18 Wheeler: American Pro Trucker is an arcade game developed by Sega AM2 and distributed by Sega. In it, you play one of several playable trucker characters as you attempt to deliver your load to its destination, all the while being harassed by rival trucker Lizard Tail. The game was released in arcades in 2000 and ported to the Sega Dreamcast in 2001. It was released for the PlayStation 2 in 2001 and Nintendo GameCube in 2002 by Acclaim.
A sequel, The King of Route 66, was released for arcades in 2002, with a PlayStation 2 port following in 2003
Tropes:
- Big Bad: Lizard Tail, your main rival in the game.
- Big Badass Rig: Pretty much what the game is all about. Special mention should go to Lizard Tail's truck, which happens to be decked out in flames.
- Bland-Name Product: The train in the intro sequence bears "Atracker" logos, a clear parody of "Amtrak".
- Drives Like Crazy: Lizard Tail. Also the player character if you make them.
- The Faceless: Lizard Tail's face is never seen, only his shadowy figure is.
- Hard Truckin': The player races along the country in a truck pulling cargo within the time limit. Certain payouts are even offered to which trailers are pulled. Some trailers are harder to pull, but pay more, whereas other trailers are easier to pull, but pay less.
- No Indoor Voice: How Lizard Tail taunts you over the CB radio.Lizard Tail: You're in my way, greenhorn! DON'T RUN THAT RIG IN FRONT OF ME!Lizard Tail: There's a traffic jam, and it's ALL! YOUR! FAULT!
- Product Placement: Texaco, Denny's and Holiday Inn's logos are all seen throughout the game.
- Secret Character: The fifth trucker, Nippon Maru, who drives a dekotora ("decorated truck"). While normally playable in the arcade version, you can unlock him by completing the Arcade Mode on any difficulty with all four truckers in the console ports.
- Virtual Assistant Blunder: May happen to you in King of Route 66 if you're not a native English speaker. In the sequel, your truck's nitro boost is engaged by grabbing the CB radio and yelling "Nitro!". If you're a native English speaker, it will actually work just fine, as this feature was actually carefully tested and does take into account the loud ambient noise of an arcade hall... but if you're not a native English speaker, you might end up yelling something that sounds like "Neetroh!" into the CB radio instead, and the nitro boost will simply refuse to engage.
