Trucks in the Extremes of the USA

Truck games brings back the Wild West movie memories; not on horseback, but on... trucks! The same desert scenes, cacti, barren mesas... only the Red Indians seem to be missing. Actual monster trucks were exclusive to the US till some time back, however the fun associated with them has now spread worldwide, not least because of the online games.
You now see these mean and machismo machines most places in the world where there are swamps and deserts and "extreme" off-road terrain. To get back to the games available online, Mad Truckers, Monster Trucks, Extreme Trucks, Dune Buggies... are only a few of the options available. While all the games dealt with "trucks", the variations have to be seen to be believed... at one end there were the small pick-up vehicles wile at the other were the really huge multi-rig behemoths.

Here's picking up on one of the games I played, Extreme Trucks Part II USA:
Game: The monster truck is driven deep into the desert and the intention is for you to drive over various obstacles without destroying the vehicle. There are numerous signs on the way which have to be followed to get the maximum number of points. The vehicles are smaller trucks, but the wheels are exceptionally large! So the tendency to flip over is always there.
Instructions: This was comprehensive and therefore added to the overall fun. The game controls were elaborate with a lot of options available through the use of a number of keys. A little time spent on reading the instructions prior to the game followed by a little practice and you can do any number of things with the vehicle!
Graphics: The graphics were good, colourful and sharp, unlike some of the other games. The sizes of the images were big enough and the overall layout quite pleasing. The first few stages helped build up interest in the game and I am sure the "experts" will enjoy playing the more difficult of the 9 or so stages.
Sound: A bit of a disappointment with simple background music playing on a short loop. There weren't any special sound effects either when the truck crashed into something or goes off a cliff, or does anything out of the ordinary other than roll like a "normal" monster truck would do. Complexity: Reasonably complicated, both beginners and veteran gamers should enjoy it. The game's design was good and contemporary but I am sure the designers are already coming up with new ideas.
Rating: The game being better than average, I'll go for a 7 on a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being top of the line. As with most of these kinds of games, the sound effects really affected the rating, though it could be argued that a lot of players wouldn't be keeping the speakers on. But then the rating is on the whole package.

I liked my dose of the Wild West frontiers in this game even though the cowboy's machismo has had to give way to a machine's prowess. Challenging going through all the different stages, so on the whole I'll go with a vote of a thumbs up for Extreme Trucks Part II USA!