The first
FIFA Street didn’t work out. Whether you disliked the mechanics, the lack of
action, or the clunky controls, not much about the game could compare to the
Street series legacy.
Nonetheless,
a sequel was inevitable. How can that be, when there are bigger games that
never receive an update? FIFA Street is a sports game, and as we all know,
sports live on forever. Lucky for us that inability to die means developers
got a second shot at creating an extreme soccer game worth kicking around.
Simplicity
is the name, FIFA Street 2 is the game. The awkward gameplay of the last
edition has been thrown out the window and replaced by Gretzky and Mario
Strikers-inspired physics. Only three players are allowed on each team, plus
one goalie that can be taken control of for great risk and great reward.
The
Gamebreaker is back and it’s more dangerous than ever. When your trick meter
has been maxed, you must stand in the center to activate it. Once activated,
you have the option to win the game right then and there by scoring after
evading three attacks. Should you fail to evade all three attacks, you’ll
still have the benefit of extra points by scoring. The number of points you
gain is determined by the number of successful evasions.
FIFA Street
2 has optimized scoring with a precise shooting mechanism that goes into
effect as you approach the net. A floating icon (of the A button) appears in
front of the net, sliding straight across it with anything but the slightest
push of the left analog stick. Precision is not an area extreme sports games
usually explore, but FIFA Street 2 does it well. As with every game the left
analog stick also controls player movement. That could’ve made this (combining
two actions into one stick) a disaster, but in this circumstance they both
benefit from being together.
You have to
be running toward the net to score, or at least somewhere near it. Since
adjusting the ball’s target location also adjusts your player’s position, most
of the time you’ll end up helping yourself without realizing it. It took less
than 30 minutes to get good at aiming in the preview build, and that was
before the game was finished. In this version – the final version – it’s
smooth, accurate, and makes scoring a challenging thrill.
Since most
of the levels are enclosed in walls, fences, or some other barrier, players
can perform moves you wouldn’t normally see in a soccer game. For example,
when passing, you may bounce the ball off a wall to extend the pass, or to
keep it from falling into the hands of the enemy.
Guarding and
steeling are done with a little less precision. The all-mighty trick stick is
back for another EA Sports game, applying the concept that pushing is better
than pressing. Although that turned out to be the case in other titles, it is
not executed as well in FIFA Street 2. A few good ideas are presented: why
block the ball when you could kick it over the head or in between their legs?
It looks cool, and it’s easy to perform (just push the right stick up or down
while holding one or both of the shoulder buttons).
Just kickin’ it.
The
difficulty of completing the trick, however, is not as easy as it is to start.
Players are likely to trip over the ball if a trick is not performed
correctly. It’s possible that they’ll trip and fall if the ball is stolen
before the trick can be completed. Granted, these are valid challenges,
especially the last one. But I’d rather have an extreme sports game where
everything is fairly easy to learn and execute. The challenge should come from
the strength of my opponents and their ability to execute those moves more
efficiently.
Now don’t
get me wrong – these moves are not that hard to master. But that’s not all
there is to complain about. As you go through the game you’ll notice that the
controls, as smooth as they are, just aren’t smooth enough. After a couple of
days it began to lose its coolness. Whereas the other Street games had a
decent single-player experience and spectacular multiplayer, FIFA Street 2 is
too basic to keep the multiplayer mode thriving.
Before you
know it the game turns into couple of repeated sequences: steal, pass, shoot.
Block, shoot. Trick, pass, shoot. You could degrade every sports game to this
level. The fact of the matter is, when done right, a sports game doesn’t feel
repetitive. You’re having so much fun that you don’t think about the fact that
you just scored your 900th touchdown.
Game modes
include the straightforward Friendly mode (essentially a “Play Now!” game with
the option to choose your starting four, the venue, and the game rules).
Pick-up matches are known as Kick Abouts. Rule The Street is the main
single-player mode, where you face off against teams for the highest score or
trick point total, or to see who can score the most points the fastest. You’ll
build your player from scratch, adjust his facial and body detail as desired,
and be able to apply points to improve his statistics.
Edit
your playing field.
Additionally
there are Rival Challenges (angry players looking to get revenge in the game),
Underground Tournaments (do well and they’ll invite you to the tourney), and
the International Cup, which opens up after your player’s rating has been
heavily increased.
While these
modes result in a very similar gameplay experience (difficulty and rule set
being the only major differences), the Skills Challenge is one unique area in
the bunch that speaks to a certain audience. That audience isn’t me, but if
you like rolling motions and lengthy combos, this mode should be right up your
alley. The goal is to keep the ball off the ground while performing various
tricks, which are executed by sliding the analog stick in the appropriate
direction. These moves often involve more than a quick circle; you might have
to push right, then draw a half circle with the stick. Or push from the middle
up, then do a complete 360.
For some
gamers this could make FIFA Street 2 the king of the streets. I, on the other
hand, was hoping for a little more variety in the other areas of the game. I
had fun with this sequel and am still having fun with it, but the repetition
isn’t going anywhere. FIFA Street 2 is worth renting, and should be played by
anyone who likes NHL Hitz and/or Mario Strikers. But it isn’t the must-buy I
was hoping for.
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Gameplay: 7.0
The ultimate in
flawed-but-addictive gameplay. Like the original NFL Street, I play the game
and think, “If the controls were just a tad smoother, and if the gameplay were
a bit faster…” It’s one of those games that, if you like the style of
gameplay it has to offer, you won’t be able to let go … too soon. Those who
don’t like it will be left wondering why others are addicted to it. That’s
been the nature of the Street series from the start, NBA Street being the
exception (there aren’t too many gamers who don’t love that one).
Graphics: 7.0
Attractive,
moderately realistic visuals that have become the new average for Xbox. Solid
characters, and animations that have been exaggerated with awesome trick
performances.
Sound: 8.8
European
soundtracks don’t get much better than this. I can’t tell you who a single
artist in the game is, but that doesn’t matter. As soon as the music started
(which plays during the game, not just on menu screens and in between plays),
my ears started paying attention. I’ve accessed the options menu a couple of
times just to hear certain songs again.
Difficulty: Easy/Medium
It’s hard to
judge the difficulty of a game like this, but all in all it felt pretty easy.
There aren’t too many moves to learn, and not too many excessive challenges to
overcome. A solid experience that gets brutal in multiplayer (if you have the
right competition).
Concept: 6.0
A fun game that
borrows heavily from every good extreme sports game out there: NFL Street, NHL
Hitz, Mario Strikers, etc.
Multiplayer: 7.2
Moderately
addictive. FIFA Street 2 is definitely better with friends than without, but
the lack of gameplay variety causes it to peak long before its spiritual
predecessors.
Overall: 7.0
FIFA Street 2
surpasses the original, giving gamers a title that’s worth playing and worth
getting addicted to. On the down side it suffers from the same repetitiveness
that other sports games have to fight so hard to avoid. It’s not varied enough
to be deep, and not long enough to have longevity. If it were longer, chances
are that would’ve added to the repetition and made gamers lose interest before
it was over. Multiplayer adds a small amount of replayability that can’t
compare to the months of addiction the NBA and NFL Street games provided. FIFA
Street 2 is a step in the right direction, but it’ll need to lose its
repetition if it wants to become the top series in its league.
