Juiced spills onto PSP

The road to retail for the console version of Juiced was bumpy, to say the least. The game crashed headfirst into several delays--its original publisher going out of business and a bidding war between big-name companies for its rights--before parking in THQ's lot to the tune of more than $10 million. After sputtering along for more than a year, the game finally rolled into stores, tailed by slightly better than average reviews.

THQ hopes it will be smooth cruising for its portable version, announced today. The PSP will get another street-racing game in Juiced: Eliminator, scheduled for release next summer. UK-based Juiced Games will once again be behind the wheel of the game and will incorporate some of the unique features of the PSP.

"From the beginning, our goal with Juiced: Eliminator was to design the game from the ground up, creating the next evolution in the Juiced racing experience," said Colin Bell, managing director of Juice Games. "While the game will be immediately recognizable to all Juiced fans, we're very excited to bring a new dimension to the brand by tailoring to the inherent capabilities of the PSP."

One of those inherent capabilities is of course the built-in wireless function. Through ad hoc connectivity, gamers will be able to race against other drivers in multiplayer crew races, pink-slip races, and the new eliminator mode, which sees the slowest racer eliminated from competition on each lap.

In addition, the game will feature eight new characters and crews, two new racing locales with eight tracks, and nine new cars with dozens of new body-kit parts.