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Plenty of simulators exist for racing cars, but have you ever fancied having a go at driving an articulated lorry? You've started work with a haulage company and have to transport goods around town. Your lorry can only store so much, so several trips will be needed, and you'll have to watch your fuel gauge as well, and make sure you don't speed in built-up areas! There is a practice mode to help you get used to driving the lorry, but I never got used to parking the lorry in a loading bay, which you must learn how to do. It's fun driving around town like a maniac at first, but if you can't park, you'll get nowhere. The graphics and sound effects aren't convincing, either.

CRL, £8.95 cass
Author: Pete Cook

If you are something of a simulator fan. but have reached the conclusion that there must be more to life than flying F-16s, driving racing cars and managing football teams, then perhaps you might fancy taking a leaf out of Princess Anne's book and take up ... truck driving. That's exactly what this latest release from CRL allows you to do, except that instead of moving eventing horses around the shires you will be dealing with more mundane cargoes; timber, coal, oil and food.
On loading you are presented with five icons that allow you to either; start the game, select one of four lorry sizes, practise your driving, redefine the keys or
have a look at the high score table. Driving a larger lorry means that although you will be able to carry a heavier load, and so complete some jobs quicker, you may find yourself struggling to control it. the practice mode is always worth a visit. You can have a go at tackling some of the more difficult tasks like parking or negotiating roundabouts.
The controls are pretty straightforward. The panel at the top of the screen has a large steering wheel, you can judge the orientation of the wheel by looking at the line across its centre. As you enter the instruc-tion for left, the wheel rotates left until it reaches full lock. If the truck is moving forward then, from above, you see the cab begin to turn with its trailer following on behind. There is a knack to this steering bit; you must learn when to begin a turn, how much to turn the wheel and when to start turning it back — you shouldn't be allowed out on the roads until you have master-ed the art. In the early stages you may make a tot of use of the dial on the top right of the panel, the damage indicator. When you collide with something an alarming sound warns you and the needle on the damage dial creeps just a little nearer to the point where you can consider your rig as a write off. Fortun-ately the damage can be put right at a garage. Apart from the clock and the fuel gauge the panel also boasts a gear indic-ator, the fire button toggling between the three gears And don't forget that the speed limit in a built up area is 30 mph — the speeding fines can soon mount up.
When you feel up to starting work you can begin the game and find out what your tasks are.

There are a number of different towns with varying street plans but just before you set off a map will let you work out what's what. You are told how much of each of the goods must be collected and returned to your home depot. While the street plan is on the screen this is a good time to work out how you are going to leave the depot, after all if it's on a corner you might regret racing out at 40 mpn. Once out of the depot the first task is to find a phone box, and park — near it rather than on it. Once parked press S and you are presented with the main menu. By selecting one of the five icons you can, return to the loriy, load up, unload, pause, resign and of course make a phone call. The girls in the office take a little while to answer the phone but once they have you can select from another set of icons which of the goods you are interested in collecting. A little cursor scans across the street plan and marks the location of the depots that you will need to visit — all you have to do is to work out the least complicated route to them.
A number of trips between various depots is often necess ary but at the end of the day you are marked for your efforts, tf you complete the tasks set you get a handsome bonus depend-ing on how many minutes of the day are left. Added to your bonus is a payment for the total tonnage of goods moved which should add up to rather a lot, just as well because there a a couple of deductions; if you damage the truck then that must be paid for, likewise the tyres. Any fines accumulated for over enthusias-tic driving are also deducted, leaving your net earnings as a final score.

Control keys:
A/Z accelerate/ decelerate;
O/P left/right;
Spc to change gear
S for main menu.

CRITICISM

CRL must have taken Alan Sugar seriously when he said that '... the Amstrad was the truck drivers computer'. Initially this game appears to have all the appeal of a sore throat but very soon it really does become quite compelling Once you have mastered the rig, and that's oing to take a while, you can have quite a lot of fun finding your way about town in search of the depots and picking up the different goods routes call for a great deal of skill, especially when you are trying to complete all of the tasks in time The graphics and the panel display are nicely designed and worked well but not all of the lorry driving thrills are here; how about terrorising hairdressers in Rot Pandas for example? This isn't a fast action game so its appeal will probably not be universal, but those who enjoy this sort of pace should get a lot of fun out of it.

I must say that I rather enjoy games that call on you to dash hither and thither along complicated streets Juggernaut couldn't exactly be described as action-packed, but it is challenging and there's plenty to do to keep you busy for some time. I liked its novelty value — there aren't too many lorry driving simulations — and the use of icons speeds up the more drab proceedures usually associated with simul-ators. Graphics are of a reason-able standard without being astonishing, and the sound effects are neat (but the lorry sound can drone on a bit after a while). This game is clever and absorbing, and even manages to be addictive.

Making phone calls to the pick find the pick up points, getting to them and, worst of all, reversing into the loading bay. makes Juggernaut into a really rather neat game. Keeping the truck on the road is
quite absorbing but / can't help feeling there should be a bit more to it. The graphics are well above the usual standard for this sort of bird's eye view road game, with all the peripheral details adding to the general flavour (particularly like the hedgehog on the loading screen), although / agree with someone who said that the artic does occasionally look a bit like a disposable razor blade. Overall, an unusual game that combines some arcade skills with a tradert strategy game, and one that should present a reasonable challenge to most people.

Presentation 72%
Icons add greatly to the overall effect, and there are plenty of options.

Graphics 78%
Good colour, well drawn and animated.

Sound 72%
Quite realistic, the phone sound is great.

Playability 73%
A neat and interesting game and if you can take the stress you should enjoy it.

Addictive qualities 65%
Compelling enough but not for ever

Value For Money 72%
If you like the type, it's money fairly well spent.

Overall 71%
Excellently executed simulation but probably has a narrow appeal