Ford Racing 3 – XB – Review

It’s been a while since I’ve had a
racing game zip across my path. Along comes
2k Games’ Ford Racing 3. It’s
low-priced, and though I don’t usually grade things based on their price, I do
have to mention up front that this is a classic budget title – coming in at a
retail price hovering around $15.00 U.S. Keeping that in mind, it’s got about
the right amount of bang for the buck.

There are dozens of Ford cars to
choose from – from classic Model T to concept cars – with everything inbetween.
The tracks are varied, coming in with almost 30. The car selection begins very
minute, as the objective is to unlock and unlock some more. In fact, there isn’t
much offered right out of the box. Standard, sometimes boring cars depending on
the type of race you’re running. If you’re successful (ex: a Win), you can
unlock some goodies, which would include a car. This is a goal you DO want to
achieve. There are some great cars to use – but they have to be earned first. I
can’t think of a more limited selection than this game starts you with. But, if
you stick with it and succeed, they offer 55 cars in all. Though I did not get
deep enough to unlock them all, I did get to try a good variety of cars within a
relatively short amount of time – in Easy mode.

You can play against one other
player at home, or have a six-man battle via XBox Live online. You can view your
settings to match your driving preferences such as handling and such for each
car. This allows you to choose the car that’s best suited for your style of
driving. Again, there isn’t much to choose from at the start, so there’s not
much to look at!

The tracks have varied terrains and
environments. There is off-road challenges up to high-speed rally racing using
classic Fords from the 50s. The scenery looks pretty good in most cases, but the
physics are just … well, bad. Also, despite bashing the wall a zillion times
during my earlier races, the cars don’t take on damage. No engine smoking and
crumpled fenders. I wish real-life were so forgiving! It’s all about the
unlocking. Win and unlock. Repeat.

I’m a classic Mustang and Truck fan,
so I got plenty of those to see. Even though I was not racing some of them –
they were opponents at times. In one off-road challenge, I raced against the
exact same truck my grandfather owned – right down to the color scheme. That was
nice. Hey – it’s a Ford Fan game. If you’re a die-hard GM person, this won’t
provide the same kind of thrill. I’m a little less biased towards one auto maker
or another. I think they all have their hits and misses.

The audio was teetering on the
annoying range of things. The music was generic synth-rock that tried to emulate
classic rock tunes without much success. It became more annoying than anything.
Aside from that, there is engine roaring and related noises. Having not
owned almost 60 Ford vehicles, I cannot vouch for their authenticity. But the
muscle cars have an expected low rumble and the off-road vehicles sound even
more aggressive.

The visuals are nice, but that’s not
to be confused with realism. The cars do not seem to be a part of the scenery.
They do not interact with the tracks in any way. You can drive straight into a
wall (as I did many times!) without leaving a scratch on the car or the wall. No
skid marks to note, no rattling engine after abusing the car to near-death. The
cars remain show-room pretty and "float" on the scenery rather than blend in
with it. It’s almost distracting.

If you can unlock the car of your
dreams, and get to race it over some of the better tracks, you can get some good
thrills here. Just don’t expect it to feel very real or have much to choose from
right out of the box. It looks like a good game for head-to-head play, but I did
not get that chance. It’s a simple game that’s better than a lot of racers that
cost much more – but also worse than that same group. If you’re a Ford fan, you
have to get it. If you just need a game to fill a racing fix without breaking
the bank, it won’t disappoint.

Gameplay: 7.0
It’s easy to get into the groove of steering and staying ahead of the pack.
The physics are barely accurate, and it becomes a game of just avoiding solid
objects in your path and keeping a finger on the accelerator. It’s not hard to
win – with being able to bump others into walls and trees along the route. Keep
winning and you’ll end up with a nice arsenal of cars to choose from. That keeps
the races fresh.

Graphics: 6.5
Aside from the "floating car" feel, it looks very nice. You don’t have to
worry about beating up your favorite car, as the damage laws are not enforced
here. Just nice scenery and good-looking cars racing down the tracks. So what if
they don’t look like they’re touching the pavement? They look nice!

Sound: 6.0
The music is a turn-off. It tries to offer some down-and-dirty classic rock
to go along with the game’s attitude, but it falls short. It’s forgettable,
annoying music that leaves you reaching for the radio or your headset. Just
drown it out with a suitable MP3 mix from your own player and get back to
playing. The revved up cars and related sounds are not bad, though I don’t have
much to compare it to. I have never actually driven a Model T before. I
can only hope that they were true to the car’s real sounds.

Difficulty: Easy
The game is simple to learn and the harder modes are not that hard. That’s a
good thing. The key is to unlock cars and other goodies. If it were harder, this
game would be a toss-away Making it easier to succeed is needed, and smart.
Intentional or not.

Concept: 5.5
Cars race against each other in the third rendering of this series. That
garners a big "yawn," but there are some nice cars that you won’t see,
otherwise. If not for this game, there are tons of Ford cars and trucks that I
would never get to see up close without dragging myself to some car show with
washed-up soap opera actors.

Multiplayer: N/A
It’s there to experience, but I didn’t get the chance. Playing at home, you
can go head to head. Online, you can have half a dozen playing at once. That
offers some good thrills, I would imagine!

Overall: 6.5
This is for Ford fans or racers that are almost broke. It’s good for the
price, but do keep that in mind. This isn’t supposed to go up against Midnight
Club or other leaders. It’s a simple, Ford-glorifying collection of racing
adventure. It could be better in a lot of ways. There are a lot of faults to
this game, but in all it’s very playable and does provide some genuine fun. I am
a Ford fan, so enjoyed seeing a lot of cars I don’t get to see every day.
Unlocking them is rewarding, but the lack of playable cars at the start is
daunting. There is only a screen full of dimmed teasers to "win." Do that, and
you’ll enjoy it much more. Get stuck with the default car(s), and you’ll not get
anything of value from this title. The three most important keys to this game
are: Unlock, unlock and unlock.