Potential… that’s the best word to describe THQ’s Fast And The Furious-like Juiced franchise. While its predecessor failed to set the world of racing games aflame, the sequel has arguably steered its big ol’ shiny bonnet in the right direction – before launching into a drift around wide corners, past sexy honeys gyrating under a confluence of neon light. Anyway, to the point, Juiced 2 clearly showed the franchise had something to offer – and one day may stand wheel-towheel with other such contemporaries.

At least, the console versions did. But things are different on the PSP – the handheld is becoming something of a home for stellar racing games. The good news is that developer Juice Games has done a good job emulating its next-gen brethren. Juiced 2 is such a good approximation of the other versions that it actually casts them in a much harsher light. Sure, Juiced 2 lacks the wild colour palette and nightclublike atmosphere of the others, but it really suits the PSP format brilliantly.

Plagued by horrible menus, the console version made a simple process such as selecting events a bit daunting. It was not helped one bit by the fact that pre-race banners all looked like they were made from cutout women from FHM, with blue, yellow and pink streams all over them. They are in the PSP version, but less so. And while Juiced 2 is riding high on the theme of Hot Import Nights – an auto-show in the US for tuned vehicles – scaling it all back graphically and aesthetically actually helps.

Control-wise, it doesn’t matter if you prefer D-pad or analogue – both work and feel lovely. X accelerates, Square breaks and R is the boost option. That’s all you need when playing, this leaves you to enjoy such delights as ghosting the opposition, causing their stat bar to increase and, when full, crash. It has a chase mode that’s as terrifying as it is enjoyable, and it even makes the act of taking a car and upgrading it a fun experience. On the PS3, Juiced 2 was mediocre with signs of progression. On the PSP, it ably drifts behind the best of ’em.

Craig Gilmore