Car Mechanic Simulator 2019 Rewards Patience with Big Progress
Team Speed reviews the latest edition of the Car Mechanic Simulator series, finds a great big world to conquer.
A while ago, we were tipped off by Facebook’s advertising algorithms to Car Mechanic Simulator 2019, the latest in the Car Mechanic Simulator video game series by Maximum Games.
The premise is simple enough: You start as a lowly mechanic, and work your way up to having tons of cool cars to drive, race, sell, auction, and more. It drew our attention so much that we reached out to the publisher of the 2019 title for an advance copy of the game so we could see what all the fuss is about.
Feeling the Need for Speed
Upon starting up the Car Mechanic Simulator 2019, we were nearly blown away by how loud it was on the same volume setting that’s usually quieter when we’re watching rare Corvettes, McLarens, and Ferraris roll down the Barrett-Jackson red carpet. Thus, if you pick up a copy, and your TV is loud enough for your next-door neighbor to hear, this game will be heard by the whole neighborhood.
Before we jump into the game itself, there’s the Car Showroom to check out. There, you’ll be able to see a few familiar faces, but written and designed around trademarks. That said, Jeep and Mazda are among the real-life brands you can look through in the showroom.
We chose this Echnos “not a Viper” Cobra thinking we could take it with us into the game (you can’t). From there, you can see everything under the body, then have some fun giving it a new paint job. You could probably spend more than a few minutes in the showroom just on that alone, but eventually, the main game will be calling you.
The options we had in starting the game were to just jump right in, or go through the tutorial beforehand. The video above is our play-through of the tutorial, where the goal to move onto the main game is to drive one of your cars on the test track. We would definitely recommend the tutorial to familiarize yourself with the things you’ll need to be a success when it’s finally time to get your virtual hands dirty.
Most of the time, you’ll be playing Car Mechanic Simulator 2019 in first-person, using the left thumbstick to move around the tiny garage. You’ll start off with a simple repair job, like the brakes we replaced on this little hatchback. From there, you’ll receive more orders, most of which will be so-called “Normal” orders to help you earn money and some experience points.
However, there are also so-called “Story” orders. These increase in difficulty, and will not disappear from the orders list until you accept them. Normal orders will disappear after three minutes have passed. We recall spending at least an hour trying to diagnose every problem one car had, going so far as to tear apart the entire engine before finding out it was the radiator fan and housing. Your only hint to finding additional problems–until you unlock the diagnostic tools, anyway–is the extreme amount of rust a given problem part has.
Once orders are complete, you’ll not only receive that sweet XP and some big bucks (and advancement in the story), but a crate that you can choose to open. Inside each one are three pieces, from all-new parts of various quality, to additions to the map. And if you collect enough XP, you’ll gain an skill point or two to open up more of the skill tree, eventually being able to work faster, better, and have more room for more orders.
As for the money, you’ll mainly use that to buy parts for the orders you take in. You can also sell the old parts for cash, though it won’t amount to much, just like in real life. Make enough stacks, though, and you’ll be able to visit the local dealership or a random barn to buy a new car to modify, or a treasure to rebuild to greatness. From there, races, auctions, and more await you.
If you’re ready to take the wheel of your virtual mechanic’s destiny, Car Mechanic Simulator 2019 will hit the shelves of your local game shop on June 25 for both Xbox One and PS4. You can also pre-order your copy from places like Amazon and GameStop. Either way, it’ll only cost you $30 to get your hands dirty while keeping them clean at the same time.
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