Ford Racing 3 Preview

Ford Racing 2 was a well balanced and entertaining racing game that was released last year at a budget price point.  Ford Racing 3 gives gamers double the content of last year’s game without doubling the price.  How many times would you love to get double the content but without a higher price?  Just go ask the fast food restaurant if you can get the super size menu option but the regular size price. 

A big addition to the content is the number of cars and tracks in Ford Racing 3.   This year’s version will include 62 cars and 26 tracks, which 12 of those tracks are reversible versions of other tracks.  The cars will be composed of Vintage, Classic and Modern cars.  You won’t be able to pit a Vintage Model T Ford against a Mustang but the developers will still include a wide variety of Ford cars.  There will be unique Ford cars included in the game which are specific to a particular country.  The developers are including several European and Australian only Ford models. There will be several tracks in Ford Racing 3 that were not available in Ford Racing 2.  The game will also include several new gameplay modes not available in last year’s version.  Some of the new modes are Boost, Overtake, Relay and several others that will be available in the final version.    

The graphics are very detailed and smooth with the game running at a constant 60 frames per second.  This is a big jump from Ford Racing 2 which was only running at 30 frames per second.  While playing the game all of the graphics were very smooth with no noticeable slow down during the test play.  The car models have also been updated with a more polished view compared to last year’s version.  During the test play the car models were detailed but still seemed to lack an additional code of polished, especially compared to other racing games such as GT4.

The controls are standard racing controls with the demo played being the Xbox version.  The right trigger button was used for the acceleration while the left trigger button being the break.  The cars controlled well but the cars would still float during the corners.  This actually wasn’t that big of a problem once you get used to the controls.  It’s possible that this issue will be corrected before the game is shipped but most players shouldn’t have a problem adjusting to the controls.  

The game will feature Multiplayer modes with the big reward for Xbox players.  The Xbox version of the game will support Xbox Live with multiplayer racing.  The game will support at least 8 players online at one time right now.  It’s possible this number could be adjusted upwards by the time of release later this year.  The PS2 version will feature split screen multiplayer but sadly no online multiplayer. 

Ford Racing 2 was a pleasant surprise last year and this year we’re in for another surprise with Ford Racing 3.  The enhanced 60 FPS graphics, expanded car selections and additional tracks are great additions to the game.  The Xbox Live feature is also a great feature for this already packed game.  To make the game even better, the budget price point ($19.99 right now) makes this an easy choice for racing fans.

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