This may surprise you, but my
all-time favorite football franchise isn’t what you’d expect. When all others
cling to Madden like "something" on velcro, I followed a different path,
NFL Blitz. I guess that’s why I can’t get enough of NFL Street 2, EA’s
newest installment to the Street collection. Intermixing a solid football
engine with style and big hits, it has helped continue the success of innovative
sports games. Now, I’m not overly excited with this game without noticing it’s
weaknesses and failures. But if you liked the original Street, you’ll
enjoy the new features this game has implemented.
Though there are multiple modes and
options to choose, the main game focuses on the mode "Own the City" where you
put a team together from the hood to compete against rival players to dominate
the streets one field at a time. If you get good enough, you and your
hand-picked line will eventually take on the "baddest" guys in the land, an
all-star team of NFL players featuring our favorite MTV valet, X-to-the-Z Xzibit.
Though I am getting tired of random cameo appearances from celebrities in EA
titles, the line of current professionals and Legends available to unlock in
game is quite impressive.
The brightest new features added to
NFL Street 2 is the wall-move function. Over-dramatized in game
commercials, these moves allow players to juke and jump off of adjacent walls to
gain game breaker points and gain more yardage. I also found wall moves to bring
more accurate passes and catches whenever used, so don’t be afraid to straddle
the line. There are certain wall locations called hotspots where you can earn
more game-breaker points when you tap them.
For those of you who don’t know,
game breakers were introduced by NFL Street as an extra bonus for
performing tricks when in play. When game breaker is on, you become an
unstoppable tackling/running machine capable of easy turnovers and touchdowns.
But EA has added another game-breaker bar for twice the advantage and show. I
say "show" in that anytime you unleash a GB2, a cutscene will play an expected
down (For example, on defense a lineman bends down as a teammate launches off
his back to knock a thrown ball off its course and into the heads of another
teammate from behind who goes for a touchdown).
Cool, yes … but a downside and
major problem in NFL Street is the balance issues. Rewarding good players with
the power to crush inexperienced gamers like game breakers breaks the cardinal
rule of multi- and online-play, at any given point in the game, the losing side
should feel it has a chance to pull through with a win. However, if you should
play online, you will notice an increasingly popular gameplay element that ranks
your football skills and pits you up against similar players. This constant
equality of experience in online play will ensure continued popularity on XBOX
Live.
Besides the main mode, others like
Pick Up Games and NFL Challenge add another kind of spice to the mix. I really
like the new "Street Events" that feature fun mini games like the popular
playground hit, aptly named a more appropriate "Crush the Carrier." It must be
said that the interface of the menus are a little confusing and it will take a
bit of time to decipher the kind of game you are looking for.
Graphically, there have been only
minor improvements to how the game looks. The player customization is fairly
simple and doesn’t offer enough adjustment to the body build. The fields fit
their external environments (from the well-cut grasses of massive stadiums to
the rugged back yards of the hood). It doesn’t compare to the likes of Madden,
but I’m sure that’s not why you intended to buy this game. The audio department
is a mixed bag of bouncy tunes, laughably bad one-liners, and sound effects
straight from the huddle. EA loves its jukebox option and features dozens of
songs from current hip hop and rock stars, some of which I liked and others I
consider to be screaming nonsensical phrases in a microphone.
To put it simply, this game is just
another addition to the first NFL Street. No major changes have been
implemented but if you enjoyed the rowdiness of the Street franchise in
the past, buy this game now. If you bleed for Madden Football, understand
this game is more for fun than serious competition. Rent it to be safe.
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Gameplay:
8.9
Though there are only scant few improvements, the
gameplay is still solid and a blast!
Graphics: 8.5
Simple and clean with not much detail as compared to the other
heavy-hitting football titles
Sound:
8.7
Can be
annoying at times but it fits the gameplay perfectly.
Difficulty: Medium
Concept:
8.6
I loved Blitz and NFL Street 2 has filled the void perfectly.
Multiplayer: 9.0
Playing with computers gets
old after a while, so multiplayer and online games are a great addition.
Overall:
8.9
Though its in a whole different
ball game compared to ESPN and Madden,
NFL Street 2
is hard not to like. Now that
I’m done writing, please excuse me while I get back in the game!
