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Juiced 2 brings street racing back to PSP and DS

It's all about customisation, drifting… and pedigree driver DNA, apparently

Juiced 2 brings street racing back to PSP and DS

Sometimes we worry that the world is going to hell in a handkart. Hoodies bristle with guns and knives, most of the Middle East is smoldering in various low grade civil wars, and then we have to deal with game titles like this: Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights.

The first bit we get. It's a sequel to THQ's urban street racing game that was a million-seller back in 2005. But what's the Hot Import Nights all about?

Could it be Devon villagers racing around a beach on stolen BMW motorcycles after a Chinese super-container ship runs aground during a summer heatwave? Or maybe taxis full of Mexican economic immigrants speeding across the Texan border, with the Minutemen in hot pursuit?

Apparently not. Hot Import Nights is the US's largest lifestyle custom car show, and as such it's no doubt, erm, an intense racing experience.

"Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights introduces a thrilling new drifting component and lets players personalise their experience both on and offline with ultra-realistic Driver DNA," reckons Colin Bell, the headman at UK studio Juice Games, explaining what the sequel's all about. "We've significantly expanded the rewarding driving experience, track choice and customisation our fans have come to expect."

To translate, Driver DNA is a method of tracking your personal driving traits. Along with the profiles of celebrities, these will be available for download by online-enabled consoles.

Quite how much of this will filter down in the DS and PSP versions of the game remains to be seen, however.

Juiced 2 will be the first time the series has been released on DS, while the PSP debut, Juiced Eliminator, proved to be a solid, if somewhat unexciting, experience. But both are online consoles, of course, so presumably we too will be able to spread our Driver DNA around the ether with the best of them. Ain't life grand?

Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights is due for release sometime this autumn. Click 'Track It!' to do just that.

Jon Jordan
Jon Jordan
A Pocket Gamer co-founder, Jon can turn his hand to anything except hand turning. He is editor-at-large at PG.biz which means he can arrive anywhere in the world, acting like a slightly confused uncle looking for the way out. He likes letters, cameras, imaginary numbers and legumes.