Juiced pays tribute to EA’s Need for Speed: Underground, as much as NFS: Underground pays tribute to the film 2 Fast 2 Furious. Got rice? Welcome to the world of tricked out Japanese 4 cylinder street racing, where what’s under the hood isn’t quite as important as the pearlescent paint and decals on top of it.
 
PC Authority readers with a ‘fully sick’ Nismo GTR and conspicuous turbo pop-off valve will love this arcade racer. Juiced embraces the best of the underground street racer culture. Camry drivers will find it amusing, in a scornful derisive fashion, but cultural prejudice doesn’t get in the way of enjoying this game, it just makes it funnier.
 
Heavily weighed down with gameplay that makes the actual driving feel incidental, Juiced doesn’t miss a trick. You’re asked to select a mobile phone and car stereo brand from a range of funky options when starting the game first time. Between races you’ll use the phone to challenge other homies, plus build up your address book for the ultimate Nokia.
 
The driving is soft, easy and arcade. Opponents will deliberately ram and bam you into walls, upsetting racing sim purists enormously, but it’s tidy brainless fun. Betting cash on yourself before a race will hopefully fund car tweaking. THQ boasts 7.2 trillion possible car upgrades, and most of these are cosmetic.
 
Playing through the story-mode is repetitive and often boring, but the arcade nature of Juiced makes it a multiplayer treat. This one will win respect at a LAN, but don’t expect it to satisfy your serious racing urges.