American Truck Simulator: Idaho
SCS Software
SCS Software keeps hitting it out of the park with American Truck Simulator and their latest expansion, the beautiful state of Idaho, has me wondering if this is their best release yet. Being a coastal-type guy, I’ve literally been learning much more about our great country’s interior states through games like American Truck Simulator, or through online search results while surfing the web.
For those who don’t know, Idaho is the renowned for being the potato state—but that’s really only its state vegetable. Officially, it’s referred to as the “Gem State” because of its transcendental beauty. Boise is not only its capital, but also its largest city (which is still pretty small by city slicker standards) and the entire state only contains 1,787,065 people. Idaho is a Shoshone Native American word which means “sun comes from the mountains.”
Through both playing this expansion, titled American Truck Simulator Idaho, and viewing images online of the state, it has indeed earned its title of the Gem State—I can see why the folk that live there stay nice and quiet; they probably don’t want anything to disturb their idyllic little slice of heaven.
The state itself is very green and full of vegetation with sprawling arid areas mainly in its large southern legion. It is bordered by Canada to the north, Wyoming and Montana to the east, Washington and Portland to the west, and Utah and Nevada to the south. I always thought it was closer to Colorado (SCS’s next announced state to tackle) but that just shows how much I thought I knew about the 50 state’s various configurations.
Here are some of the key features that you can enjoy with this expansion:
Over 3,300 miles of new roads to discover and explore
11 new cities – drive through downtown Boise, Coeur d’Alene set on a gorgeous lake or Idaho Falls with a lovely touristic center
A brand new viewpoint feature that gives you a new perspective of the world
Expanded fan-favorite industries such as farming, timber harvesting or wood processing
Visit the famous Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve
Over 40 recognizable spots from the Historical Highway Marker program
State-specific geographical landmarks such as canyons, valleys or basalt rock formations
Many familiar truck stops and rest areas that truckers will know from the real world
Finely-tuned road layouts and true-to-life signage
Idaho-specific achievements to unlock
The viewpoint feature has to be the most exciting new feature of the Idaho DLC. They are marked on the map by little purple indicators. Once you travel to them you’ll see where to position your rig. When you hit the right spot, you’ll be greeted with some great cutscenes of Idaho’s more gorgeous views.
Even if you’re not into driving simulators, you’d be hard-pressed to pass up purchasing American Truck Simulator and its most recent DLC—The Gem State of Idaho. Give it a shot!
SCORE: 84%
American Truck Simulator has some pretty good looking graphics that make its driving gameplay truly shine. However, you want to have a pretty beefy gaming PC or gaming laptop in order to play it at a decent framerate. So, you may just want to invest in a decent gaming rig:
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