Forget any attempt at a scenario, Spintires: Mudrunner is in line with a Farming Simulator or a Euro Truck Simulator. The game therefore focuses on its gameplay, without ever trying to coat it with any story or place it in a particular universe. We're here to drive big rigs through the mud, and that's it! The first contact with the game mechanics is through a welcome tutorial, which teaches us in particular to engage the all-wheel drive (more engine power, but fuel consumption increases) and the differential lock (all the wheels of the vehicle turn evenly, but it becomes less controllable). These two options are very useful for getting out of the muddiest terrain, which otherwise tends to cause vehicles to spin. But the best thing is still to take advantage of the presence of a tree in the area to attach the winch to it. Accelerating while rewinding the winch should then be enough to get you out of the trickiest situations.
To do this, you will have to find the places where you can load wood, unlock the various garages and vehicles present on the map, locate the service stations to refuel if necessary, and deliver the loads of wood. Suffice to say that players in search of epic sensations will be at their expense... The game would have frankly gained from offering us more varied objectives.
So much for the general principles, which apply to most of the vehicles available. And these are relatively numerous. The 4x4 jeep is certainly the most useful to get to know the surroundings, but the trucks are still essential to carry out your mission. The main game mode offers six different maps, but the goal always remains the same: deliver logs to sawmills... To do this, you will have to find places where you can load wood, unlock different garages and vehicles. present on the map, locate service stations to refuel if necessary, and deliver loads of wood. Suffice to say that players in search of epic sensations will be at their expense... The game would have frankly gained from offering us more varied objectives. Moreover, this new version hosts a challenge mode supposed to solve this problem. If we welcome its presence, we can all the same regret that it only offers nine challenges (parking a trailer, climbing a mountain, crossing a river, driving at night, etc.) which are more variation around the same theme as deep and permanent renewal.
MUD NIGHT
This lack of ambition is all the more regrettable as the simulation holds up perfectly. Mud, rivers and pebbles are managed in a realistic way and you can perfectly feel the difficulty that the vehicles have to cross them. The struggle with the terrain is permanent, we generally drive at the speed of a snail, we regularly regret having taken such a shortcut which makes us find ourselves on all four wheels in the mud, it takes a quarter of an hour to achieve a perfect reverse when towing a large trailer, and the slightest poorly thought-out detour can prove fatal as far as fuel management is concerned. In short, the game is difficult but rarely unfair. And that is its main interest. A simplified mode is still available for the most timid players. In this mode, you can skip night sequences, display the in-game navigation route, fuel consumption is reduced, and damage to vehicles does not affect your driving. Conversely, in simulation mode damage decreases engine power, differential lock on the hardest surfaces damages the vehicle, and navigation information is limited to the distance and position of the next waypoint. itinerary.
In any case, it is necessary to make do with a technique well below current standards. If the real-time modification of the muddy paths has its little effect, we must still admit that the graphics lack pep...
In any case, it is necessary to make do with a technique well below current standards. If the real-time modification of the muddy paths has its small effect, it must still be admitted that the graphics lack pep, due in particular to a particularly dull color palette. Moreover, if the arrival of a cockpit mode is a plus compared to the 2014 version, the realization of these internal views actually borders on amateurism, because the dashboard is completely flat, and identical for all vehicles. That's not all because we also observe that the mirrors do not reflect the scenery. 2017 what... But the biggest technical black spot comes from the management of the camera, carried out despite common sense. It's very simple, we are still looking on which exact axis of rotation it rotates... It is very complicated to position it where we want it, which is particularly problematic when trying to perform a tricky maneuver. , or you want to display on the screen both a precise anchor point for the winch and the tree to which you want to attach it. Even moving the camera on the map is difficult and thus prevents us from simply seeing all the scenery and points of interest. In short, if fighting with the terrain is part of the pleasure provided by this sharp simulation, having to fight with its technical shortcomings is on the other hand much less exciting...
