If the driving wasn't so broken, and the minigames were more creative, this might not have been half bad.
To my surprise, the overall concept is actually quite good, and it's evident that people thought this through, and spent time coming up with a game that both follows the show, and is fun to play. Now, if only the game itself wasn't so bad...
Your mission is to take various vehicles in absolutely horrible condition, and not only repair them, but transform them into works of art by installing some of the most pointless, pretentious, and expensive (at first) upgrades you can imagine (which seem to have absolutely no effect on the car's performance). Now, all of the cars are piles of junk, as expected, but some of these contraptions can't possibly be legal to drive. You'll see broken windshields, hoods that are kept on the car with nothing more than some rope, and popped tires, whose holes are closed with corks (I counted at least twelve).
The first step is the Cash Roam Phase, because this time, the producers aren't paying. In this phase, you must drive around and raise money until you reach your predetermined budget, and there are two main ways to earn money. One way is to just slam into everything. For whatever reason, whenever you crash into traffic, magical coins will spew out of the car and will seek you out. There are also random objects (parking meters, billboards, etc.) scattered throughout the map that, when destroyed, yield cash awards.
The second way is to find events located in Pimp City. The events are Ghost Ride the Whip, Hot Stepper, and Cruise, and though they may sound mildly interesting, they're horribly simplistic, and actually watching what happens on the screen is even worse. Basically, it's just Press X Buttons as Fast as You Can for Y Rounds, Press X Buttons at the Right Time for Y Rounds, or Press X Buttons as Fast as You Can for One Round, respectively. As the game goes on, there will be more buttons you have to press, but that doesn't change the fact that you've done this a million times before. There are also Cash Tokens you can find that spell "PIMP!" (note the exclamation point), and reward you with more money.
Once you've reached your quota, a timer will appear, and you will have two minutes to arrive at the customer's house to begin pimping his/her ride (since the first customer is female, I will henceforth describe the customer as such). The first time I played, I did not arrive in time, and I have no idea what happens when you show up late. You don't fail the mission, and you don't take a monetary penalty. I guess it's just a way to prevent you from racking up infinite funds, but in the end, it really doesn't matter how much money you have.
Now that you're at the customer's house, it's time for Xhibit's Meet and Greet, where Xhibit knocks on the customer's door, and the customer finds out that her ride is about to be pimped. Upon learning this, she screams wildly and flails her arms in all directions, as if she's having some sort of seizure. Then, Xhibit examines the car carefully, pointing out all the horrific (and sometimes illegal) problems with the car, and takes the keys (it's a good idea to pay attention, since you won't always be able to visit every auto garage). After this is over, the Pimp Phase begins.
In this phase, you must roam through Pimp City, trying to find as many auto garages as you can before the timer runs out. These garages all deal in a particular type of upgrade (rims, paint jobs, interiors, etc.). Once you arrive, you must carefully decide which part will best meet your customer's needs, or so the game would like you to believe. There is never a situation in which the most expensive parts are not the best, so once you get there, scroll right until you reach the end, buy that part, and you'll win every time. You also get to play more stupid minigames to "make deals" on the parts, and, if mastered, you can buy the parts for significantly less than the asking price (I'm talking upwards of a 50% discount here). Add that to the fact that you still earn money for hitting traffic, and you'll never be hurting for cash.
As I mentioned earlier, you're up against a rival pimping agency, who somehow gets a copy of the customer's car to pimp the way they want it. After the timer runs out, it's time for the Reveal, where Xhibit comments on both cars, and the customer chooses one. If you win, that car is added to your garage, and you can use it during any Cash Roam Phase. I guess they made another copy of the car, or you never actually gave it to the customer, or something. If you have an answer, I would love to hear from you.
The main reason this game is bad is that the driving controls are atrocious. Your car handles like a massive brick on ice, and you spin out constantly. It's also annoying when you crash into walls, poles, curbs, and other random objects that aren't meant to be hit (which you will, many, many times). Sometimes you'll bounce right off it. Sometimes you'll grind to a halt. Sometimes it locks you into place, where you'll continually rotate around it until you eventually escape. This isn't so bad when you can take as long as you want, but during the Pimp Phase, you can't waste too much time getting stuck in trees and ricocheting off walls.
As for the presentation, it's pretty good. Pimp City looks nice, the car models are decent, and the frame rate holds up its end of the bargain. The voice actors for the customers are embarrassing, but Xhibit does a decent job, considering what he actually has to say. The load times are annoying, but you get to check your progress and read some Pimp Hints, so, it's not too bad.
It's a shame, really, because if the driving wasn't so broken, and the minigames were more creative, this might not have been half bad, but as it stands, it serves as a perfect example of what happens when bad ideas go bad.
There's just one more thing: You've officially been pimped!