ike the custom rides that populate the tuner events that give Hot Import Nights its name, this title is not your average factory model. It’s packed with special little details that set it apart and give it an edge on the competition. Sure, some of the game’s features aren’t exactly the equivalent of a whole-new engine, but at least Juiced 2 is doing whatever it can to find that last ounce of speed.

The career structure of Juiced 2 is similar to Dirt in that it’s structured in tiers. The crucial difference, however, is that promotion up the ladder isn’t predicated on how many events you finish or points you accrue, but rather which goals you’ve completed. These include getting a certain amount of drift points, earning someone’s pink slip, and more. The key here is that multiple races can be used to complete any one goal, and that multiple goals can be completed in any one race. So you can finish a betting, drift, and team challenge all in the same race. You could even race your entire career online against a field of other players if you wanted to. These races, by the way, can also have their own conditions, such Last Man Standing, where you have to outlast the rest of the field by not hitting any track barriers.

The game’s emphasis on choice continues off the track. You can customize your car, of course, but I like how the title gives you enough cash and tells you exactly how much you can customize each car before it maxes out its stats and becomes obsolete. No longer will you wonder if you’re just wasting your time and money on a dead-end car. I also love how you don’t just buy upgrades; you have to earn them through finishing a challenge first – like the pink slips and betting, it’s one of those details that keep this title from being average.

Juiced 2’s progress in numerous areas is blunted only by the short, uninspired tracks, which can affect the quality of the racing itself – something that’s no small matter, I know. I find Project Gotham tracks have done better in giving player bite-sized, drift happy courses, but overall this game is the burst of speed that this genre needs.