Juiced First Look

Juiced is the recently announced racing game from Acclaim in development at UK-based Juice Games for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, and PC. The gameplay will be a hybrid of arcade and sim elements and will make use of licensed cars, car parts, and locations set throughout the world. We got a look at the ambitious game on the Xbox, which draws together elements from various racing games in the hopes of providing a unique experience.

The game will include three main gameplay modes--instant, career, and multiplayer--each with its own variations. While instant mode offers a few variations on a quick single-player race, which we'd expect in a racer, the career mode is a bit different. The career mode will revolve around time and money rather than working your way up a ladder, though it's still a large part of the career experience. The interesting twist in the career mode is that you'll have access to a calendar that will show you upcoming races you can choose to participate in, and winning them will earn you cash and respect points. However, some races will require you to have a certain number of respect points or a specific car before you can enter them. The various races will be hosted by different racing crews that will set their own entrance requirements. A cool, and likely initially frustrating, aspect of the game appears to be the money and car system. Basically, all of the game's 50 licensed cars are available right off the bat in the shop. Now, this doesn't necessarily mean you can afford them immediately--not even close--but they'll be there in the shop taunting you. Juiced will also borrow a page from EA's Need for Speed Underground by letting you modify various elements of the car--everything from car parts to paint jobs to accessories.

The multiplayer game in Juiced is slated to include a robust selection of features above and beyond the typical split-screen action. For instance, there will be an online component so you can play head-to-head against a friend. An intriguing aspect of the racing is the crew element, which will often see you playing as a member of your own crew--you'll pick one when you set up a profile at the start of the game. While the exact details are a little hazy, it appears that you'll be able to issue commands to your AI teammate when you're racing--maybe similar to how orders are issued to your teammates in Rogue Squadron or Rebel Strike. The game mechanics are pretty typical for a racer. You'll have an emergency brake for making sharp turns and for performing crazy stunts on the road to earn respect points, which go toward helping your reputation.

From what we've seen so far, Juiced is looking very promising. The game looks good and plays well, albeit a bit roughly in spots. Considering the ambitious spec that Juice Games is shooting for, we have to say we're curious to see how it all comes together. If the team manages to nail everything it's planning, Juice could turn out to be a very slick original racer. Juice is currently slated to ship this fall for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, and PC. Look for more on the game in the coming months.