Ford Mustang: The Legend Lives
Score: 70% ESRB: Everyone Publisher: Apus Software Developer: Eutechnyx Media: DVD/1 Players: 1 - 2 Genre: Racing (Arcade)
Graphics & Sound: Ford Mustang: The Legend Lives looks great for a budget racing title. It certainly doesn’t match up to games like Forza or Burnout, but it still manages to hold its own as a nice looking title. All of the cars are accurately detailed and show off nearly every line and curve. From a purely "historical" perspective, it’s really neat to see how the design of the Mustang has evolved over the years. However, this is more than just an interactive car museum. Tracks aren’t the most well designed or best looking tracks I’ve seen. While racing, a few issues tend to pop up, namely with items in the distance becoming blurry, making it difficult to see what’s ahead during some races. Lighting and other little touches help to offset the flaws just a bit. Still, the graphics affect the gameplay at times, which isn’t a good thing. Ford Mustang’s soundtrack is comprised mostly of generic rock. Most of the music comes from garage bands, which is an interesting touch. Still, I wasn’t all that impressed by what I heard. It is also disappointing that the Custom Soundtrack option isn’t available. Engine noises are decent, but lack the impressiveness of other racing games.
Gameplay: Ford Mustang: The Legend Lives comes with the standard package of racing options. All of the usual game modes are here, from Career to Arcade. Career mode is where you’ll spend most of your time as you race through tracks and collect money which, in turn, allows you to buy better cars. Outside Career mode, you can participate in standard Arcade races and Challenges, which are comprised mostly of Drift races where you skid and burn rubber for style points. With so many racers relying on gimmicks to set themselves apart, it is nice to see a game try to make it on racing action alone. At least, that’s what it seems like Ford Racing is attempting, leading to the game’s big flaw: it’s too generic. Even with the Ford license and the option of driving nearly every Mustang ever produced, there’s really nothing about Ford Mustang that really stands out. In addition, there isn’t much depth here other than buying new cars and parts. There’s no tuning, no wild paint jobs, no body mods or kits… it’s really just you and your car. Track selection does little to bolster replay value. There’s a decent selection available, though the designs are rather generic and some are simply reversed tracks or parts of bigger tracks.
Difficulty: Unless you’re taking on a friend who’s a better driver than yourself, don’t expect much challenge. I’m not what you would call an "expert" driver, but I’m able to hold my own in most racing games. Still, most races weren’t much of a match for even my intermediate driving skills. The only real factor I could see having an impact on difficulty is which shifting mode you choose to use. I tended to stick to automatic since its one less thing to worry about, so that could explain some of the lack of difficulty. Manual and a mode that is halfway between manual and automatic options are also available.
Game Mechanics: Ford Mustang: The Legend Lives handles more or less like your standard racing game. Just hit the gas and make sure you don’t hit walls (or cars) on turns. There are no big tricks or “special moves” you’ll have to learn in order to get far. A few factors like drifting and simple knowledge of how to “bump” another car come into play, but don’t expect to find some of the fancier items from other racing titles. One issue Ford Mustang does have a problem with is in-game physics. While not a major, game-breaking concern, there is a noticeable problem with drifting. Even when applying the brakes in just the right manner, cars tend to drift just a little more than they should when taking turns. Now, this certainly helps during the Drifting mode, but during a normal race, it’s annoying. Cars also seem to sway a little too much at times, which makes the handling on some cars feel uncomfortable. If it were released a year ago, Ford Mustang would have stood out as a better racing title – especially for gamers on a tight budget. Flash forward to now, and it faces stiff competition from a number of racing games that offer tons more replay value and modes. In other words, there are better games out there that cost just as much, if not less (if you’re buying used). If you’re in the market for a straight-forward racing game with no added frills, or just really like Mustangs, Ford Mustang: The Legend Lives is for you. If not, there are alternatives.
-Starscream, GameVortex Communications AKA Ricky Tucker
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