Hot chicks and leather
The branding deal with Hot Winter Nights has given Juiced 2 a nerve centre, a focal point in which they have built on to give the game a real sense of character. The pre-race and post-race cut-scenes hope to capture the essence and spirit of the real-life event through the medium of racy dance music, the inclusion of some hot chicks and post-race podium scenes where crowds gather to share your success or jeer at your failure. MC's are also due to be thrown into the melee, offering their unique blend of rap, while DJ Adam Freeland, well known for his commitment to pushing dance music in a new and exciting direction, will be mixing a number of licensed tracks that aim to further entice us into the culture.
In Juiced 2, the designers have moved away from the use of a fictitious US city for the track locations and instead there will be some familiar landmarks. First up I watched a few circuit laps of the London track, as cars zipped through Trafalgar Square and the neon-lit Piccadilly Circus, complete with the familiar wide-screen advertisements from the likes of Samsung. In total there will be approximately 11 locations with an estimated 33 circuits to race around, including driving through the middle of the Coliseum in Rome, weaving our way around the streets at the foot of the Eiffel Tower in Paris and navigating the steep inclines of the Alps; in addition we can look forward to taking a trip around Sydney and San Francisco. The tracks will not be exact re-creations of the areas but they will all include noticeable landmarks to give races that authentic feel. The locations ooze next-gen with detailed backdrops and great lighting effects that make impressive use of the Xbox 360 hardware.
Click for larger imageIn the finished version there will be 92 cars available, almost double the amount that we saw in Juiced, including some impressive additions with the likes of the BMW-M3 and Z4. The licenses have also been secured for a number of new Super cars including the Pagani Zonda, Nobel M12 and Ascari. Sadly, Juiced 2 won’t feature any vehicles from the Porsche or Ferrari brand. I’m told that the licences for these cars would have cost more than the all of the 92 licences that have already been acquired!
