Ford Racing

Ford Racing
A Good start for a great franchise.
Genre(s): Racing Platform(s): Microsoft Windows PlayStation PlayStation 3 PlayStation Portable Release Date: Microsoft Windows NA: September 7, 2000 EU: November 17, 2000 PlayStation EU: February 16, 2001 NA: March 6, 2001 PlayStation Store WW: May 21, 2009 Developer(s): MotiveTime Toolbox Design (PS1) Publisher(s): Empire Interactive Country: United Kingdom Series: Ford Racing Successor: Ford Racing 2

Ford Racing is a racing game developed by MotiveTime and published by Empire Interactive for Microsoft Windows in 2000. The PlayStation version was developed by Toolbox Design and released one year later after the Windows version. Being the first of a long-lasting budget racing series, Ford Racing was the only game released on the original PlayStation.

On May 21, 2009, Ford Racing was released for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable as a PS one Classic game, which makes this game the only entry in the series to be released on the PlayStation 3.

Why It Rocks

1. Tight controls on the PS1 version, which oddly mimics the Gran Turismo control layout.
2. The PS1 version features realistic car physics, which is something that the PC version doesn't have.
3. Decent car modeling and they look like the real-life counterparts.
4. The PlayStation version lets you upgrade your vehicle, and completing a season gives you a fully-tuned version of the car, whereas the PC version sorts the cars by year, and each year has a different livery and performance.
   • Sadly this feature was scrapped in future entries.
5. While not truly being a good game, Empire Interactive didn't give up on Ford Racing, with changing its developer to Razorworks (who developed Total Immersion Racing) the game gained a sequel which was absolutely great, which also changed series' direction forever.
6. The PC version has absolutely great graphics for a game from 2001
7. The soundtrack in the PC version is kinda decent.

Bad Qualities

1. Poor AI (especially on the PlayStation version, in which they push you a lot, as this makes the game unforgiving).
2. A small number of tracks (eight on the PS1 version, for example), and they aren't appealing to the eye.
3. Fairly limited sound design on both platforms (an engine sound, a tire screech, which loops on the PS1 version, a crash sound effect on either wall or car, a countdown beeper, which is absent on the PS1 version, and the noise that tires make while in gravel)
4. False Advertising: The back of the box on the PlayStation version in North America states that there's a unique picture-by-picture effect; this feature only existed on the PC version.
5. Generic soundtrack and the PS1 version has the music presented through poorly mastered CD tracks with abysmal clipping, whereas other games of the time relied on using music straight from the game data.
6. Unstable handling on the PC version.

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