I’m a big fan of the EA Big Street series. I’m also a huge fan of soccer. I was pumped to play this game. I picked up the XBOX version of FIFA Street.
Unfortunately I am underwhelmed. The game play seems a bit lame and static compared to what you would expect from the EA Street series. Most of this comes from controls that are not responsive. The point of the game is to beat your opponent with wild dribble moves. Unfortunately when the opponent uses a move on you, you literally lose control of your player while the animation shows your guy getting schooled. The soccer AI in this game is so poor that none of your other players can be counted on to help out your stranded teammate.
I just don’t see a lot of replay value in this as the controls and gameplay are so static and frustrating.
Also disappointing is the fact that when you create a new team to play through the single player mode, your team is ranked at level 13 and your first opponent is level 25. I played ten matches and won only once because my players are hopelessly outclassed.
Some redeeming qualities of the game… there is a huge roster of real life soccer stars from several countries. Fans of European soccer will be happy to see Beckham, Henry, Totti, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, etc. Unfortunately, if your favorite star does not come from one of the dozen featured countries then forget about finding him in the game, which means no Schevchenko, Van Nistelrooy, Ljungberg, Giggs, and none of the Greeks who won last year’s Euro Tournament.
Unfortunately these computer players are very static as well; they cannot gain skills or new moves. All players have the same moves, so there is nothing unique about having a Ronaldinho or Jay-Jay Ockocha on your team. This also hurts replay value.
The Arsenal players in the game (and I am going from memory here) are Thierry Henry, Jose Antonio Reyes, Jens Lehman, Patrick Vieira, Robert Pires, Ashley Cole, Sol Campbell, Edu, and Gilberto.
The graphics in this game are very nice. The players look stylish and are dead-ringers for the real players. The environments are decent looking too.
The lack of XBox Live play is a knock on this game and is absolutely unforgivable in a sports title of this nature. This is a terrible oversight.
In the end, I cannot recommend FIFA Street to anyone besides the most avid of soccer fans, and even then, don’t expect to get a lot of replay value out of this.
3 Responses to “FIFA Street video game review”
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March 23rd, 2005 at 9:36 am
In fact, I’ve been addicted to the damn game for about a month now. You have to work at it to get a handle on the controls and how to get a good groove going, but once you do, it’s incredible.
Like milkman said, the controls are a bit sticky at times, but I think the game has LOTS of replay value. I made a point to stack my team with Arsenal players, and by the time I got to the top, my team has Ronaldinho, Henry, and my badass player, and it’s unstoppable.
March 23rd, 2005 at 11:12 am
Yes, I like your comment. The game gets better after awhile, but the beginning of it can be very frustrating. Ultimately I took the time to beat the game. I used the same team as you… I had Casillas in goal, Ronaldinho and Henry in the field, Pires and Cole on the bench, teamed with my player who was maxed out.
Deeper problems I had with the game not in my review…
1. You don’t know who you are playing against game to game unless you can tell from the miniscule photos… it doesn’t show the player names before kickoff.
2. There are no cinematics or anything to keep you going. There is also a very minimal cinematic reward when you beat the game. Other street series games pump up the matchups as you get to the end by showing cinematics and raising the tension… in this you just play game after game and they’re all basically the same.
3. Not having unique moves is a big letdown for me. Seems to me that Ronaldinho or Jay-Jay ought to be able to do more/better moves than Michael Silvestre, but that’s just me.
Like I said, I think an avid soccer fan can get some enjoyment out of this, and I did get minimal enjoyment, but the replay value just isn’t there for me. I sold the game on ebay and went back to playing FIFA 2005.
March 23rd, 2005 at 6:15 pm
I recently bought fifa street for the PS2, and although I think FIFA 2005 plays better, I do enjoy playing FIFA street. The easiest way I found to score goals (besides getting a gamebreaker) is to keep doing aerial passes to all your players. Eventually, one of the 2 guys playing closest to the goal will have a good opportunity to get a header on goal, and a lot of times going short side will work. The one thing I agree on, is that when the com does a move, and your guy becomes a spectator. I hate that.