The game of
indoor soccer can be a breathtakingly fast and highly skilled display of the
world’s most popular sport. Don’t base it on what you may see of MISL games.
Quite frankly, the caliber of gameplay there leaves a lot to be desired at
times. Head down to a local indoor venue and see the game live. Or better yet,
play it.
The game is
fascinatingly fun. It’s all about fast-paced game, and foot skills – which is
something that FIFA Street 3, from EA Sports, captures very well. And with the
Street franchise, the goal has always been an “over-the-top” approach, which
means outrageous moves and larger than life teams. FIFA Street 3 also nails that
element. But where the game falters is in the variety of gaming modes. It’s a
shot off the crossbar, in this case – a near miss. There are several gaming
modes, but it all comes up on the arcade side of the genre and truly has little
you can hang your hat on and expect to play for a great while.
The game has
taken on a bit of a new look, with the players (more than 250 are represented
here playing on 18 of the top international teams) sporting a bit more of a
semi-cartoonish look that works very well here. But while the looks of the
players have changed, they are still the licensed athletes from the
international soccer game. That means you will see Ronaldinho, lean and lanky
with ponytail flying behind to emphasize his quickness, playing for Brazil.
The game
controls extremely well, with the thumbsticks used to not only navigate the
direction of the play (left thumbstick), but your ball handler will make some
impossible moves (courtesy of the right thumbstick) that would come close to
snapping tibia, femurs or blowing out knees if performed in real life. But while
this game controls very well, it has been simplified to the point where anyone
can pick it up, play it and have a great deal of success. Case in point, the
default difficulty setting was medium. A testing player, who had never played
any of the Street franchise before, was winning match after match and thought
the game was on the easy setting.
(It should
be noted that the same code was used for both the preview and review, and while
there were some flaws in the preview code, there is no way of telling whether
these have been corrected in the review release.)
The AI in
the game is smart, and will knock the opposition off the ball, but what’s good
for the goose is good for the gander, and banging is part of the game. Players
have two tackles to choose from: the standard attack/tackle, and then a spin
move that would seem more appropriate in a martial arts tourney, but even then
might be declared an illegal leg sweep.
The Game
Breaker is back, along with the meter that fills as you perform tricks. But
rather than the Game Breaker being unstoppable, in this iteration is it
defensible. A blazing shot can be turned aside by the net minder, or a defensive
player can block it down. But the game has four different types of players –
tricksters, enforcers, playmakers and finishers. The names explain what they are
capable of doing. The game environments are nicely diverse, ranging from South
America to Asia, from alleys to rooftops. While there is a nice mix here, don’t
expect the venues to play a factor in the game play. You will be able to
semi-climb walls and perform flips off them, but these are stock moves that
carry over to whatever street pitch you are on.
A new game
mode has been added to the mix – the Street Challenge mode, which amounts to a
head-to-head competition between the player and CPU, with various goals and
difficulty levels. The reward is unlocking street teams and players that can be
taken online if so desired. This is the core of the game and is likely what is
intended to be the ‘career’ mode, or the mode that draws players back to the
game time and again. It’s fine, but hardly a mode that will have players glued
to the game.
There is a
nice graphical fluidity to the game, and the sound is really a tribute to both
the international flavor of the game as well as the on-field sounds one would
expect. Players will talk to one another, just like in a real game, and the
music is drawn from bands throughout the world.
FIFA Street
3 is an entertaining arcade title that does have a very nice presentation, but
it is the lack of modes that will be the next challenge for the development
team. Still, this game finally brings the franchise some needed respect and
performs well, but only if played in short bursts of time.
|
|
Gameplay: 6.8
The game control
scheme is so easy to learn that anyone can pick it up and play – which means
that the game does come down to strategic attacks and counters. Unfortunately
off-the-ball movement by the player-controlled team can be hit or miss. And
while the multiplayer is decent, the single-player experience comes up a little
short.
Graphics: 7.5
The stylized look
works well here and the animations are very nice indeed. The courts are diverse
but all they add are aesthetic qualities.
Sound: 7.5
A nice musical
mix and the exhortations of the players on the court add a decent feel to the
game.
Difficulty: Medium
Concept: 7.0
Credit must be
given for the graphical revamp of the game and the control scheme.
Multiplayer: 7.0
Online modes are
available, but this was a debug code and the times attempted to test the online
element found connection issues (as in servers not available). Head-to-head on
the same machine is available and entertaining with up to seven players
participating.
Overall:
7.0
With the graphics
firmly in place, and the gameplay simplified, this is a game that really should
build the foundation for a major step into the limelight. FIFA Street 3 is fine,
but lacks a robust variety of game modes, and thus suffers for it.
