Juiced

The Good
The graphics are really nice and the game has a large collection of cars for the player to choose from. The soundtrack is also great and the overall experience makes the game really awesome.

The Bad
Controlling class 7 and lower cars gets really, really difficult. I have played the game on the XBOX as well. Of course, the steering sensitivity difference between class-different cars is still present but with the analog stick it's easy to get used in a matter of minutes to each type of car. I recommend using a console-like controller on the PC (the analog stick is a must). It really makes things easier! I haven't tried a steering wheel, I don't know if the game supports any but I guess it would be even better than using an analog stick. Over time you get bored of the same opponents and tracks. However, after some time you always feel like going back to racing on them.

The Bottom Line
Juiced is a great racing experience. Not as good as the Underground games from the Need for Speed series but still, a great game. Juiced is a bit different from NFSU. Although all the racing takes place on city streets, it's not illegal. There are spectators on the side of the road, which is marked appropriately. The lack of traffic also suggests legal racing. Pink slip races, when you're being challenged by someone, are known to be "unofficial" and for the final proof, there are sponsored events, in which you may win prototype parts for your ride. There are lots of cars to be bought. Cars get unlocked after some time in the dealer's shop. If you can't afford a new car, you may choose to buy a used one (if available). It's cheaper but has some flaws. The cars are split into 8 classes by their base horsepower. You start with a class 8 car (1-199 bhp) which of course, can be customized to your liking. You may add spoilers, vinyls and neons to your car, change the window tint, tune the performance by installing new parts and much more! The vinyl customization is a bit poor in my opinion... You may only choose one vinyl per car and all of them seem too small to me. There are different race types. There's the classic circuit racing, point-to-point racing ("sprint" from NFSU), sprint racing ("drag" from NFSU), show off ("drift" from NFSU) and team racing. Team racing requires at least one other crew member to join in. Drivers join your crew after some time, although nothing much is told about them. You just know their name, their driving skills, and the fact that they want to join your team. After each race, their driving skill improves. You may also control their driving style in-race, which may vary from "low" (laidback) to "high" (violent). You need money to buy cars and upgrade them. You also need money to join certain racing events which are grouped on a calendar. You get money by winning events and betting with opponents. You may place a bet when events start and if you get to the finish line ahead of your betting partner, you win the bet. If you can't join any event on the calendar, you can start your own! Opponents will join automatically. Interacting with your opponents influences the respect each one has for you in different ways. Damaging their cars will decrease their respect, winning races will increase it. Different opponents raise their respect towards you for different reasons, some for winning races and others for having the best car on the track. As I said before, the game is great. It's fun and it feels unique in some way. It's definitely worth a try! With a gamepad.