Retro Replay Review

Gameplay

Name: The Beast
Item: The Beast
Author: Retro Replay

The Beast Entertainment Pack delivers a diverse gameplay experience by bundling two distinct titles—Midtown Madness 3 and Brute Force—together in one package. Midtown Madness 3 throws you into the streets of London and San Francisco with an open-world racing playground filled with time trials, checkpoint challenges, and free-roam exploration. Whether you’re weaving through traffic or jumping church pews, the sense of speed and freedom is immediate, making for addictive pick-up-and-play action.

(HEY YOU!! We hope you enjoy! We try not to run ads. So basically, this is a very expensive hobby running this site. Please consider joining us for updates, forums, and more. Network w/ us to make some cash or friends while retro gaming, and you can win some free retro games for posting. Okay, carry on 👍)

Switching gears, Brute Force brings squad-based third-person shooting to the table. You command a team of four specialized operatives, each with unique weapons and abilities. Missions range from stealthy infiltration to all-out firefights, keeping you on your toes as you coordinate tactics, swap between characters, and manage ammo all while navigating dynamic battlefields. The variety keeps the gameplay loop fresh.

Beyond the two titles, The Beast pack sweetens the deal with a two-month trial of Xbox Live. This trial transforms both games—Midtown Madness 3’s online races and Brute Force’s cooperative and competitive modes—into live arenas where you can test your skills against players around the globe. It’s a compelling preview of the online ecosystem, showcasing how both titles come alive in multiplayer.

Rounding out the interactivity is the bundled DVD remote control, which makes navigating menus, streaming media, and even backing out of a tricky race more intuitive. While not essential for gameplay, the convenience factor of a dedicated remote adds polish to the overall user experience, especially when switching between disc-based entertainment and live gaming sessions.

Graphics

Visually, Midtown Madness 3 shines with its detailed urban environments and smooth frame rates. From the neon glow of London’s Piccadilly Circus at night to the sun-drenched hills of San Francisco, the cityscapes are rendered with impressive fidelity. Reflections on wet pavement, realistic vehicle models, and dynamic weather effects all contribute to an immersive racing setting that still holds up years after its original release.

Brute Force, on the other hand, presents a more rugged aesthetic. Character models are bulky and militaristic, fitting the game’s sci-fi military theme. Environments range from swampy marshlands to high-tech alien complexes, each packed with destructible objects and atmospheric lighting. The textures may show their age by modern standards, but the game’s art direction successfully sells the feeling of a high-stakes interplanetary conflict.

The two-month Xbox Live trial allows you to experience both games online, where you can see graphical performance under the stress of multiple players and dynamic environments. Midtown Madness 3’s online races maintain a consistent 30-60 FPS, even with several cars on screen, while Brute Force’s multiplayer modes demonstrate stable performance in frantic shootouts. This trial showcases how both titles were optimized for network play on the original Xbox hardware.

The inclusion of the DVD remote control further enhances the graphics experience by simplifying navigation through each game’s menu systems and media features. Swapping between racing tracks, adjusting camera angles, or selecting co-op partners becomes a breeze, letting you focus on admiring game visuals rather than wrestling with button layouts.

Story

While Midtown Madness 3 is primarily a racing game with minimal narrative, it does weave in light storytelling through radio chatter, unlockable events, and quirky milestones scattered across each city. There’s a playful vibe in the narration of challenges and the sense that you’re part of an underground racing circuit. Though you won’t find deep character arcs, the superficial framing keeps the focus on the thrill of speed.

Brute Force, in contrast, offers a more structured storyline set in the 22nd century, where humanity wages war against the savage Nephilim on a desolate planet. You follow the elite squad as they tackle high-risk assignments—rescue missions, sabotage runs, and full-scale assaults. The narrative unfolds through mission briefings and in-game dialogue, giving each battle a clear context and raising the stakes with every level.

Character development in Brute Force is serviceable: each squad member has a backstory and distinct personality traits, which shine through in banter and mission-specific dialog. This camaraderie adds emotional weight to the firefights, making you care when a team member goes down or when you finally breach a heavily guarded compound.

Although the bundle itself is marketed as an entertainment pack rather than a cohesive franchise experience, the combination of a free-roam racer and a squad shooter offers variety in pacing and narrative depth. It’s a complementary pairing: one title scratches the adrenaline itch while the other provides a traditional campaign to sink your teeth into.

Overall Experience

The Beast Entertainment Pack stands out as a value-oriented purchase, delivering both high-octane racing and tactical shooting in one box. If you’re seeking variety, this bundle eliminates the need to choose between genres. The inclusion of a two-month Xbox Live trial effectively doubles the playtime value, giving you a taste of competitive multiplayer and co-op action without an immediate subscription fee.

Hardware extras, like the DVD remote control, may seem minor but add a layer of convenience that elevates the experience. Navigating game menus, streaming DVD content, or jumping between titles becomes more seamless, which is a boon for casual gamers who appreciate plug-and-play simplicity. It also reinforces the idea that The Beast pack is more than just a pair of games—it’s a multimedia entertainment solution.

There are some caveats. Both games show their age in terms of load times, texture resolution, and occasional frame dips. The Xbox Live trial, while generous, requires you to sign up and manage another subscription order once the two months elapse. However, these minor drawbacks are outweighed by the sheer breadth of content and the solid core gameplay on offer.

In summary, The Beast Entertainment Pack is an enticing option for budget-minded players who crave both speed and strategy. Whether you’re tearing through city streets or coordinating firefights with friends, this bundle delivers varied, engaging gameplay that holds up as a compelling package on its own merits.