Review: Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights (PS3)

Unsurprisingly you start proceedings as a rookie and have to grind your way through the various leagues to reach the elite competitions. Thankfully Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights does not suffer from any identity crisis or split personality, instead focusing firmly on offering street racing thrills from across the globe. A variety of events await, but first you must decide on your first vehicle before purchasing a colour scheme, then spending the first of several hours (if you so desire) designing and implementing your own decals.

Shopping in releases such as these tends to be a universal experience, with good performances increasing your cash flow. This can then be spent in garages, tuning your car and adding new parts to your wagon of choice. In comparison Juiced 2 is very limited, the tuning options and purchases are very shallow, often prompting the addition of a new car, rather than trying to improve your current ride. There is no room for experimentation, or being able to tailor your vehicle to suit your own individual driving style.

Hard cash on its own is not enough in Juiced 2, as you will have to unlock performance upgrades (weight loss, power, handling) by completing a challenge. Frankly this is a strange decision on the part of the developer, and these challenges come in various forms such as perfect laps, lap times and speed dashes. After successfully defeating the challenge, then you’ll need the cash to purchase the upgrade, which begs the question why bother with the challenges?

Another criticism of Juiced 2 comes in the form of the modifications you can make to the body kits. More labour from the developer has certainly gone into this area, with several licensed modifications available, including sizeable spoilers and front bumpers. Yet these changes are purely cosmetic, as no matter the size of that spoiler it will not affect your performance in any shape or form.   

Unquestionably, Gamestyle is creating the impression that Juiced 2 is pretty shallow and little more than an arcade feeling racer. That’s certainly the case when you arrive at the various meetings across the world, bizarrely the range of circuits are very limited. You can partake in various types of events, trying to gain respect and win bets available with competitors or spectators. Progress is not by winning events or coming top of a league, instead you have various goals that have to be achieved. Luckily not all of these need to be ticked off, as enough exist to allow you to avoid a discipline or task that’s beyond your capabilities.

The circuit highlights are those held in the Far East, these suit the presentation of Juiced and bring back memories of the Tokyo Highway series. Yet these are the exception as regardless of some unique backdrops, the tracks themselves are disappointing. They remain well detailed and flashy, emphasising the power of the Playstation 3, with accompaniment coming from a licensed soundtrack. It’s a shame that very few tracks are on offer, soon meaning after a short time you’ve almost experienced everything Juiced 2 has to offer.

The handling of the vehicles does not really change much in spite of your constant need to acquire new wheels. All the cars focus on an arcade feel, emphasising over steer and some fantastic levels of grip as you take corners that physically should not be possible. It all adds to the drama and elation as plough your way through the field to reach the front, aided by the use of nitro.  Juiced tries to be more than just a racing game - attempting to replicate the street-racing scene - in the form of a television style presentation and lots of featured opponents. It’s all there and for some players will help gloss over the shortcomings of the races, circuits and vehicles themselves but Gamestyle always findings itself heading back to Forza 2, as Hot Import Nights is commercial street-racing with no depth.

Gamestyle should mention the Drivers DNA, which grows as you race more, reflecting your style and achievements on the track. While it is little more than an interesting subdocument on how you drive, Juiced 2 features the DNA of several notable real life street racers. So you can take on the best in the Drivers DNA Lab mode and see how you compare. There is also an online option but during our excursions it proved to be unpopular with other PlayStation 3 owners. Racing can be fun, but having to have a separate online career, from that of your offline one, seemed ill judged and a poor way to extend the life of the title.

While Juiced 2: Hot Imports Nights does not suffer from the confusion of Need For Speed: ProStreet, overall there is little distance between the two incumbents. Juiced 2 is hampered by the lack of tracks, unrealistic tuning and some bizarre design choices. For Gamestyle any decent street racer must have these core principles firmly in place, and it’s a failing that the glossy presentation cannot hope to overcome.

Rating: 5 / 10

Words by Jason Julier