26-May-2004 Quiz: you see a clapped-out VW Golf Mk. 1 puttering down the high street.
Do you: A) Think to yourself 'That looks like a rusty turd but if it gets me where I'm going it's cool.' Or B) Have a lusty desire to slap on some VeilSide skirts, stick in some Koni springs and Recaro seats, bolt on a triple-winged spoiler, and paint the whole thing pearlescent lime green?
If you chose B and just the prospect of it has got your own suspension stiffening, then Juiced'll have you gushing high octane love oil all over your Recaros. If you chose A... what are you on about? Piss off and read about Barbie Horse Adventures or something.
Actually, don't. Even if you think skirts are just something girls wear and modding is something fat men do to Half-Life, we reckon Juiced can educate you in the ways of the boy racer.
Mod For It The reason we're juiced about Juiced is that it's the logical extension of NFS Underground. In car modding terms it's taken Underground's frame, weight-reduced and turbo-charged it, then stuffed it so full of nitrous oxide it's farting flames.
Not that Underground didn't have some serious horsepower to start with. The modding stuff was wicked but after a while it felt a little restrictive. The unlockable extras were tied into the game structure, so as you progressed you ended up with a car that looked and performed like your mate's. True boy racers want to customise every last inch of their street-burning baby. That's where Juiced rolls in.
There are 47 officially licensed motors from 17 manufacturers like Honda, Nissan, Fiat, and Dodge. You can buy scabby second-hand dingers and splash out on upgrades, or sick all your cash on a factory fresh model that looks and smells sweeter than Britney's undercrackers.
Alloy Kit A Lot Then there's the hundreds of cosmetic and performance parts licensed from 55 huge brands in the car modding scene. Alloys, neon lights, roof vents, induction kits, lowering springs, nitrous, carbon bonnets, headlight brows... whatever. If you've seen it in Max Power it's in Juiced.
And colours? Juiced's got colours. There's three layers to play with, full customisation over mix of paint, and even flippy pearlescent paint that makes your motor look like a hologram on wheels. If you do the math we're talking about 500,000 totally unique car set-ups, and if you factor in the colour options you can add another zero on to that. Trick? Trick.
At this point you're either bored or bricking your load at the car customising opportunities. Either way, you're about to get the purest hit of car modding methadone Juiced has to offer.
Every modification in Juiced has a cost, weight and performance relative to real life. Once you've tricked out your ride you can stick it on the game's rolling road, floor it, and get a detailed graph displaying your max power output, speed, fuel efficiency and torque. It's so accurate that you could create a replica of your own (or your dad's) car and get the same readouts in the game as down Kwik-Fit. If that doesn't ignite your spark plug we don't know what will.
Drives Like A Dream Okay, but how does it drive? Like a carbon-fibre, rocket-propelled, razor's-edge dream. Not bad, then. It's not straight-up arcadey like NFS. It's just as fast and intense, but mainlined with a fuel injection of Project Gotham's oversteer and Gran Turismo's reactiveness.
When we first got our hands on the pad we chose a meaty Dodge Viper, and promptly walloped it into every Armco, barrier and pedestrian in sight. These cars are mean bastards and they won't hesitate to launch you into a tree if you stamp on their accelerators without some automotive foreplay.
Wheels spin, tyres burn out, and traction packs its bags and heads for the hills where everyone drives Fiat Pandas to church. But just like Gotham, GT3 and Driv3r, keeping tyre grip on a tight leash is the joy of the experience. Rein it in to dive through an inside line, and unleash it to peel a steaming layer off the tarmac.
Cruisin'For A Bruisin' And when you get into Juiced's cruising scene you'll need to set traction free like a wild beast. This is the equivalent of Underground's Drift Racing - it's just you, your motor, and a time limit in which you'll have to thrash out as many donuts and handbrake turns as you can. Wipeout and you'll earn the invoice for a respray and a new bodykit. Score big and you'll earn mad respect.
That's what Juiced is all about. Bet big on races, smoke your opponents, break off some hot moves and your rep goes up. Bugger up and you'll lose cred, then lose cash fixing up your scuffed motor. Other crews will invite you to races and cruises in their part of town. Keep your rep growing and racers will join your crew, bringing their cars, their cash, and their allegiance. You can enter races with your mates and order them to drive as you see fit, to keep the cash headed in your direction.
Eventually you'll have a garage stocked with modified motors and a pool of expert drivers you can enter into events. It's like being the boss of your very own street racing team with the potential to rule the scene.
And you'll be able to do it even if you answered A to that question at the top. Casual racers will love the on-point driving and the Underground-skinning car customisation. But if you're a true-blue boy racer you'll relish the in-depth range of motors and tune-ups, the obscenely accurate performance and the hardcore physics. Need For Speed better check its wing mirrors and see what's flying up - Juiced could own the Underground.
Juiced is really pushing its expanded modding capabilities - it wants you to choose exactly how your car looks and performs and lavish it with more care and attention than a hot, needy girlfriend. There are more modification options than in NFS Underground, and the developers are putting emphasis on each upgrade having a realistic influence on your car, in both positive and negative terms.
In no time at all you’ve got a bona fide,
hot-ride street racer. Costs a bit though
Then you can stick it on the rolling road to try out the performance. It’s nerdy but it’s GOOD
Chuck on your bodykit, lower it and splash some decals on the side...
Start off with a basic production car. You can buy cheap second-handers to fix up
// On Fire Online
The official announcement of the multiplayer features will be made at E3, but we've seen enough of the game to have a pretty good idea of what to expect. Think Gotham 2, but instead of just choosing your car and paintjob you'll be able to customise every last inch and show off online! And with Juiced's crew-based structure, we reckon virtual car communities, with rivalries and allegiances within, will be able to flourish. Could be truly awesome.
All the fun of real-life car communities without the minging girls and Burger King
car-parks…
Impress someone and they might ask you to join their online crew. Get a big enough rep and they’ll join you...
No one else ANYWHERE will have the same set-up as you. Your car is unique. You meet up for a race or a cruise…
Okay, picture the scene. You’ve worked on your car for ages like it was in your dad’s drive. It rocks. You take it online…
// Car In The Community
Just like real underground car cruises and street races, everything in Juiced is organised by mobile phone. You start off with only your mum's number but as you build a rep, the calls start coming in. Other crews will get in touch to invite you to races and cruises where you can fleece 'em real good.
Based in schizo Californian landscapes, there are nine areas, each with a ruling crew
Plan your domination in the Calendar screen. It shows all upcoming meets and entry costs
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