned by the retiring Ma Jackson. She's challenging her children to earn the most money to determine who will succeed her.
- Fat Slob: Earl Jackson, with his fat, greasy-looking appearance. He's even said to like fried pork products and beer.
- Flowers of Femininity: Bobbie-Sue is the feminine girl of Ma Jackson's children and her truck has flowers painted on the exterior.
- Hard Truckin': The focus of the game is to drive the trucks and make deliveries from city to city to earn cash so the player can take over the family business.
- Industrial World: The city Smokestack Heights. Fitting to its name, it consists of numerous factories and smokestacks.
- Intentionally Awkward Title: A title that makes a pun on a certain f-word. The sequel, being named Truck Me Harder, is a mix of this and a Sexual Euphemism.
- Karma Meter: Players can handle how they take trips in different ways. The Notoriety Bar will tell them their alignment. On one side, they can just drive without causing destruction and even take part in mini-quests where they help out other people. But in exchange, they'll be the target of biker gangs from time to time who will try to detach the trailer from the truck. On the flip side, they can cause destruction and be labeled badasses. They can earn extra money from the destruction and scare the bikers into leaving the trucks alone. However, if the player goes this route, it will make them the targets for cops. Though no matter what path the players choose, the cops can be evaded with skillful driving and the bikers can be shaken off.
- Ms. Fanservice: The Jackson daughter, Bobbie-Sue, who's an Expy of Daisy Duke, with the open shirts to show off her cleavage and midriff, as well as the short shorts to go with it.
- People Fall Off Chairs: In Cletus's ending cut-scene, he sits back as he reveals in being put in charge of Big Mutha Truckers, Inc. right before his chair tips back, making him fall off.
- Rewarding Vandalism: Players can smash items and other vehicles to earn extra money, even more so if it's done in a combo. But the trade-off is it raises the Notoriety Meter and gains the attention of the police.
- Sharp-Dressed Man: Rawkus Jackson is much more fancily-dressed than his more stereo-typical looking siblings. He wears a black-and-white Western-style button-down shirt, slacks, a big white cowboy hat, and some Cool Shades to go along with his attire.
- Viva Las Vegas!: The city of Greenback. With its casinos, night-life clubs and bright neon lights, the city is clearly based on Las Vegas itself.
