Ford Racing 3 is one of the most full-featured budget racing titles you’ll ever find. It contains no less than 55 different Ford vehicles, ranging from standard coupes to pickup trucks to the awesome Ford GT. The 26 tracks cover a range of different racing styles, and a handful of race modes includes everything from straightforward driving to following a racing line perfectly in order to earn boost.

So for your 15 bucks, there’s definitely enough here to keep you entertained whether you’re a dyed-in-the-wool Ford fanatic or you just want a racing game with a bit of substance for a nice, low price.

However, if you’re looking for realistic physics or a major challenge, Ford Racing 3 is likely to disappoint. Although the game offers competitions on both dirt and asphalt, both feel very similar, outside of the cars sliding around a bit more on dirt. And no matter which car you drive, they all have the same handling issues, especially under heavy braking. Going into a tight turn with any sort of speed generally leads to losing control of the car. Whether it’s due to bad handling or the fact that hitting the brakes binds up the front end somehow isn’t really important—the main thing is that it seems to happen a lot, and there’s not much you can do about it. That said, Ford Racing 3 is still very drivable once you get a handle on the quirks in the physics.

The car roster is impressive, even though most vehicles feel too similar out on the track. Ford Racing 3, more than the two previous titles, really seems to celebrate the carmaker’s history in a big way. Just about every cool ride to come out of the Blue Oval’s assembly line can be found here, from the 1923 Model T to the 2005 Mustang and everything in between.

If you’re a Ford nut, you’ve got a nice little virtual showroom here, with a competent racing game to boot. I wouldn’t throw out my copy of GT4 or Burnout 3 anytime soon, though.

Pros: An impressive roster of important Ford vehicles

Cons: Floaty, quirky physics; most cars feel the same out on the track

Pub. 2K Games

Dev. Empire

ESRB E

MSRP $14.99

Copyright © 2005 Ziff Davis Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. Originally appearing in Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine.