JUICED IS A good raicing game but it could be better from THQ......................
Graphics are for the most part, awesome. Racing games are all about cars, and car models here are both plenty and varied. Some trully awesome reflection and paint options, which nfs-u can only hope to match. You race a track on different lighting conditions, which is a nice touch and gives sense or realism. There is however, no traffic and no "life" to tracks. Lack of trees and other small road side objects is very noticable too. One problem is the Lense flare option, it makes graphics look pixelated and blurry even when standing still, so I turned it off. Skid marks while accelerating and braking are missing for some reason. But the damage model is functional and particle system is good too. Cars look absolutely stunning, far better than in nfs-u.
Interface graphics, like videos and icons appear very ugly. As if someone resized them without any filtering. Overall, if there were clear videos and skidmarks (and a few more objects on tracks) i'd give it a 10. Control scheme is fairly good as default. I used Logitech Rumblepad and Momo Force racing wheel, and in both cases, i had to decrease sensitivity quite a notch to play. Controls could be a bit better, cars handle a bit loosely. But you get used to it.
Sound effects are okay.. but slightely weaker compared to nfs-u. All cars have distinct engine sounds, you can select car horn and that's about it. Music is pretty good, with some rather wicked rap songs. However, soundtrack is a bit short, and ability to have different songs for menu and racing is lacking.
Gameplay is where this game really shine .. or lacks. Basically, it is awesome. You get to do a LOT more than just race from a to b. And the racing envoirnment filled with different characters feel a lot more alive here. Your actions during racing determine how much respect you get. Do not expect to get applaud if you slam into opponent's car's. Racing modes are a lot more realistic and thanks to the damage model, you can no longer rely on "crash to brake" tactics. Which makes racing that much intense.
However, there are some problems with this game. Mainly the computer AI is extremely good. The amount you bet combined with horsepower difference can make same opponent completely different! Let's say if opponent's MR2 is 198hp, and you drive a 206 with 150hp; at bets around 2500-3000 you can fairly easily win. But you have to work REAL hard if you had bet like 10000-24000 .. This makes perfect sense too.. no one wanna risk their car for a lousy bet, but if bet is more than your car's worth, they'd put it all on stakes and try to win. So yeah, its fair as long as you too can put your skills to the test. If only cars handled bit more responsively.
That one spin during a turn can cause you race, and possibly your car if going for pink slips.
"There are not enough tweaking options" is a common statement about juiced. I do not agree with that. Sure, you can not add roof scoops or change side mirrors, but it offers you ride hight selection, ECU tuning (change horsepower to compete in different catagories) gearbox ratios and user defined 3-layersd colors!
This game is an attempt to put back what was missing from need for speed underground series.. depth! It tries to combine gameplay depth from Nfs-Porsche 2000 (best racing game ever imho) with visuals and street racing theme of NFS-u. And in my oppinion it achieves most of it.