Welcome to the wild, wacky world of Hazzard County, where your driving skills could make you a legend or, at the very least, avoid getting caught by the local sheriff. Enter 'The Dukes of Hazzard II: Daisy Dukes It Out,' a sequel that dares to ask the burning question: can Daisy Dukes really hold her own against the Duke boys? Spoiler alert: Yes, but only in six out of eighteen levels, because, you know, game design.
The plot kicks off with Daisy’s childhood friend, disguised as a geologist (because that’s how you perform a heist), plotting to rob Hazzard Bank and frame Daisy. Classic! You play as Bo, Luke, Jesse, or the ever-capable Daisy, completing errands, racing against time, and trying to avoid becoming the fried chicken of Hazzard County while gathering wrenches and nitro gas to make your ride a little less pedestrian (and by 'pedestrian,' I mean frustratingly slow). Tasks range from picking up passengers to avoiding the stooges blocking your path: Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane, Deputy Cletus Hogg, and Deputy Enos Strate. Talk about an outlaw’s worst nightmare! Despite what the game may tell you, driving the General Lee does not magically transform you into a racecar driver, and navigating Hazzard County feels less glamorous and more like driving through a cornfield during a slow rain. Add in occasional cutscenes—where the animations frequently look like community theatre practice attendances—and you’ll feel assaulted by the nostalgia of a show that ended long before some of us were even born. The joyride mode lets players explore Hazzard County sans the threat of being chased, which can be charming if you enjoy low-stakes driving simulations. It's like taking a leisurely stroll through a museum, only the exhibits are rather bland and involve a lot of corn.
Visually, the game is like that old couch at your grandma's house: flawed, oddly comforting, but definitely not winning any beauty contests. The character models are rendered smoothly... if you squint really hard and pretend it’s 2D clay animation. Want nuanced textures? Well, buckle up because all you’re getting is a heaping helping of brown and green. It’s as if someone drew a picture of Hazzard County and decided to color using only earth tones, and not the fancy ones. The soundtrack, meanwhile, has been generously sprinkled with country rock so you can feel true Southern pride while racing against time to deliver pieces of hay or whatever makes Hazzard run.
So, is ‘Daisy Dukes It Out’ a triumph of racing games, plopping you squarely into the boots of a Duke sibling? Not quite. Fans of the show may find a certain charm in the nostalgia and its occasional burst of brilliance, but many will balk at the uninspired gameplay, technical hiccups, and cutscenes that can best be described as cringingly awkward. The real conundrum is: should you pick this game up? If you’re a die-hard Dukes of Hazzard fan, then what’s a few hours of lackluster gameplay for a trip down memory lane? But if you prefer your driving games to involve a little more excitement than dodging the world’s most incompetent cops, you might want to steer clear. Hazzard County is best enjoyed from the comfort of your couch, not trapped in a hastily imported PlayStation game. The Dukes may have run wild, but this game feels like it's taking a leisurely stroll instead.