Fast & Furious Adrenaline [rating: 3.5/5]

Last month we got our hands on a preview release of Fast & Furious Adrenaline which while it had it’s rough edges it had a lot of promise. Well now Fast & Furious Adrenaline has received its full release and the question is have those kinks been ironed out and more importanly is it worth adding to your garage of iPhone/iPod Touch games?

For those of you that don’t know the Fast & Furious line of games are arcade racing games, a dirtier, rougher style of driving compared to track racing and more forgiving to allowing you to drive more aggressively with aggression positively rewarded, where errors are forgiven rather than resulting in you being embedded in a wall. Adrenaline carries on in that tradition. This time the racing takes place in Los Angeles and you are tasked with joining a crew and taking over the city.

This is done by completing various races including Road Races, Cop Chase, Time Trial, Boss Battle and Drag Race. Much of these race types are what you have come to expect in these types of games with the Drag Race offering the only new racing style where you race head to head against 3 other races down a strip using manual gears to get a jump on your opponents. It’s a nice addition to the other standard styles.

While the graphics have been improved from the early version they still aren’t the best that have been seen on the iPhone/iPod Touch, that being said they don’t take away from the overall experience.

The single player mode offers a lot of value, you’ll find yourself racing and competing against 3 other crews in the various races as you aim to take over the city.

What F&F Adrenaline does offer are 3 different control styles. The default option is to use the accelerometer and it works well and is responsive while the 2nd option gives you a virtual steering wheel. The third and my preferred option are the touch controls which enables the left and right sides of the screen to steer your car. This was the most accurate method for me and other than the slight annoyance of your finger covering the mini-map it’s a small price to pay.

There are two multi-player options available too, the local multi-player option worked well and there were no dropped sessions over the 10 or so races I played, and then there is the online multi-player option.

The online multi-player option isn’t a true head-to-head race, instead you will race against the pre-set times of other racers in an attempt to beat them. This is entertaining enough but this is no replacement for true head to head racing and lacks the bite of those games that offer that choice.

What has been well implemented is the Facebook integration which not only allows you to brag about your successes but also allows you to automatically upload video’s of your races.

The results are pretty impressive too with a highlight reel of your action being upload in less than a minute for all your Facebook friends to watch at their leisure.

Overall while F&F Adranaline is an enjoyable racer it lacks the cutting edge and atmosphere of similar titles and may leave you feeling short changed.

The Good

• Multiple race styles
• Upload your racing highlights to Facebook seamlessly
• Multiple control options

The Not So Good

• Game lacks atmosphere
• Stunted online multi-player option

Price: $5.99 (iTunes Store Preview)
Released: Apr 22, 2010
Reviewed Version: 1.0.0
Size: 45.3 MB
Language: English
Seller: Digital Bridges Limited t/a I-play
© 2010. Fast & Furious is a trademark and copyright of Universal Studios. Licensed by Universal Studios Licensing LLLP. All rights reserved. © 2010. Published by I-play. All Rights Reserved. I-play is a trademark and trading name of Oberon Media, Inc. and its subsidiaries.
Rated 4+

Racing games on the iPhone/iPod Touch are big business, they are extremely popular and they demand the top prices too so they are obviously doing some right. The newest racing game to hit the streets around April 16th is Fast & Furious Adrenaline from the franchise of the same name, and it is to street racing what Real Racing is to track racing.

Something that comes across from the start is the high production values of the game. The graphics of the menus and cut-scenes are well produced and look good however that is not fully translated to the in-game graphics as you race around the streets of Los Angeles.

The street race format see’s you joining one of four crews in an attempt to take over and own the city streets. This is mainly covered in the Story Mode where you will progress through five different race types as you attempt to beat your rivals. The five races types are road race, time trial, cop chase, drag race and boss battle which all offer different types of racing styles.

The path through the Story Mode certainly is pretty linear to begin with although as you progress you will get multiple race types to chose from although ultimately you will have to complete them all in some order to become king of the streets!

The 30+ cars handle well as you race around the city although some of the collisions are a little soft but nothing that you wouldn’t expect from an arcade racer rather than and sim and at times collisions with the track are either to harsh or have no impact at all. Also while using this preview build the game crashed pretty frequently, hopefully this is something that can be fixed before the final release.

It’s great that you are offered 3 steering options to choice from which offer different alternatives to steering your vehicle while the break and nitro’s are all controlled through virtual buttons. The accelerometer controls allow’s you to steer your car by tilting your device left and right and are very responsive. Then there is the steering wheel option which places a virtual steering wheel in the bottom left hand corner of the screen that you use your left thumb to control, and finally the touch controls that allow you to steer your car via touching the left and right hand side of your screen.

For me the best controls are the touch controls, they are sensitive and accurate and most importantly they produce the best results when it comes to accurate, long drifting which is something that is rare in any racing game on the iPhone/iPod Touch!

Multi-player is offered not only locally but also online. In it’s current pre-release version I was unable to download the ghosts and the only Facebook integration was the ability to post bragging rights when I won races and unlocked cars. I look forward to playing the game online and it will be interesting to see how the online aspect of the game via Facebook is integrated in the final release which also includes the ability to upload videos of your best races.

At present, and remember this is a pre-release version of the game so this may change, the in-game graphics feel a little stilted and the overall game currently feels cold and lacking atmosphere which in a street racing game more than any other is vitally important. That being said when you are travelling at high-speed what the city scape looks likes becomes less important.

While Fast & Furious Adrenaline beta build might have a few rough edges it still looks like it should be a great addition to the iPhone/iPod Touch list of racing games especially if those rough edges can be smoothed out. If you are looking for a fun and fast arcade racer then Adrenaline looks like it’s going to fit the bill for you when it’s finally released.

Preview Build Screenshots

We just received an update from I-play regarding their upcoming game for iPhone called Fast & Furious Adrenaline.

Dominate the underground street racing scene and defend your turf with over 35 stunning cars and over 5 iconic locations. Extend the challenge with leaderboard multiplayer challenges and showcase your best drives with Facebook Video upload !!

The 3D graphics look great in the trailer and the game will support Single Player & Multiplayer (WiFi and Bluetooth) with multiple control options (Classic left/right, Touchscreen steering wheel, accelerometer) You will also be able to upload your races on Facebook.

Fast & Furious Adrenaline is in the final stages of testing and will be available soon.

Key Features:

• 5 game mode: Road Race Cop Chase, Boss Battle, Time Trial and Drag Race.
• Turf Wars single player.
• Local Multiplayer
• Turf wars online.
• FB and connected features
• Video upload

Fast & Furious Adrenaline Preview Trailer

Check back soon for our hands-on preview.