More than simply a game about driving, Euro Truck Sim 2 boasts some roleplaying elements to keep things interesting. Successful jobs earn experience, which leads to skill points. Skill points can be spent upgrading one's proficiency in certain types of jobs, unlocking new types of cargo, or even investing in fuel efficiency. Improving personal abilities and building a business from one lone driver to an entire fleet is just as important as getting from A to B, and maintains a compelling grip on the experience.
That said, driving trucks in as realistic a fashion as possible is the bread and butter of any trucking sim, and Euro Truck will have fans covered. Offering a huge map spanning the length and breadth of Europe, there's plenty of time to be spent on the open road, and lots of distance to cover. Although you won't be undertaking journeys in real-time, a decent paying job is still quite the investment. I often found myself able to only play one job at a time, rather than stay glued to the screen all night long. As outwardly mundane as the experience may appear, it's a time sink that can prove a mental drain, and is best played with breaks in between.
There are a variety of controls and settings allowing for significant flexibility in terms of personal comfort. You can choose how complex your controls are, with automatic settings for those rocking the trusty keyboard, and more involved ones for those wanting to go the whole hog and set up a wheel. Whatever your available input, Euro Truck does a great job of covering you and ensuring you get into the game easily enough.
Accessibility is, in fact, one of its strongest suites. A solid tutorial guides newcomers, and the essential GPS is easy to understand, as is its clear and simple route map. My first job was an absolute disaster, with me getting the trailer stuck a number of times, managing to tip the vehicle over, and even getting so boxed in I had to call for emergency rescue. After my embarrassing first run, however, I quickly found myself getting the hang of things, and was soon bold enough to trek across whole countries in my quest for freight and fortune.
A lot of Euro Truck's experience is, expectedly, rooted in routine, but complacency manages to be quite a dastardly foe. Traffic lights, speed cameras, and the ever-present need to keep one's eyes on the road can always trip up an overconfident player, and as relaxing as long country drives may be, the pressure to avoid mistakes is present throughout. It's very easy to start getting too cocksure, speeding along a motorway without regard to other drivers and strict speed limits. Every mistake translates into a financial penalty, damaged cargo reduces the payday, and dings suffered by an owned truck will have to be paid for at service stations.
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