FIFA Street
Score: 62% ESRB: Everyone Publisher: EA Sports Developer: EA Sports Media: DVD/1 Players: 1 - 4 Genre: Sports (Soccer)/ Arcade
Graphics & Sound: Continuing in the Street tradition, FIFA Street looks great in its debut. Since there are fewer players in this game compared to a normal soccer match, we get a more zoomed-in angle and a much closer look at the player models. And things couldn’t look better. Not only can you identify certain players by certain characteristics, but their animations are downright amazing. FIFA Street has more of an arcade feel to it (like NBA Street and NFL Street), but the players still look lifelike and realistic in a lot of the animations. Where you play your games look pretty sweet too. The atmospheres are specific to the country you play in, and all are very detailed to give them their own flavor. An announcer follows the action, similar to NBA Street. However, he’s not nearly as loud and as brash as the NBA caller. FIFA Street’s soundtrack features a little bit of hip hop, but also a lot of Latin-styled music. This is obvious since soccer (or futbol) is huge in Latin America and everywhere else around the world... except for the U.S.
Gameplay: So let’s be honest. Soccer just isn’t America’s sport. Many of us played it growing up, either in a league or in gym class. However, it’s just not as popular as the NFL, NBA, or MLB. Heck, I’d go as far as to say the still-striking NHL is more popular in the U.S. than soccer. However, before playing it, I truly believed FIFA Street would help soccer’s popularity. It still might, but I’m not holding my breath. The Street series has been successful for the NBA and NFL because it creates a “larger-than-life” illusion, complete with things like unreal dunks and wall catches and such. While FIFA Street’s action is more fast-paced than a regular soccer sim, the larger-than-life feel is missing. Instead, it’s just a bunch of guys STILL kicking a ball, with some cool animations added on. You can earn Gamebreakers, just like in the other Street games, although they are anything but a “sure thing.” With NFL Street and NBA Street, you really have to screw something up during a Gamebreaker not to get the points. But in FIFA Street, you still have to line up your shot or it will get blocked. That means no shooting from your goalie. FIFA Street offers up some modes similar to the other Street games, although there aren’t a lot of them. You can play a regular Friendly, or what we like to call an exhibition match. The second, and final, mode is Rule the Street. This is where you create a player, and then travel the globe in search of new teammates to help improve your Reputation Points and abilities through quick matches.
Difficulty: I was a little disappointed in that FIFA Street didn’t offer an interactive tutorial. You can watch how to do everything, but I thought it would have been a good idea for a BRAND NEW game to give an interactive tutorial, not just a video, for the gamers... but that’s just me. Meanwhile, the difficulty levels are as follows: Easy, Medium, Hard, and Super Hard. It’s probably a good idea to start out on the lower levels even if you’re a Street vet, since it is a new game and all.
Game Mechanics: And new games mean new controls. NFL Street 2 introduced the “Wall Hurdle.” FIFA Street has something along that line, only a lot more complicated. You have the ability to kick the ball off a wall to get around a defender. Just make sure you’re angled correctly. Otherwise, you’ll end up kicking it away. The same pretty much goes for all of the controls. Performing tricks alone or trick passes with a teammate requires you to actually position yourself in the direction you want to go. If not, you may end up losing the ball to the defender. That’s the big beef with the game. In general, the controller configuration isn’t bad; you just can’t be as out of control with trick moves as you can with other Street games. Meantime, the load times and the used memory blocks are fairly quick and painless. So does FIFA Street have a future? I wouldn’t rule out the possibility of a sequel next year. However, I do think it’s a bit of a stretch by EA Sports for a Street soccer game. What’s next, MLB Street? Hey, that’s not bad.
-Red Dawg, GameVortex Communications AKA Alex Redmann
World Tour Soccer 2006 MVP Baseball 2005