Acclaim Shows Off New Juiced Mode

It's business as usual at Acclaim, as evidenced by today's news of a new mode in Juiced just for show-offs. New screens inside too!

Despite a somewhat turbulent week for one of the industry's most recognised names, it's business as usual at Acclaim, and their biggest title of the year, Juiced, keeps speeding forwards today with the announcement of the "Show Off Mode".

What every modder craves is attention and respect in equal measure, and the 'Show-off' event is exactly where to get both... or lose both! In Juiced, 'Show-off' is a totally unique mode providing a freestyle event against the clock. It's not racing, but you have a set amount of time to pull classy maneuvers and impress the crowd. What's more, 'Show- Off' mode is not only available in the single player game. It's available online too!

In Online Career mode, you get the chance to go head to head with up to six other petrol heads simultaneously, battling it out for the maximum points. You take online any of the cars you have bought and modded in your Career Collection, complete with personalized paint job.

Sophisticated physics are what make the 'Show-off' mode possible and so much fun. In the movies, we've all seen Bootleg turns (U-turns), J turns, donuts and other motorized madness. In Juiced you get to try them all, in over 45 different types of car. It takes real skill to master all the moves in every model... on the way you'll find that some cars are better than others for certain moves, and that's all part of the game.

How well you perform also depends very much on the way you have modified your car. For example, a four wheel drive Skyline kitted out with rock-solid suspension, full spoilers and the most expensive tires is probably not your best choice for drifting or pulling donuts. On the other hand, an old Nissan 300 ZX with rear wheel drive, up-rated power and a short ratio gear-box is just right. Take a look at the real-life example. Front wheel drives can be fun too, but you'll need to learn completely different ways of executing the same maneuvers.

In all there are nine distinct maneuvers to master in 'Show-off' mode, from donuts to high speed 360-degree turns, but that's just the start. By linking moves together successfully, you'll boost your score considerable. Make a mistake and you'll wipe out your hard earned points.

Once you have mastered each maneuver, your mission is to string them together to create high-speed ballet in cars. So start with a half dozen, smoking donuts, nitro your way to a maximum speed run, bleed off energy in a sweeping drift around a curve and get ready for the grand finale... a 180 degree turn that has you traveling backwards at high speed, ready to execute a classic J-Turn. And to put a cherry on top, another round of donuts followed by a handbrake turn as you dash to cross the line. Executed perfectly, this sequence will have the crowd screaming for more, and see your score multipliers go through the roof.

Of course, the jury is still out on Juiced, but first impressions are promising. See here if you missed our erlier coverage.

Adam Doree
Director, Kikizo.com