EA Shooter Pack
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| EA Shooter Pack

Given the wealth of 2-for-1 bargain packs rolling out of EA Mobile's HQ at the moment – a 'racing shooter' double and a Spore and The Sims duo some of the most recent to land on our digital desks – you'd think the firm was in the process of indulging in a spring clean.

Hidden away in EA's dusty old cupboards in the now unused west wing sit Command and Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars and Medal of Honor: Airborne.

Neither could be described as EA's finest works, but they do have one thing in common: guns.

Flying start

Said weapons feature most prominently in Medal of Honor: Airborne.

Now more than four years old, this World War II shooter, which tasks you with parachuting into battlefields before taking down all before you, can hardly compete when it comes to refined visuals or even progressive gameplay.

Nonetheless, as Kath Brice stated in her original review, there's still merit in its studied, strategic approach.

"There are times when leaving cover and taking aim out in the open is the only way to flush out enemies but, generally, this gets you floored quicker than attempting to cross the M25 with a bucket over your head.

"Some sections are tough to the point of killing you within seconds, but a great sense of achievement is felt when you eventually fight your way through the hoards."

As tactical as Medal of Honor: Airborne might be in its field, however, it can't compete with Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars.

War weary

This real-time strategy release, launched back in early 2008, is more than competent when it comes to delivering the thinking man's game – tasking you with building up your base before sending out your armies to fend off your enemies – but it falls down when it comes to combat itself.

"Killing off the Nod force invaders is fairly straightforward, if not easy, being a simple case of selecting the nearest group of allies and then clicking on the enemies to order an attack," said Kath at the time

"It works, but not being able to select individual soldiers or tanks can be a hindrance. Your army is also unfathomably thick, so they'll happily stand and watch enemies blowing their HQ to bits if you haven't told them to attack."

Ultimately, Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars sets up an interesting balance between analysing and attacking, but fails to see both sides through.

Combined with Medal of Honor: Airborne, the package certainly sports variety (despite its somewhat pointed moniker), but it's not really worthy of commanding your entire attention.

EA Shooter Pack

Equipped with two games offering remarkably different approaches to warfare, EA's Shooter Pack is anything but stale, but both games fail to take charge of their respective genres
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Keith Andrew
Keith Andrew
With a fine eye for detail, Keith Andrew is fuelled by strong coffee, Kylie Minogue and the shapely curve of a san serif font. He's also Pocket Gamer's resident football gaming expert and, thanks to his work on PG.biz, monitors the market share of all mobile OSes on a daily basis.