Juiced pulls into stores

After several pit stops and detours, THQ's street-racing game, Juiced, has finally hit the retail road. Juiced is now available in retail stores on the Xbox and PlayStation 2 for $49.99, and on the PC for $39.99. The game was developed by UK game studio Juiced Games, and is rated T for Teen.

In Juiced, gamers take to the streets in one of more than 50 officially licensed cars from manufacturers such as Mazda, Nissan, and Peugeot. Each car can be tweaked with several after-market parts for a total of more than seven trillion automobile iterations. By winning races, drivers will accumulate notoriety and respect, opening up new challenges and prompting fellow racers to join their racing crew.

The various racing modes include point-to-point races, online races supporting up to six players, and pink-slip races where losers pony up to the winners with their cars. Gamers can speed along 99 tracks across eight different environments. The soundtrack includes music from Brit DJ/producer Paul Oakenfold, indie rockers TV on the Radio, hip-hoppers Nas and Talib Kweli, UK electronic artists Lemon Jelly, and others.

Juiced didn't exactly roll off the assembly line hitch-free. The game was originally scheduled for release in fall 2004 by Acclaim. However, in late August, Acclaim went bankrupt and shut down operations, leaving Juiced abandoned on the side of the road. After a bidding war for the game, THQ played repo man by offering more than $10 million for the publishing rights, beating out Take-Two Interactive's reported offer.

For more information on Juiced, peruse GameSpot's previous coverage, or check back later today for the full review.