- Title: Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights
- Platform:Xbox 360
- Publisher: THQ
- Developer: Juice Games
- ESRB Rating: “T” for Teen
- Genre: Racing
- Pros: Great customization; Hot Import Nights license; drifting is fun
- Cons: Uneven graphics; gameplay isn’t anything new
Features
The career mode in Juiced 2 has you race through several different tiers of competition. Each tier has specific goals such as winning certain race types or beating a specific opponent. Each tier features faster and better cars and opponents, so you can either buy a new car (which is what the game recommends) or upgrade your current ride. You make plenty of money in career mode, so buying a new car for each tier keeps the game feeling fresh and fun.
Juiced 2 also has a fully featured online mode. In addition to the expected quick and ranked race options, you can also play through an online version of the career mode. The online career is completely separate from the offline career, which means you have different garages and money and everything between the two modes. What makes it all kind of goofy is that the races and tiers are exactly the same offline or online, so do they really expect players to play through one and then jump to the other? The game runs fairly smoothly online, and as always, it is interesting to see what kind of custom cars people put together.
Gameplay
The drift events, on the other hand, handle more like the drift events in Need for Speed Carbon. Your car is extremely loose and going into a drift is very easy. The drift courses are fairly well designed, and drifting for the entire length of them is a very fun and satisfying possibility.
All in all, the gameplay in Juiced 2 is pretty fun, but racing is only half of the attraction here. Customizing your car is the appeal here, and Juiced 2 offers a better suite of visual customization than just about any other racing game on the Xbox 360. You can swap bumpers, side skirts, hoods, roofs, spoilers, wheels, mirrors, and more. And, of course, there are a lot of paint and vinyl options as well. The performance mods aren’t as deep, but still quite nice.
Graphics and Sound
Graphically, Juiced 2 is a mixed bag. The tracks and cars look okay, but they are nowhere near what we have seen in other Xbox 360 racing games. The cars have sort of a flat plastic look to them, which takes some getting used to. One thing I like is that there is a “driver’s seat” camera view, and it works just as well as in other games. The only problem is that ugly reflections and lights will randomly pop up right where the windshield and dashboard meet, which just looks horrible and is rather distracting.The sound is fairly good. Decent music, good car sounds, and acceptable voice acting round out this section.
Bottom Line
