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> Results: FIFA Street 2
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The Beautiful Game. Call it what you will—football, futbol, or even soccer—it is almost unique within the world of team sports in that you can play a reasonable facsimile of it just about anywhere. You don't need a hoop like basketball, you don't need a bunch of space for a baseball diamond, and you don't need a whole bunch of bodies to make up a couple of (American) football teams. All you need is a ball and a couple of passionate players, and in your minds you're playing for your country in the World Cup finals instead of having a kickabout in the street. Of course, most people aren't able to play footy with superstars like Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, or Rooney, and that's where videogames come in.
Last year's FIFA Street gave players a taste of street football, round-ball style. It was marred by a few flaws (such as peculiar ball physics), and this sequel aims to address most of them. But have they done enough to make it worth buying? Booting up the game, you're presented with typical fare—some groovy music, a flashy intro movie, and a menu offering the expected exhibition game, the "Rule the Street" season mode, creation options, and more. All the Street games follow the same basic rhythm for season mode. You create a player from a basic range of body types and accessories, then travel to various locales to play in pick-up games to boost your skills and standing. Once you've reached a certain level (and presumably earned a name for yourself), you recruit other players to form your own team and take on the best and brightest from around the world, including several professional players who are apparently willing to risk their livelihoods by running around with random strangers in street matches.  The matches themselves take on a variety of forms of 4 vs 4 soccer, with a heavy emphasis on trick moves to beat your opponents. You're given a large library of tricks, but you have to unlock most of them by progressing through Rule the Street. Executing tricks is as simple as pressing the triangle button to pull off a random move, but once you learn what tricks are available you want to pull them off manually with a combination of shoulder buttons and the right analog stick. Not only is it more satisfying to do it yourself, you're able to execute the right trick for a particular situation, such as bouncing the ball off the wall to get by the opposition. New to the trick system for FIFA Street 2 is the ability to juggle the ball, keeping it up in the air using your head, knees, and feet, giving you more ways to get around the other guy. Another new addition is the Signature Move, with certain superstar players having particularly effective tricks. However you choose to execute tricks, successfully doing so earns trick points and fills up your Gamebreaker Meter. Once the meter is full, moving to the center of the pitch and into the Hot Spot activates the Gamebreaker, giving you a chance to immediately win the game if you can beat three opponents and then score. When your team is defending, you attempt to win the ball through sliding tackles and shoulder charges. The absence of a referee means you can play as dirty as you like, taking down the opposition from behind as he bears down on your goalkeeper, without fear of being sent off. Make no mistake. The game favors the attacking player. Get used to feeling frustrated as your defender is left upended on the floor and you struggle to switch control to a different player to get him close enough to stop the attackers. Surprisingly, you're not always trying to just score goals. Some of the tournaments in Rule the Street award the win to the team that first reaches a certain trick score, or only allows goals scored in Gamebreaker mode. One game type gives a team points for pulling off a panna (or nutmeg) move, knocking the ball through your opponent's legs and bypassing him. It's a novel mode at first, until you figure out that all you have to do is get near an opponent and press down on the right stick, ending the match in about a minute. FIFA Street 2 is easy on the eyes. That blooming light effect that just about every game has to have is evident, and keeps things looking shiny and modern. In-game animation is pretty good, with different movements for all the tricks, though infrequent cut-scenes look wooden. There's some slowdown when things get hectic, which is annoying for a sports title. Sound effects are serviceable, being overshadowed by the soundtrack most of the time. The soundtrack itself is made up of mainly drum 'n' bass and hip-hop tracks from around the world with just a dash of variety. The world flavor makes it more interesting, and by default the game plays regional-flavored music.  That panna mode flaw sums up the gameplay. It gets rather boring, fast. Once you've played a few games and found a winning tactic, you've just about done it all. Compared to a traditional soccer game, where you're constantly adjusting strategies against different opposition, the FIFA Street gameplay is one-dimensional. Inclusion of a Dance Dance Revolution-esque copy-the-tricks mini-game doesn't do much to break the monotony, and Rule the Street basically amounts to leveling up your skills until you have all the best players on your team. If you can find some like-minded friends to play multiplayer, you're going to have some trash-talking fun, but the lack of online play is a notable omission. Still, the reduced price is appealing, and there's something about the game that keeps you coming back to play a few matches. As long as you're not expecting something deep, you could get some use out of this title while you wait for the World Cup to start—or until you get bored and reach for Winning Eleven instead. 
As always, EA tries to keep its all ages games actually suitable for all ages. Even though this is a "street" game, there's no vulgarity or obnoxiousness, and the soundtrack is carefully selected. There's hip-hop, but no "gangsta" talk or profanity, though it has to be said: an astute listener can easily fill in the gaps where a lyric has been censored. You can also edit the track list to completely remove anything you find objectionable.
Sports videogames—even exaggerated ones like this—can spark an interest in the real thing in children, a good thing if you're looking for an opportunity to get them outside and active. It's notable that FIFA Street 2 is all about humiliating your opponent and showboating, neither of which are particularly admirable out on the pitch, so you might want to make sure your kids are only emulating the tricks and not the tactics. This review edited by Dave Long Comments? Chat about it in our forums! Format For Printing | Tell A Friend | Buy This Game Browse Amazon.com's selection of "fifa street" themed games Home > Review Archive > Video Games > Results: FIFA Street 2 |
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