FIFA Street
Published by Electronic Arts. Developed by EA Canada. For PlayStation 2, Xbox, and Nintendo GameCube. Rated E for Everyone.
In their noble quest to run every good idea they've ever had into the ground, EA Sports now introduces FIFA Street, a game whose formula ought to be familiar to even the most casual gamer. Take an established sports license, subtract most of the game's rules, add a heaping helping of attitude, and voilà – instant hit! Still, a good idea is a good idea, and soccer, by its very nature, is well-suited to the style of play the Street series celebrates.
FIFA Street places real-life players on grimy, often dirt-covered pitches throughout the world, from New York to Lagos to Amsterdam. Teams compete in four-on-four matches (counting the goalkeeper) in which victory is almost as important as embarrassing opposing players by faking them out of their cleats with flashy tricks. Yes, there's a Trick Stick in FIFA Street. Of course there's a Trick Stick.
As in the recent NBA Street V3, the Trick Stick offers a plethora of trick options, particularly because holding the L trigger, called the "Trick Shift," doubles the available dekes. The tricks all work the same – they allow you to get past a defender – but it's really just a question of whether you want to flip the ball over someone's head, sneak it between his legs, or simply fake him out. If the ball-handler is near a wall, he can bounce the ball off of it, which adds a neat extra dimension.
Stringing together tricks builds up a Gamebreaker meter, which theoretically allows you to unleash a devastating shot on goal. I say "theoretically" because I'm still appalled at how often my Gamebreakers were blocked. I would say that at least once every other match I'd be treated to a slow-motion, funky-colored cinematic of my custom character executing a sweet bicycle kick directly into the chest of the goalie. Granted, this was never the difference between victory and defeat (it's not a hard game if you spend enough time upgrading your character), but that just shouldn't happen.
I feel like I'd be repeating myself at this point to talk about the single-player "Rule the Street" mode, the garrulous, sarcastic announcer, or how winning earns you points you can put toward increasing your custom player's abilities and unlocking – sigh – different outfits. However, there are a few things unique to FIFA Street over other Street games; some that work in its favor, and some that work against it.
The elephant in the room with this game is the AI. I had a good time with FIFA Street, but I was frankly bewildered by my computer-controlled teammates' utter lack of interest in playing soccer. I don't know about you, but my response upon seeing a loose ball is to pursue it with all deliberate speed. The computer characters' response is to saunter over to the wall and closely inspect the graffiti. (You probably think I'm exaggerating.) They practically stand there with their hands on their hips as the ball rolls from one end of the pitch to the other.
