Video Game Review: Spintires 2014

This game is about driving old Soviet-era trucks to deliver lumber through rugged terrain full of mud, rocks and rivers. You have to manoeuvre these huge trucks through whatever nature throws at you. You also can use off-road cars to explore the terrain.

A truck driving across mud

I got it 33% discount on Steam. The first time I logged on to play, my truck got stuck in the mud. You will have to get used to that when you are playing Spintires. This game is about planning to avoid obstacles instead of just gunning the throttle and that's what makes it stand out from other racing games. If you just put you foot down on the throttle you will get stuck in the mud and even if you try to get out you can't as that will cause you to get stuck even deeper.

Another thing that makes it stand out is the physics. You can really feel the trucks weight as it deforms the mud leaving huge tire tracks in it's wake. The water physics is also really good, you can see the truck creating waves in the water. Plus a running river does wash away the truck albeit slowly. You can smash down smaller trees. There is also damage model. The graphics are really beautiful.

A truck pulling a fuel tanker across a lake at night.

A map called "River" in Spintires

You have to deliver trees from the logging camp to the designated point. You have lots of add-ons which do many things such as carrying fuel and repairing other vehicles. The map is quite small but you move so slowly that it feels huge! There are some vehicles scattered around that you might have to repair and refuel to drive again. There are also buildings such as the fuel tank to refill the tank of the truck and the add-ons if it's available. There aren't many vehicles however there are a lot of mods to add more vehicles. At the start of the game you will find that, on the mini-map, most of it is covered by "cloaks" which makes the terrain not visible. You have to go to the centre of the area on the mini-map that the cloak covered in order to reveal the terrain.

Conclusion: This is a very good game with good physics and graphics. However, the direction of the game camera is awful. That's why I give this game a 9/10. Here is the link to the trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qiOt7SuHGPM.