EA Adrenaline Pack

It’s rarely the case you can get a double dose of something good but EA Adrenaline Pack has managed to cram two great games into one neat little bundle of fun! For this one off purchase, you’ll get EA’s Burnout and Fight Night Round 3 – both on their own pack quite a punch but together really gives you a great knock out.

In EA’s Burnout you get to drive a supercharged sports car as recklessly and as fast as possible with one very simple aim – to be number 1. Unlike in other races where you’re in a race to get passed the finishing post first, in this you must try to survive whilst destroying all the opposition who try to get in your way. To do this, you must have great control over your vehicle at all times, both in speed and reaction in a cat and mouse style game where you must attempt to outwit your opponent.

If you pick the career mode, you will need to play games such as ‘King of the Ring’ which is a little like timed sumo wrestling with cars. If shunting your enemy’s car to gain respect and medals is your cup of err.. oil, then you can add your offensive driving repertoire to ramming your competitors car into as many obstacles as you can to cause them to crash and burn ten times whilst the clock ticks. Alternatively, you can have a crash course in ramming as many civilian vehicles you find located along the stretch of road.

Obstacles which prove hazardous to your own and opponents health are trucks, bollards, fencing, girders and even ramps (which you can use to land on top of their car). Controls are simple, up (accelerate), down (brake), left and right as well as OK or 5 for your nitro-boost. You will have to use some skill and a great deal of practice to weave your way around the lanes avoiding any damage whilst ensuring you dish out punishment to your competitors car. For winning in the career mode, you will be rewarded with medals and faster cars.

Pleasingly, you don’t have to do a career mode if you don’t want to have a long spell behind the wheel, you can skip straight to the action with a random mini-game at a click of a button.

In EA’s Fight Night Round 3 you get to go toe to toe with a variety of opponents. Mastering your upper body attacks, lower body blows, taunts and ‘below the belt’ foul-play moves that would make even the hardest of men cringe!

You begin with the tutorial mode which teaches you how to throw and roll with the punches. This consists of up (to throw or block upper body shots), down (to give and block lower body hits), # for foul blows, * for taunts (which also boost your hitting power) and 0 to hold onto your opponent. Once you feel comfortable with these moves, it’s time to pick your fighter and take what you’ve learned into the ring.

In career mode, you allocate your points as you see fit to give you the winning edge over your opponent. If you’re lucky enough to win your bout, you will be rewarded with more points which you can disperse as you desire to increase your character’s attributes.

If you only want a quick fight you have the option to pick a ready-made fighter who you can launch into a round with in just a few clicks. I will say that in this fighting game, the opposition are a little easy at first, but they will soon start to level you to the canvass if you aren’t quick enough.

Overall then, these both give you one heck of a rush and challenge you in different ways. Both are very nice to look at and good to play – with simple and effective controls. To summarise – this is a definite title you should add to your collection.

Rating 92%

Positives

Enjoyable

Two games in one

Good graphics and responsive controls

Both games offer you variety and are challenging but good fun too

Negatives

Not the newest titles out there – but this shouldn’t deter you

Both games are a little repetitive

Music could be better