Juiced: Eliminator
The ex-Acclaim street racer goes portable. But will you want to take it with you?
Published: July 24, 2006
Though the dust has finally settled on the final remains of the popcorn-worthy Acclaim saga, one of the more unlikely things to emerge from the company's dazzling burnout and collapse, Juiced, has managed to grow longer legs than almost any game in memory. Almost a year after it resurfaced with THQ as a new publisher, Juiced has made the jump to Sony's little wunderportable. Juiced: Eliminator and the process isn't as jarring as you'd think.
Eliminator takes its name from one of the new events in the game where the last place racer is eliminated each lap until there's only one, and it's one of the few additions to the formula set out by the first game. I'm particularly proud of the original Juiced review, and I'd recommend that you take a peek at that first to get the gist of what the game is all about. This review will mainly cover the differences, of which there are a notable few. This is a solid port, but not a remarkable one, and before plowing forward with the comparisons, it's probably best to see what makes the core of the game so entertaining, because it's still here, just harder to get to know.
Juiced, for all the faults that it still has, manages a kind of risk vs. reward dynamic that no other racing game can match. Though the barrier of paying cash to enter races has been removed (though, oddly enough, it's still referenced at the beginning of the game's career mode), there's still the ability to bet against an individual racer. This means it's entirely possible to enter races you have no chance of winning yet still come out on top, gaining the other thing the game does different than any other racer: it affords you some respect.
This system is handled a little differently in the PSP version; now you don't have to listen to the same comments after every race from the cliché-o-riffic racing gangs all over the fictional Angel, but you can't put the betting squeeze on anyone to pressure them into giving you more respect either. It's a little bit of a bummer, but it keeps you from milking easy respect points out of the other racers, since that, along with making cell phone calls to them to engage in special challenges with specific cars, is how you complete career mode.
Even with a retooled respect system, the game's particular blend of semi-floaty physics is still in place, but there isn't nearly as much feeling of the cars having weight or being influenced by the road. The console version enjoyed using little dips and bumps in the road to mess with a car's handling, but none of that is really present here. Instead, you'll struggle with a too-touchy analog stick and mushy d-pad controls. I eventually got used to the d-pad (since I was just tapping the analog nub to make turns anyway), but you never really get the hang of vehicles like the console version allowed.
So, at least in fundamental design, the Career Mode is the same as the console version, which is a good thing. This means the Arcade Mode is too, and the Free Mode (which lets you create a race based on cars and tracks you've unlocked in Arcade Mode) is fun too, but the developers did let the year difference give them cause to add something new in Career Challenge Mode.
Think of it as something of an expanded version of the missions you get when you call a team leader on their cell phone. You'll have at least a month to win 15 eliminator races, 20 sprints (drag races, arguably the most fun in the game), trick out your car, earn 4 million points in showoff mode or win 130,000 points. In two months, you'll have to collect eight specific cars, take 20 pinks or win 15 races with your AI crew. Almost all the challenges start you out with a set amount of money, so winning races and proper customization is key.
Eliminator takes its name from one of the new events in the game where the last place racer is eliminated each lap until there's only one, and it's one of the few additions to the formula set out by the first game. I'm particularly proud of the original Juiced review, and I'd recommend that you take a peek at that first to get the gist of what the game is all about. This review will mainly cover the differences, of which there are a notable few. This is a solid port, but not a remarkable one, and before plowing forward with the comparisons, it's probably best to see what makes the core of the game so entertaining, because it's still here, just harder to get to know.
Juiced, for all the faults that it still has, manages a kind of risk vs. reward dynamic that no other racing game can match. Though the barrier of paying cash to enter races has been removed (though, oddly enough, it's still referenced at the beginning of the game's career mode), there's still the ability to bet against an individual racer. This means it's entirely possible to enter races you have no chance of winning yet still come out on top, gaining the other thing the game does different than any other racer: it affords you some respect.
This system is handled a little differently in the PSP version; now you don't have to listen to the same comments after every race from the cliché-o-riffic racing gangs all over the fictional Angel, but you can't put the betting squeeze on anyone to pressure them into giving you more respect either. It's a little bit of a bummer, but it keeps you from milking easy respect points out of the other racers, since that, along with making cell phone calls to them to engage in special challenges with specific cars, is how you complete career mode.
Even with a retooled respect system, the game's particular blend of semi-floaty physics is still in place, but there isn't nearly as much feeling of the cars having weight or being influenced by the road. The console version enjoyed using little dips and bumps in the road to mess with a car's handling, but none of that is really present here. Instead, you'll struggle with a too-touchy analog stick and mushy d-pad controls. I eventually got used to the d-pad (since I was just tapping the analog nub to make turns anyway), but you never really get the hang of vehicles like the console version allowed.
So, at least in fundamental design, the Career Mode is the same as the console version, which is a good thing. This means the Arcade Mode is too, and the Free Mode (which lets you create a race based on cars and tracks you've unlocked in Arcade Mode) is fun too, but the developers did let the year difference give them cause to add something new in Career Challenge Mode.
Think of it as something of an expanded version of the missions you get when you call a team leader on their cell phone. You'll have at least a month to win 15 eliminator races, 20 sprints (drag races, arguably the most fun in the game), trick out your car, earn 4 million points in showoff mode or win 130,000 points. In two months, you'll have to collect eight specific cars, take 20 pinks or win 15 races with your AI crew. Almost all the challenges start you out with a set amount of money, so winning races and proper customization is key.
