I'll admit after the brilliant Giantbomb quick look of Euro Truck Driving Simulator 2 I downloaded the rather lengthy demo from the official webpage and played it for quite a while. They don't sound like a very entertaining game yet, somehow when I'm playing everything just clicks together for a rather calm experience (well except those extra heavy loads that can really unbalance your truck when turning). As crazy as it may sound my friends and I were talking about how Euro Truck Simulator 2 was a mix between Shipping Wars and Need for Speed.

Yet after doing a bit of research I found that these simulators have a huge niche appeal. As a kid I remember playing Microsoft Flight Simulator for hours at a time at a friend's house. Sure the graphics were primative yet somehow there was no game experience like it. Flying, landing and seeing the rather authentic simulation of how to fly a plane was amazing as a kid. Here I am years later driving a 16 wheeler across Europe to deliver loads of potatoes before I run out of gas in the middle of a rainstorm.

Gamasutra has a rather interesting article about the rise (or is it return) or specific the simulation game genre: Who's Buying All These Niche Simulation games anyway?

"There are kids 8-12 playing the games - players who are not yet into FPS or other core genres, but are captivated by the idea of driving these big vehicles. I guess every boy at age 7 or so wanted to drive a cement mixer or garbage truck or something similar,"

And then there's the strong 35+ male audience -- "basically people who have some professional, or should I say emotional, ties to trucking or transportation industry typically," Sebor notes.

Goofy, underrated and yet somehow very enduring to me I'm glad that games like these still exist in today's post Modern Warfare world.Now if you don't mind I have some cargo from London to Leipzig that needs transport.