Ever fancied running your own garbage business? Can’t say I have, even with the temptation of upgrading to newer and better trucks or the delight in driving said vehicles around while they fulfil their, admittedly important social function. But you might be different...

Garbage Truck Simulator (2011) is a new vehicle simulator from Excalibur, who seemed to be making a name for themselves with easy to control sims and this is one you might find hard to refuse.

You start the game with a small amount of money to purchase your first truck, which can be painted in a number of colours. For all you cynics out there, it’s not just about picking up rotting diapers, no, the good people at Excalibur have thrown in extras, like toxic waste management, glass (always a tricky one) and construction waste. Not that this is an exhaustive list of all the many and varied exciting things to collect.

As your guys drive around the city, in differing weather conditions, you also have to be aware of the skills they possess. There's no point in sending the guy who deals with glass to pick up toxic industrial waste, your just asking for a hilariously comic ending there.

Of course, all this muck raking will only make you a fortune if you attend to the business side of things, with shiny new trucks to buy and lazy workers to fire, regardless that they may lose their house and end up killing themselves in despair.

I do get the feeling that after creating the engine to run various vehicles sims, the company has just made a list of the sort of things small boys might like to drive, like tractors If these are not to your liking then try one of their previous titles like German Truck Simulator, Forklift Truck Simulator and Bus Simulator, I feel a theme appearing.

The game play is rudimentary, perfect for your average six year old, with graphics which are good enough to keep them happy. So, I suppose it depends on where you think your gamers are going to come from, in this case it has to be small boys. Maybe they will release one for the fathers, where you drive around town in your sports car smiling at young women who think you are an aging creep, you can gain points for every time you're arrested for stalking.

For kids it’s an okay, if limited, sim. I can’t see any rational adults getting much fun out of it though.

5

Charles Packer