Juiced: Eliminator

"You can't have enough of a good thing," they say. But as anyone with their brain in the correct gear will tell you, 'they' are clearly idiots, the kind of people who'll tell you they "can't wait" for this or that to happen (what are they planning as an alternative – to jump forward in time or something?).

Anyone who uses the above opening adage with reckless abandon has obviously not noticed the amount of racing games on PSP, for instance. Every other week seems to bring more of this particular 'good thing', and the queue has just grown again with the arrival of Juiced: Eliminator.

This is racing, street style. In other words, it's all about respect, your crew, your pink slip (that's your car registration document rather than some Freudian euphemism) and you should know the drill by now: take a car, add a tonne of fibreglass and plastic, paint it a colour that can't quite decide what it wants to be, boost the engine performance vastly beyond anything the chassis might have dreamt itself able to handle and then proceed to announce your imminent arrival with denture-loosening levels of bass, giving the local grannies just enough time to shuffle back into their bungalows before you use their road as a racetrack.

With the exception of little old ladies rushing back indoors, Juiced: Eliminator covers most of the above essentials. In Career mode you get more parts to upgrade your ride than you'll know what to do with – thankfully these unlock progressively so you won't spend the first three hours trying out every turbo application, EMP remapping, suspension setting, and the many other mechanical improvements available. (For those short on time, there's also a handy 'package' option that automatically selects and installs all of the latest unlocked upgrades).

As important as the performance, of course, is your car's appearance. Here you'll find even more options – side skirts, bonnets, bumpers, spoilers, rims, neons, decals, body paint, even ICE and the colour of your dials can all be selected from a vast selection. Think of Juiced as the dream tune-up shop.

Everything in it is very much grounded in reality, though. All of the parts are from real-world manufacturers, as are the rides you get to tinker with (see PG Tips below). And like in the real world, you can't have what you can't afford.

Winning races brings in some cash to spend on repairs and additional kit bits, but it's pre-race betting against your fellow competitors that really boosts your income. For the highest risk-reward thrill, you'll need to be racing for 'pinks'. Lose, and they take your pride and joy; win and you get theirs. But before you get to that stage you'll need to have built up a considerable amount of Respect points, Juiced's real currency, awarded at the end of each event by your peers and mostly dependent on your performance.

You're not on your own, though. You can recruit similarly minded modders that can subsequently be unleashed on the opposition in a series of race meetings across the various areas of the vast city. You'll need a crew for team-based events but it's worth noting you can take on a managerial role, sending them off on challenges of their own rather than you having to always bring home the slips. And the more they race, the better they get.

But that's never as much fun as getting behind the wheel yourself. Well, up to a point. The game certainly does a decent job of keeping things fresh by mixing its variety of events – Circuit and Street meetings (including the eponymous Eliminator mode, which sees the slowest driver per lap removed), Sprint (a drag race with manual real changes), and Show Off, in which get to put your car control skills to the test by J-turning, donuting, drifting and so on around a piece of tarmac.

However, the track design isn't the most exhilarating and sections often feel repetitive. And despite good sense of speed, the racing itself is missing some of the dynamism you'd wish for. In addition, while the handling is pleasantly weighty, it lacks quick response, meaning turns have to be initiated with precise timing. Getting it right will take a few races but gracefully nailing a high-speed chicane, for instance, often makes the effort worthwhile (not to mention the long loading times).

"Good things come to those who wait," they say. Okay, for once they're right – the extensive tune-up options, betting and crew management systems and varied structure of Juiced: Eliminator make it good. But the lacklustre elements of the racing prevent it from being considered great.