GI.net: "I am not a big fan of racing games. Sure, just like everyone else, I do enjoy them from time to time. And if you forced me to choose my favorite racing game of all time, that game would not be Mario Kart. This is not to say that I have not greatly enjoyed the series, but the high honor of my being my favorite goes to F-Zero on the Super Nintendo. I remember the first time playing it, being blown away at the graphics, the tight controls and, of course, the major almost overwhelming sense of speed. It was awesome. The racing game sent to me this time is Strategy First's Ford Racing: Off Road for the PC. So, is the game worth your time? My response is highly mixed but ultimately falls into the not-so-much category.
Installation of the game was rather painless as it quickly installed itself onto my computer. No crazed crashes or difficulty. And as an added bonus, the disc is not needed to play. However, the game does not come with a hard-copy manual. Instead, it is on the CD itself. For the record, while I do not hold that fact against this game, if a game comes in a box, there should be a hard copy of the manual - since it is not a downloaded game from the Internet. Or at the very least, it should include a quick sheet of controls."
Mygamer writes: "Most racing games are based on the diversity of tracks, depth of gameplay, and the amount of cars that can be chosen from for any given race. Ford Racing doesn't have this problem, mainly because it only has vehicles made by Ford, also because said vehicles are only the ones recommended for Off-Road driving. Added on the top of this problem are many others that make Ford: Racing: Off-Road never really jell as an experience.
The lack of a diverse amount of cars can cripple any racing game. So when Ford's game only has a small handful of selectable cars, less in total than many racing games have to start, it makes this (at best) middle of the road racing game fall flat. Instead of finding interesting ways around the lack of cars currently produced for Off-Road action, like going back through the vaults and using the company's impressive backlog, or pulling out zany future concept cars, Ford simply puts forward what it currently has."
Game Vortex writes: "What attracts players to racing games? For most, that answer is simulation. Simulations offer you the ability to do and control things you could not do yourself. Some might say competition amongst friends to "race" one another. Even still, some might say that it is the ability to just wreck and play around, consequence-free, even just to enjoy that careless destruction. With all of these possible motivating factors, what could allow a company to release Ford Racing: Off Road and ignore every facet of why players would enjoy playing a racing game? Yes, it is all about the Ford, and that places it in the marketing game category, but even as a playable commercial, there were issues that prevented this from being successful at even advertising the intended product."
Racing games sure have advanced since GameZone started playing years ago. They use to be content with just arcade style racing games and their only concerned were the graphics. Then the genre seemed to shift to a more simulation-based experience with the release of Gran Turismo for the PlayStation. They went from only having a handful of cars to having a virtual garage with a seemingly limitless number of cars. Then they started fussing over having the ability to tweak and customize all of their cars to the smallest detail. It seems they're no longer content with just a simple racing experience nowadays.
Gameplay 7
Graphics 6
Sound 4
Difficulty Easy
Concept 4
Multiplayer 5
Overall 5.2
