Juiced Review (no fat)

Game Description

Juiced was a planned release for last year but as Acclaim (the original producer of Juiced) went bankrupt, the project got delayed. With games such as Midnight Club 3 and Need For Speed as its rivals, THQ (the new publisher) seems to have chosen to release Juiced when there is little chance of being drowned in the competition.

Juiced - Gameplay

Juiced engrosses the player in the lifestyle, culture and risk taking of the street modding scenes in are very distinctive manner. Juiced has almost 108 routes and has a tranquil style of driving whereas other games like Need for Speed has a very frantic kind of driving. Juiced has three modes namely Career mode, Arcade mode and an Online mode. However, the main mode in Juiced is its career mode in which you will get a calendar that shows different types of race you can participate. Races include sprint, circuit and point to point. You need to pick one of the races and if you have the driving skills then you are not far from attaining fame and fortune. The calendar also shows the class required by your car to enter the race and of course if it doesn’t meet the required standard then you cannot enter the race.

There are several options at your disposal as you can watch a race and a bet can be placed or you can participate in the race with your driver and challenge some other car driver. Earning money is equally an important aspect of this game as in this way you can upgrade your car and impress others to join your crew. You have to impress eight crew leaders and if you win races, you would obviously be respected and other drivers would be willing to join your crew.

The idea is quite simple and the game starts with choosing a team, a logo and once you have won the first race you are given a choice of choosing a better car. In early stages to earn cash in Juiced game is not at all an easy task. Initially the races don’t require an entry fee but certain events require higher end cars and obviously those races are not free. If a car is damaged during a race then you need to spend money for the upkeep of the car.

In Arcade mode you race and win as many awards as possible and then you would definitely get calls from the best drivers to join your crew. In total there can be maximum of four members in a crew. It is up to you to decide whether you want to participate in the race or not as you can send any one of your crew members for the race. You can even change the aggression level of the crew members during a race. There are three levels of aggression i.e. Low, Medium and High. Most of the times it is good to leave the aggression level to high otherwise your crew member might not be able to perform at a desired level.

Juiced - Graphics

The graphics are quite similar to other racing games but the environment looks quite realistic. A player cannot predict beforehand what would be the climatic conditions as it depends on the day. It could be anything like a sunny or a rainy day. In case of car accidents the cars don’t show much damage no matter how severe the accident was. If such things would have been take care off before its launch then it would have been more realistic.

Juiced - Sound

Except few sound tracks which are really good, there is nothing special about the overall sound quality in the game. The sound of cars running is quite common in other games and this aspect good have been immensely improved.

Juiced - Summing-Up

Juiced boasts a realistic environment and a solid AI that pumps up a good challenge. Detailed car models, and a meticulously designed career, should have been a great recommendation for the game, however, one wonders why a game categorized in the street racing genre sports no traffic, and why the races are held in stadiums… perhaps the developers intend on changing the whole meaning of street racing. Not very likely, is it?

Juiced - Cost

Juiced for PC currently retails for $39.95US at time of writing.