FIFA Street (PS2)

...stadiums of lesser games, in Fifa Street you play in the neighbourhood. From the picturesque riverbanks of Roma in Italy to the gritty shanty towns of Brazil through to a disused railway shed in London. In all there are ten locations scattered throughout the world with all but three needing to be unlocked before they can be played on. The attention to detail is astounding with the statue de Christo Redentor overlooking the Rio de Janeiro pitch and ...
...and skills is what sets Fifa Street apart from traditional football games, with more buttons on the PS2 controller given over to fancy moves than actually just kicking the ball. Using the right side control stick and various button combinations reveals a multitude of tricks which when used together amass trick points to push a combo meter into the red. When this happens you are able to employ the “Gamebreaker” feature which is a full force slow motion ... more

I guess it was only a matter of time before a games producer took the football genre in another direction, there can only be so many times they can get away with changing a few kits, players and locations and re-releasing it as a new game. Thankfully EA Sports have added football to their successful Street series for a game with a difference, referees are out, there are no throw ins and skill is very much the order of the day – welcome to football, urban style.

Gone are the polished corporate stadiums of lesser games, in Fifa Street you play in the neighbourhood. From the picturesque riverbanks of Roma in Italy to the gritty shanty towns of Brazil through to a disused railway shed in London. In all there are ten locations scattered throughout the world with all but three needing to be unlocked before they can be played on. The attention to detail is astounding with the statue de Christo Redentor overlooking the Rio de Janeiro pitch and the urban graffiti in plentiful supply in the old Manhattan basketball court subpoenaed for footballing purposes.

Depending on what sort of game you choose to play you can either create your own player or choose from the very best the world has to offer. If you decide to play an International game you can choose from 16 players from each of the 15 featured nations. The superstars are all listed with Beckham, Ronaldo, Raul, Henry et al all looking like their real life selves. Players have skill levels attached to them again depending on their reputations in the real world and these can be both increased or decreased after a good or bad game. If you are playing in the “rule the streets” mode there is the option to buy players from all over the globe, this depends on reputation and skill points earned in matches with only the less well known players available at the start.

This is a fun little aside to the main game which allows you to create a player from scratch. With a few button presses and the occasional stick wiggle you can choose between a sculpted six-pack and a belly to make a pregnant woman jealous. Eyes, ears, nose and mouth can be as big or small as you like and positioned in all manner of freaky ways. One of the funniest bits is choosing a hairstyle with the many Beckham cuts joined by old classics like the mullet and the pudding bowl, you can also choose hats if you find your chosen hairstyle just a little too scary. Other clothing accessories include glasses and gloves not to mention a plethora of branded boots, shirts and shorts. And finally the must have for any self respecting overpaid footballer – the tattoo. You can cover your players’ arms and torso with all manner of interesting or just bizarre offerings, from a scorpion on the chest to a cross like thingy on the back, a nice nod to real players and their body decorations by the creators of the game.

Games can be preset to last anything from 6 to 12 minutes or to finish when a certain number of goals are reached. Referees, throw ins and stoppages are all banished in favour of bare bones football at its rawest as four-a-side teams get down and dirty. Balls can be bounced off the walls or fences while simply passing the ball and shooting is shunned in favour of all manner of trickery and high jinx. Fouling is allowed with the tackle from behind not only allowed but actively encouraged and making a fool of your opponent with a nutmeg or skinning is rewarded with points. In the “rule the street” mode a global map is shown with locations unlocked if you progress in a winning way.

Performing tricks and skills is what sets Fifa Street apart from traditional football games, with more buttons on the PS2 controller given over to fancy moves than actually just kicking the ball. Using the right side control stick and various button combinations reveals a multitude of tricks which when used together amass trick points to push a combo meter into the red. When this happens you are able to employ the “Gamebreaker” feature which is a full force slow motion shot that would break the net if there were any. For those who struggle with too many buttons to press a simple tap of the triangle button performs a random trick worthy of a Brazilian striker.

In keeping with the whole Urban/raw feel the soundtrack is hip hop and trance based with a little world music thrown in for good measure. The likes of Fatboy Slim, Dizzy Rascal and SL2 are all featured to provide a thumping beat and catchy loop to play football to. And then there’s the in game commentary, provided for some unknown reason by So Solid Crew member Harvey. Although his faux Jamaican rude boy comments are amusing the first couple of times you hear them it quickly becomes boring, safe to say he is no John Motson. Thankfully you can switch him off! The football sounds themselves are good if unremarkable, the realistic twang as your players bounce the ball off the perimeter fence and the thwack as the ball hits a makeshift crossbar remind you that this is a football game at heart.

The graphics are good in Fifa Street which is a boon; the locations look very much of the area they are in and the players are easily recognisable. Numerous clothing items can be bought to make your team look better and they scroll well in the heat of a game. There are however not too many facial expressions to be found, you’d expect a player who had just nutmeged two players and then scored from twenty yards with a back-heel to display some sort of emotion but alas the players always look like their favourite Gran has just passed away. Other than that the graphics are as polished as any other football game with shading and colour used to good effect.

Once you get over the fact that this is not your usual football game there is a lot of fun to be had. Controls are awkward at first but get easier over time but they always seem a little on the sluggish side, once mastered though the ball does pretty much all you ask it to. The “rule the streets” option adds a little structure to the whole game while the one off internationals are better for practice or quick matches. All game data can be saved and the game is multiplayer compatible using a multi-tap add-on. A huge disappointment though is that Fifa Street is not playable online, with the area of online gaming growing fast this has to be seen as a missed opportunity by the makers and a limit to the games appeal for online gaming junkies.

Of course it depends on what team you choose to be and their skill points, but generally the players perform as they would skill wise in the real world. In my International games playing as England I have managed to soundly beat South Korea and Denmark while getting thrashed by the likes of Italy and Brazil. Once you master the controls and learn how to put a sequence of tricks and passes together the game becomes easier, which in turn leads to winning games, gaining skill and reputation points and unlocking better players, sportswear and locations. Goalkeepers are not invincible which means score lines approaching double figures, but better that way than not being able to breach the opponents goal at all.

Absolutely, indeed the most offensive thing I’ve witnessed while playing Fifa Street is the hairstyles in “create a player” mode. The people at esrb.org have certified it as suitable for everyone with no swearing, violence or sexual content present – a good child friendly game then.

There’s little doubt that Fifa Street is a great game, it’s just not quite a brilliant game. If you are happier playing your football in an alley than a proper pitch then the game will suite well. The instruction manual is largely superfluous as you learn the controls on the job and the numerous skills are fun once you master them. But for the doughy controls, the irritating commentary and lack of online play this would be a five star game, as it is I still recommend it with four stars. And I guess that if this game was perfect in every way they would not be able to try and improve it in 18 months time with Fifa Street 2 and the sack load of money that comes with producing a follow up, maybe I’m being a little cynical but I doubt it, we all know how these companies work!

...less