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Ford Racing 2 Review
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Developer |
Take-Two Int.
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| Publisher |
Razorworks Studios
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| Genre |
Driving
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Ever since the dawn of the post-Gran Turismo world, racing games have never been more subject to criticism for their failure to meet the ambitious expectations that Polyphony’s flagship racer had achieved three times over (and soon to be four). Now obviously, it is quite unfair to compare many racing games side by side with the Gran Turismo series. To make it clear from the start, you will not see any comparisons between Ford Racing 2 and Gran Turismo 3 in this review. Clearly, the folks at Gotham Games and Razorworks are not expecting such a comparison, but that does not leave Ford Racing 2 in an empty void where it is free from all critique. That being said, this racer is a disappointment anyway. Even considering its $20 price tag, Ford Racing 2 is still a bland, overly clichéd arcade racer, with its best offering being an impressive garage of licensed Ford vehicles. The game’s potential of being a solid racing game is shattered by its vanilla driving physics and overall mediocre presentation.
Gameplay - The game tries to offer a fun Ford racing experience, but in actuality there is very little real racing to be seen here. Events like Racing Line, Driving Skills, Seconds Out, and Time Attack are all slight variations of each other, and none of them are terribly exciting, since it is just you against the clock. The difficulty of these solo-timed events is also quite high, with many of them requiring unreachable levels of perfection in order to pass them.
Cases in point: The Racing Line events have you complete one course lap under the target time – while trying to stay on the “best racing line” that is marked on the track. Driving off the line for any duration incurs an increasing time penalty. In order to stay on the line for the majority of the course, you will have to go slower, taking each turn by methodically tapping the directional button in the appropriate direction. As a result, Racing Line events feel more like a chore than an event.
Driving Skills, Seconds Out, and Time Attack are unfortunately highly similar to Racing Line events. In Driving Skills, you must pass through gates positioned around the track to offset the countdown timer as much as possible until you reach the finish line under the target time. Seconds Out has you completing one lap while collecting “time bonuses” (large spinning hourglasses that look even more ridiculous on the track than it sounds) which each shave one second off your total time. Finally, Time Attack involves riding one lap around the track under the target time. Yeah, you see most of these timed racing modes in almost every other racing game, but Ford Racing 2 is comprised of such a large percentage of them that you will be baffled as to why they put the word “Racing” in the title.
Although in the minority, there are genuine six-vehicle races to be found in Ford Racing 2. While these races are clearly much less sleep inducing than the seemingly endless barrage of time improvement modes, they never accelerate past the no-frills “hold down on the gas and never let go” gameplay that clearly offers little challenge. As long as you drive in the right direction, do not worry about not finishing in first place. The most skill you will most likely ever have to use is letting go of the gas before approaching a particularly tight turn. Otherwise, as soon as the race begins, put the pedal to the metal and don’t ever let up.
The game’s track designs are so obviously ripped straight out of Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 and Burnout 2 (which are much better games), but sorely lacking the multiple shortcuts of them both. In fact, there is not one shortcut in any of Ford Racing 2’s tracks. Quite appalling, to say the least. Just a few shortcuts per course may have saved FR 2 from impending monotony.
To be honest, it is a real shame that the gameplay does not do the impressive car selection justice. Ford Racing 2 lets you drive Mustangs, Thunderbirds, the Ford GT, various Explorers and F-150s, rally and stock cars, and a handful of intriguing concept vehicles. For a Ford fanatic, the 30+ Ford vehicle selections is more than enough to get them interested, but even the cars fall victim to floaty controls and sometimes moon-like physics. The game’s multiplayer mode is somewhat more exciting because you are racing against another human, but the control issues still remain, and it is basically your two-player race to the finish fare.
Graphics - Oddly enough, Ford Racing 2 has some highly detailed backgrounds, impressive vehicular light and environment reflections, and some pretty good-looking asphalt textures. For a game that is only 20 dollars, you would not expect this much. Obviously, the game is not without visual weaknesses. It is sorely lacking any anti-aliasing, which results in a storm of jaggies especially when looking into the distance, significantly detracting from the otherwise detailed courses. And from more of an artistic standpoint, the courses are simply lacking originality. Oceanside and freeway courses leave you with this undesirable déjà vu feeling, as if you’re playing the latest Cruisin’ arcade game [shudder]. Also, I know the Ford F-150 is “Built Ford Tough”, but I do not think it was ever designed to ride over searing hot lava, emerging without a scratch. Sure, it is only a video game, but there is a fine line between fantasy and silliness.
One last gripe, and this is a major one. Ford Racing 2’s sense of speed is practically non-existent. Whether I was going 70 MPH or over 150, I felt little difference between the two velocities. In any racing game, realistic or not, a smooth frame-rate and a believable sense of speed is an absolute must. While it maintains an acceptable 30fps, Ford Racing 2’s lack of excitement when you hit the fifth gear leads to that incredibly underwhelming feeling you get when your stuck in traffic in your 2003 L.E. Thunderbird. Well, maybe not yours, but you get the idea.
Sound - Ford Racing 2’s aural qualities are like its visuals: A few aspects of the sound are great, but mostly everything else drags yet another one of the game’s aspects into mediocrity. First, the good stuff. The game supports Dolby Pro Logic II, and when it comes to situational and directional engine noises, it satisfactory utilizes the format. If you have the surround sound system to enjoy it, you will clearly hear where your opponents are coming up from behind or to the side of you. Aside from that, the individual car engine noises are highly generic, and the (mostly) licensed music is, well, crap. The jazz and “funk” tunes are way out of place in a racing game, and what is leftover consists of terribly non-descript rock tunes. If the all-purpose music does not make you cringe, than the female “announcer” will. Nothing against women, but this girl’s voice is horrible, and her lines are even more so. Luckily, you can shut her off in the options menu, so as to avoid having to hear the overly cheesy “Let’s Race!” and “You’ve shattered the record!” lines for the umpteenth time.
Overall Value -
Unless you are a Ford automobile nut and must have every single officially licensed product of the company, pick up Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 (which is now a Greatest Hits title, by the way) or put the money towards the recently released Need for Speed Underground. Ford Racing 2 offers very little to recommend to any racing gamer, and with so many other great racing games to choose from, there’s no reason in trying to justify a purchase out of a game that is clearly lacking in depth or originality.
Review by Nick Pappas
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