2K Games is starting to pick up speed since the label's introduction last year. The company's already gone and released the best baseball game on the market, Major League Baseball 2K5, for a mere price of $19.95. And they've got a few titles brewing for the fall season, including new entries in the NBA and NHL franchises that Sega Sports dropped late last year. In the meantime, though, we have the latest Ford Racing game for the Xbox and PlayStation 2, picked up from Empire Interactive. Ford Racing 3 is easily the best yet in the series, but it still seems to come up short in a few areas to keep it from going head to head with Project Gotham Racing and Gran Turismo.

The game was clearly built for budget purposes, but some of the ideas put into use aren't entirely bad. Being labeled Ford Racing, that means you'll find a wide variety of Ford vehicles that you can take control of- including the blazingly cool 2005 Ford Mustang. And Razorworks, the game's developer, has done a good job in maintaining the handling of each car so it feels just as it would in real life, right down to the cornering and the way it builds up speed. For kicks, the game also includes older Ford models, including a 1928 prototype that's rather cool to take hold of.

But the game itself fails to generate the same excitement that the car selection does. The track design isn't bad, allowing you to test out your driving skills as any racing game would, but the game never really escalates in terms of speed or excitement. It just sits there and never really picks up, despite some slight details and a breezy frame rate. Some graphic tricks that are supposed to help out the appearance end up making it a bit confusing, especially with the reflective effects off the car. The models look alright but the rest of the game never really catches up.

As far as sound, it barely checks in. The sound effects aren't really anything beyond average, as most of the engines sound about the same. The in-game music doesn't fare any better, with mostly generic casual racing tunes coming into play. The game does utilize the custom soundtracks option, however, so you might want to check that out if you're up for a few laps.

As far as gameplay, like I said, the handling is fine, and you can take part in a number of racing circuits to help you get better with all the Ford models at hand. But the game itself doesn't have anything real genuine to offer- it feels like a test drive in any other vehicle instead of the dream car that you've been yearning for. The controls are a typical variety- acceleration, brake, camera view, etc.- and that's about it. Fortunately, it's not a total waste- Ford Racing 3 does offer smooth online play via Xbox Live, allowing you to race against five other people in a number of racing events. So if competition's your speed, it's worth a try.

If the game was priced at $50, I'd lambaste it like nobody's business, insisting that it doesn't belong in the big leagues with Gran Turismo and Project Gotham Racing 2, which happens to only be $20 nowadays. But at $15, Ford Racing 3 is definitely worth a look, if only to take the wheel of a classic Ford car and try out online against other Ford enthusiasts. Just don't expect anything really long lasting or versatile- give it the few Sunday drives it deserves and see if it's your speed.