
When I was sent an unsolicited review code for Best Forklift Operator I almost didn’t bother covering it. Simulation games come in all shapes and sizes, but it’s the realistic ones that I find the least interesting. Real life is quite dull at the best of times, so imitating real life work just seemed like … well, work.
But I thought I’d at least give it a try. After all, if it’s unplayably bad then I could just ignore it and move on – and surely this was going to be a stinker.
So why can’t I stop playing it?
Many thanks to Gamedust for the review copy.
PUT A FORK IN IT
As one of the more realistic style simulation games, there’s nothing in the way of plotline here. Your profession is a Forklift Operator, and this is your day job. A brief tutorial introduces you to the basics of the job, whereby you use the stick to move and the triggers to manipulate the fork itself. It’s an unusual setup, but the triggers make it feel as authentic as a controller is capable of; it may be clunky, but this is a forklift, after all, and not a flash sports car! One touch I particularly liked was having to press in the left thumbstick to switch into reverse, which then allows you to move backwards by accelerating forward. It’s weird to get used to, but I found it quite satisfying to use and made me feel like I was operating heavy machinery.
But, of course, this is a videogame so there’s objectives to be done. Namely, an assortment of missions spread across three locations that task you with moving various pallets to their allotted positions. Whilst the goal is simply just to move all the stuff, you’ll be awarded extra cash if you can do it quickly and without damaging your forklift too much.
Three locations doesn’t sound like a lot, and they’re honestly not all that different from one another, but as the missions progress they do allow you to see other areas not seen in previous ones, giving some element of variety that the game otherwise lacks. Does it stave off the overall repetitiveness? Not really. Sometimes you’ll have to place objects down to pick it up from the side, or you may have to move other stuff out of the way to give you room to move around, but otherwise it stays pretty much the same throughout. There’s nothing else really to mix up the gameplay, but it still has a charm that makes you want to come back to it, even if it’s just for another ten minutes or so.
In addition to the career mode that makes up the core focus of the game, there’s an arcade mode that challenges you to knock pallets off of shelving rather than putting them on. It’s a nice idea in principle, but it’s far less entertaining than it sounds. Aside from this bonus mode, there’s not a whole lot more to keep you coming back. Sure, you can get some new paint jobs or forklift using the money you earn, but they’re not interesting enough for you to actually care about. It would have been nice if the game had achievements or some other game types to help justify that surprisingly high price tag.
VERDICT
Best Forklift Operator ended up being far more addictive than I had ever anticipated, even if it’s lacking somewhat in variety to keep you hooked for the long-term – especially considering that steep asking price. That being said, those looking for a slightly gamified representation of Forklift Operating may find that this game scratches that itch.
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