Ford Racing 2 is one of those titles that might be lost in the shuffle if the general public never stops to take notice. But in reality it should be right up there with other mid-level racing titles, like the Burnout series, which have gained a lot of commercial success. Throwing a whole host of Ford licensed vehicles from the late 60's to future concept cars into the same game, Ford Racing 2 abandons its budget title stigma and turns out to be much more of an enjoyable experience than one might expect.

Breakdown

Any reviewer who gives this game a below average score simply hasn’t played the game deep enough and has succumb to the deadly sin of judging a game by its price tag. Ford Racing 2 is not only a vast improvement over its predecessor (available on PS1 and PC) but it can stand up against most recent racing titles with its own kind of charm. Gathering all types of Ford model vehicles, FR2 places you in a variety of racing situations that you must pass in order to unlock tracks, cars and other challenges. Much like the mission mode in the Soul Calibur series, each challenge has the player perform stringent time sensitive tasks like collecting hourglasses to beat a target time or not straying from a line for too long during the entire race. Either way you slice it this makes for a gripping racing game that can lead to a lot of frustration but it’s a lot of fun opening new areas of the game. The variety of races is helped by the versatility of the Ford line up. Stock cars are used on oval or triangular tracks, off-road trucks, SUV’s, rally cars and buggies on dirt roads and deserts, modern concept cars on sleek boulevards and so on.

With Gran Turismo as the standard by which all subsequent race titles have been judged graphically, FR2's budget roots begin to show. Textures are not as intricate, lighting is not as realistic and the scenery is simply not as interesting as that of the GT series. But biases aside, FR2 makes a solid effort at keeping the grain down to a minimum and tracks appear clean, colorful and artistically varied. With the exception of the desert rally circuits, all are fairly pleasing with few reasons to pause and glare. Draw distance isn’t even an issue.

Perhaps the coolest aspect of FR2 is the fidelity to the Ford catalog. The muscle cars selectable early in the game are fun to drive with their roaring engines and the smooth design. Yet beyond nostalgic and historic value they are used to ease you into the speed that is to come with the concept cars like the Focus FR200 which reaches well over 190 mph in the game while still keeping tightly under control. It’s exhilarating, for lack of a less cliched appropriate word. Ripping around turns at such high speeds rarely (if ever) compromises the consistent 60fps. While this is unrealistically fast it makes each race interesting and keeps the suspense and excitement for opening new, faster cars fresh throughout the unlocking process. After unlocking cars you can view the trophies you’ve won or go multi-player with the tracks, challenges and cars you’ve unlocked.

With standard controls it would be difficult not to pick up FR2 and play. The Xbox controller is most suited for the type of control the game uses with shoulder button acceleration and the stiff left analog stick. While the hand brakes are not essential on turns, letting go of the accelerator is most times and braking too much when it is needed can send you spinning out to lose a race. Most manual dexterity is needed during the challenges and the game is more straight-forward during regular races.

FR2's soundtrack is one of the best ever for a racing title simply because you can customize it (only on the Xbox version). I slipped in some Moby (“We Are All Made of Stars”) and the game suddenly became 10 times better. Other aspects of sound (especially the distinct difference between motors) are surprisingly well done beside the annoying announcing voices.

But FR2 does is not without its flaws of course like the hinted Xbox Live service that really wasn’t. I really couldn’t care less about posting my scores up on the scoreboards...but that’s just me. Also, no matter how much you batter your vehicle there will be no model damage which is a little disconcerting. The track designs are a little on the generic side despite their smoothness and after not very long you feel as if you’ve seen them all. Finally, it’s too difficult to recover from a spin out which often times costs you the entire race. Too often did I spin out seconds off the finish line and a lose a race that I should have won. It happened so often that I began to think the game was doing it on purpose to keep me from finishing all of the tracks in one go.

If you’re looking for a straight-forward racing title to keep you entertained until GT4 comes out, don’t pass up Ford Racing 2. It’s worth more than its price and will dissatisfy only a few racing fans.

Posted: December 1, 2003