Ford vs. Chevy Review (no fat)

Game Description

Ford vs. Chevy is a game about a supposed feud amongst two of the strongest America’s car-production powerhouses, Ford and Chevrolet respectively. The rivalry dates back to the days when the companies started producing their first cars and thus, the game features all types of vehicles. But even with a business rivalry dated back so long, the game really doesn’t do to provide a spiced up rivalry at all.

Instead, the developers have managed to put up a story of an absurd feud between two families belonging to a small town of Westington. Apparently, the heads of both families preferred different brands of cars and now the family bad blood has infested the whole town…just being behind the wheel of a Ford, or a Chevy, around town is enough to ensure you’ll get plenty of challengers vying to beat you in races. And so, the ludicrously hyped Ford vs. Chevy rivalry is wrought.

Ford vs. Chevy Gameplay

You’ll find that you have the ability to race with speedsters, off-road vehicles as well muscle-cars in Ford vs. Chevy. However, almost as soon as you start playing you’ll realizes that you have already seen all there was to see. There is no speed and adrenaline in the game. The game’s physics can often be very annoying and there are more performance degrading features in this game rather than performance enhancing ones.

While your cars do take damage during races, they really could have been implemented a lot better. There is a nitro-like button, which is the gas button, most of the times it doesn’t seem to give the desired effect. Players expect adrenaline to rush their body as soon as they press ‘turbo’ buttons but unfortunately, the gas-button implementation is not very robust. The game includes a boost-meter which is filled as you perform special stunts. It is somehow ironic how the camera pulls back and shakes (to give you the feel of extra speed) as soon as you activate the boost meter because the additional speed is almost unnoticeable.

Ford vs. Chevy Racing Modes

Being a racing game that Ford vs. Chevy is, it definitely features a satisfying range of racing modes. Some of those modes could have been a lot better, and certainly more entertaining, but that’s another story. The player will usually speed through circuit and point-to-point races; some of those races are time-based challenges while other types include special-type and drag races.

Regarding special-type races, although the developers have tried to throw in some realistic plots, those modes are simply not sufficiently convincing. A typical example is trying to collect tires that a truck has spilled over the roads or speeding through the town in order for your passenger to take various photos. Finally, the player can also compete in time-trial and slalom modes. Those 2 modes have become a standard for all racing games so Ford vs. Chevy can’t really boast any extra points there.

Artificial Intelligence

Although enemy cars are pretty competitive, when entering team races you might notice some unexpected movements from your allies. In team races you have the option to instruct your 2 teammates to either be defensive (block your enemies from overtaking) or to be offensive (try to push them against the walls). Although this sounds to be a good feature, in practice it hardly makes any difference.

But then again, we can’t forget the fact that your team mates don’t even let you pass them without a scrap if you ask them to defend, so they don’t completely ignore your orders.

Ford vs. Chevy Online Play

Unfortunately, although the game does support online play, the opponents that you might find are almost non-existent. It’s not a big surprise since most players would prefer to play other racing games online; for those who seek multiplayer action, split screen should suffice. If only it was less patchy with the frame rates.

Ford vs. Chevy Graphics

The game features some very robust and satisfying representations of the original cars. Reflections on the car models appear very realistic and the polygon count isn’t bad either. Furthermore, the game features some eye-candy effects such as motion blur and soft shadows. Regarding tracks, they are mostly repetitive and boring. Textures appear flat and the scenery does not appear to be very dynamic

Ford vs. Chevy Sound

Possibly, one of the most annoying things about Ford vs. Chevy is the soundtrack. The tracks are very few and the playlist repeats itself. As if this wasn’t enough, the game lacks the ability to load custom songs from a hard disc. Although it’s mostly a matter of taste, you can probably take our word for it on this one.

Ford vs. Chevy Closing Thoughts

The story is absurd, and so is the execution. Ford vs. Chevy can hardly be classified as an acceptable title for those who have any decent expectations from their PS2.

Ford vs. Chevy-Cost

Ford vs. Chevy currently retails for 19.99$, at the time of writing.