Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights - InterviewThere are some things you just can't get enough of. Besides the obvious, I mean. Well, maybe gorgeous babes and cool rides are the obvious. And this is good, because that's exactly what Juiced 2 - Hot Import Nights is all about. The first Juiced had a pretty complicated and hapless story. The game should have been published by Acclaim in 2004, but ended up as collateral damage of the publisher's bankruptcy. The game was then shelved for quite some time, and released by THQ some months later, after a little cosmetic touch up, even so showing off a face furrowed by its troubles - especially when compared to other similar games (the latest installment of Need for Speed, for starters). I reviewed the first Juiced for an Italian magazine just a couple of weeks before Acclaim's shutdown (maybe I’m baaaaaad mojo), and I was pretty gloomy about the fate of the series, which in my opinion still had a lot of potential. So, I was pretty happy to discover that Juice Games is alive and well, and that there's another Juiced game coming (hopefully without further third-party complications), called Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights! YG had the chance to interview Nick Clarkson, Juice Games licensing manager, and here we go!
YouGamers: Hot Import Nights - that sounds like "illegal races in a legal environment" to me. For the few of us who do not know anything about that, what can you tell us about the HIN events? Nick Clarkson: Hot Import Nights events are really well organized and a perfect day out for all petrol-heads. The events are advertised weeks in advance and local teams and crews are invited to come and show off their rides with the possibility to win huge trophies. The event also features a main stage on which various DJs and rap artists appear, not to mention the beauty contests! The event usually includes some sort of demonstrations too. I recently attended a HIN event in Florida and watched a drifting masterclass – those drivers were good!
YouGamers: Why did you decide to lean on an official license? Or maybe it was a THQ's decision? Which are the advantages of working with a license like HIN? Other than the name, did you receive any other help from the HIN guys? Clarkson: During the development we realized that the game had many parallels to the Hot Import Nights events that it seemed a perfect match. The bonus for us was the addition of the Hot Import Nights brand and getting access to the HIN team gave the game extra focus and a real edge. Hopefully the gamer will feel the difference with the whole atmosphere surrounding the game, the races, drift circuits, and locations.
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