FIFA Street 2 Review

FIFA Street 2 is EA’s second attempt at taking the flashy nature of football and turning it into its own game. While last year’s game sold well and seemed to please console owners looking for an alternative football game, it wasn’t received all that well by the video game press. FIFA Street 2 really doesn’t do all that much to set itself apart from the first game – once again lacking online play – but a few improvements have been made that will please fans looking for more trick-based football.

If you didn’t play last year’s game, FIFA Street is all about doing things that makes football exciting, but you don’t see all that often in a professional game. Basically, you get a group of the best footballers in the world and let them show-off in little games taking place on the street, on the beach, on basketball courts or anywhere else where a few goals can be put up. While the basic principle of scoring goals is still in place, the game places equal emphasis on performing flashy tricks.

The core to all the action is the huge number of tricks available in the game. These are all performed using a combination of the right analogue stick with another button (or in some cases, numerous buttons) on the controller. Basic tricks can be performed pretty easily, but the more complicated tricks and trick combos take some time to master. The game has a separate trick challenge mode that throws up a number of trick combos that must be completed in a set time. While this can be played competitively, it’s worth giving it a go just to get the hang of pulling off the harder tricks and to learn how to link them into combos.

Playing against friends is still the most fun you can have with the game, but there’s a substantial single-player career mode in the form of ‘Rule the Street’. In this mode you’ll take your own player through the ranks of street football, all the way to international games. Instead of simply throwing a straightforward game at you over and over again, things are spiced up a little with a few variants – often not requiring you to score any goals at all. Some games are all about trick points, while others require you to perform a set number of nutmegs (going past the defender by kicking the ball through his legs). The way the ‘pitch’ size varies depending on where you play also adds some variety.

Winning a game will earn you ‘skill bills’ that you can use to improve your player’s attributes in shooting, speed, tricks, defence and power. Later on in the ‘Rule the Street’ mode you’ll captain a full team of four players and the ‘skill bills’ can be used to upgrade their skills as well. Being in charge of a whole team also means you’ll have to sort out problems players have, either with each other or over money. The level of management doesn’t change the gameplay significantly, but does introduce a new element that wasn’t there early on in the game.

EA seems to like using gamebreakers in their sports games, and FIFA Street 2 is no exception. Pulling off a number of tricks will cause your gamebreaker meter to fill up, eventually letting you initiate the gamebreaker. This sends the game into a strange slow-mo state, and makes shots almost un-saveable. By taking on and beating opposing players on the way to a gamebreaker goal you can even wipe away goals the opposition has scored. This is a unique play mechanic, but can lead to some overly long games.

Once you get accustomed to the tricks, attacking actually becomes quite fun, although it can feel a tad out of your control at times. Defensive control, however, often leaves you wondering if you have any say in what’s going on at all. When an attacking player performs a trick to humiliate and go past a defender, the defender will often start an animation to show he’s been beaten. Sadly, this removes all control you have over that player, and if your opponent decides to pull the same trick numerous times, you’ll become rather frustrated. Goal keepers can also be a little unwilling to claim the ball, and although you can take full control, it’s not something that I’d recommend.

Player AI is another area that could have used a little longer in development. Players will become more skilled and teams will become harder to beat as you progress, but for a large portion of the game you can abuse the opposition’s unwillingness to come in for a tackle. Standing in a corner with your back to the defender will let you perform a few tricks without any pressure. Eventually someone will come in to try and dispossess you, but not before you’ve racked up a few easy points.

As with all the games in the Street series, the presentation is about as far away from the real sport as you can imagine. Players are kitted out in ‘street’ wear and everything is about as glamorous as the men’s toilet in your local pub. There’s obviously a soundtrack that goes hand in hand with this urban feel, and for the most part it’s actually pretty good. There are certainly a few tracks that I’d rather not listen to, but you can create your own custom radio station, removing any offending material from the playlist. Player animations are the best aspect to the visuals, but the aforementioned defensive blunder animations aggravate far too often.

My main problem with FIFA Street 2 is that for all the skill-moves that you can pull off and the fun you can have, you really don’t feel like you have enough control. Even when you master the more complicated tricks, things just don’t click. If you’re after another footy game that dispenses with rules and focuses entirely on the flashy side of the sport, there’s little else out there that will suit you better, but if you’re a veteran of proper footy sims, looking to this for some light relief will likely end in disappointment.