Juiced: Eliminator

Another racing game on the PSP is hardly newsworthy these days, seeing as a huge chunk of the handheld's library is already dedicated to going from point A to point B as fast as possible. Even so, Juiced: Eliminator actually brings enough new things to the table to make us sit up and take notice.

While it shares its name with Juiced - the OK-ish console racer - Juiced: Eliminator actually bucks the PSP-port trend by offering up a new game instead of a watered-down translation. There's a lot that's identical to the original - the race types and most of the cars, for example - but Eliminator boasts new characters, new tracks, new multiplayer modes and a surprising amount of depth for a PSP game.

But what makes Eliminator interesting is that, while getting across the finish line first is important, it's far from your only concern. You'll also have to worry about impressing the eight crews that run Angel City's street-racing circuits. Each one will be impressed by a different thing; one will admire you for your car collection, for example, while another will respect high-stakes bets. Earning respect gets you privileges with each crew, whether it's to attend their events, race them for pink slips or host your own runs on their turf.

Earning respect will also allow you to recruit new drivers to your racing crew, and you can use their skills to mop up any events you might have trouble with.

Mikel Reparaz
After graduating from college in 2000 with a BA in journalism, I worked for five years as a copy editor, page designer and videogame-review columnist at a couple of mid-sized newspapers you've never heard of. My column eventually got me a freelancing gig with GMR magazine, which folded a few months later. I was hired on full-time by GamesRadar in late 2005, and have since been paid actual money to write silly articles about lovable blobs.