Quietly chugging some way behind the leading pack of racing games, currently spearheaded on the PC by the likes of TOCA, the Ford Racing franchise has never won many plaudits, yet steadily satiates its fan base.

The latest iteration, Ford Street Racing, isn't likely to unsettle the status quo. But it will quietly entertain those fans who have stuck with the franchise thus far, as it does have a couple of tricks up its proverbial sleeve. Nothing to really raise your hopes for, though.

Set along the streets of Los Angeles, the idea - and its selling point, really - is that it puts you in control not just of one racer, but a team of them. And not just in an overview sense, either; we're talking about looking after a couple of cars in one race. This adds an extra tactical sense to the action, because you need to constantly switch between one car that you directly control and another that you leave under the supervision of the computer.

You can flip between them as many times as you fancy in a given race. You can also (and you'll need to) issue tactical commands to the other cars in your team, all the while controlling a vehicle of your own. It's quite a lot to take in and it's not too easy to get to grips with. The racing itself, though, is a little simplistic, and certainly the sophistication and complexity of some of the market leaders is predominantly absent here. But it is still moderately entertaining, and the team angle does add to the game's initial appeal.

It's an odd choice of licence, though. While the game allows you to step behind the wheel of one of eighteen different Ford cars, from the 1970s through to vehicles that haven't even made it onto a track yet, few people would choose such a make for their performance racing motor. So you find yourself driving able cars around well constructed circuits, but with little feeling of being on the edge of your seat.

It seems, by the mid-range price point, that the publishers have accepted that to find its audience, Ford Street Racing needs to aim at a casual, less demanding gamer who doesn't want to risk a full price outlay on a relatively low-key title. Sometimes that can be extremely unfair on the game in question, which may turn out to be a bit of an under-appreciated gem. But in this case it's not.

This is a competent, reliable but steadfastly unexciting drive. The team aspect works quite well, but it's not enough to earn Ford Street Racing a solid recommendation.