Games
JUICED 2: HOT IMPORT NIGHTS
Hot Import Nights is a TV-based racing league that’s sort of a mix of fhm and modified car magazine. Flashy cars driving fast, slutty women in lingerie, you get the deal. Juiced 2 is THQ’S attempt to capture the sensationalism of this world and allow you to experience it on your xbox 360. Considering everything associated with Hot import nights looks so false anyway, it’s no surprise that this is a failure that makes our rugby world cup team look like world champions.
This is not the first racing game ever made, so you’d think that the game would at least be as good as other titles already on the market, but Juiced 2 seems like a bootleg version of a PS2 title. The game works like this, you start off by picking your character and you can edit their appearance much like in most EA games titles. The Characters all look ridiculously cliched in the first place and the definition on their face and clothes is well below par. So the question arises - why include this feature if you can’t do it well and more importantly when you never really see your driver anyway?
Moving on, once you have your driver, you pick your car. You start off with a large number of dull cars available to you and you buy one out of your 100K budget. More cars become available both through online trading and as you become a more accomplished driver. Once you’ve got your pink slip you’re ready to get in gear. The gameplay is separated between two types of competition, drifting and straight racing.
The road to world domination is covered in the tyre tracks of previous racing games. Half of the game is about driving. You start off in qualifying, then tour the globe taking part in increasingly difficult competitions.
In the each race both online and in career mode you’re often presented with different goals such as placing third or higher, elimination or your team finishing first. You can earn a number of bonuses in one race depending on which targets you achieve.
Essentially, the better you drive, the bigger the cash reward and the more you can modify your car, which is where the other half of the game’s entertainment potential lies. But more about that in a bit.
My biggest gripe with the game is the handling of the cars which is very toy-like. IN real life, an audi TT weighs almost 3 and a half tons, yet tip it with a fiat seicento in this game and watch it grow wings as it flys across the track as if it had drunk a case of red bull. , Even though you eventually get used to the handling, the cars just feel unrealistically light - even in the standard races - but things go kerazee in the drift mode. Here the mechanisms make you feel like you’re driving on ice and simply driving straight is a mammoth task. If you don’t want to go down the real life simulation route titles like Ridge racer and even Need for Speed show how drifting can work without being this loose.
In terms of layout, the tracks are well designed, but the fuzzy graphics and poor use of light make each turn more difficult to see than they really should be. In fact the visual design of the whole game is a bit below par for a company as establisthed as THQ.
The online element of the game centres around modification and gambling. The amount of Customisation available in these titles makes it seem that this is more important than the actual racing. Online you can buy spare parts or even full cars by trading or buying with the cash in your bank. The more souped up your car is, the more it’s worth, so make sure you get a good deal when you’re putting it up for sale. You can also gamble with other racers on the outcome of your races to put more cash in your bank. It’s recommended you finish the game offline before making any hefty wagers as any of the guys I’ve raced against online have left me penniless fairly quick-smart.
There’s a really silly aspect to the game called DNA, which gauges what type of driver you are, but it’s as gimmicky as a tamagotchi and doesn’t affect the outcome of races one bit. Juiced 2 is a real disappointment on many levels, there are much better racers available in the bargain bin in your local video game store.
Jonathan McCrea
