Where boredom is the excitement

After watching some Ice Road Truckers, it's clear the folks at the History Channel are hoping to strike some extreme blue collar reality TV gold like the Discovery Channel did with "Deadliest Catch."

While Ice Road Truckers is interesting, apparently it's not interesting enough. The producers are always trying to amp up the danger angle to the point of hyperbole. And truth be told, even when there are real risks involved, it's hard to make one guy sitting in a truck cab driving 15 miles an hour for 20 hours over monotonous terrain all that exciting. Even when you keep cutting to the same under-the-ice shot and play the same ice cracking sounds.

A handful of men in a boat out upon an unforgiving arctic sea, braving the elements to hopefully score a good catch of crab is natural drama. A guy in a truck on a road, not so much. Even if it is an ice road, it's really really cold, and there's a lot of snow.

But the good news with this being a History channel show is their relationship with Activision. I can already see the awesome tie-in.

Immerse yourself in the intensity, drama, and danger of the most extreme freight logistics experience on the entire planet!

Put your life on the line as an Ice Road Trucker on a grueling and treacherous 350 mile dash for the cash through the unforgiving Northwest Territory. You will haul tons of equipment and supplies across a desolate white landscape at speeds averaging 15 miles an hour, all while dealing with the constant risk of jackknifing, breakdowns and accidents.

Ice Road Truckers has TrueImmersion technology, allowing no pausing and no in-game saves during the 20 hour run, giving you the full-action experience of an Ice Road Trucker. Also has full support of Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel.

Screenshots from Ice Road Truckers

I hear it is best played if you turn up the air conditioning a lot while you play.

Labels: gaming, tv

posted 12:31 AM | link |