FIFA Street 3 Review (PlayStation 3)

PS3 Reviews

By Stevie Smith Mar 4, 2008, 11:00 GMT

Review by David Lee.

FIFA Street 3 is the first football-based ‘Street’ game from EA Sports to hit next-gen consoles. And, while the previous FIFA Street games were received with decidedly mixed critical reaction, FIFA Street 3 tries to redeem the under-performing series by including an impressive list of new features such as enhanced A.I. taken straight from the successful FIFA 08, an updated roster of top international footballers, and all using the same game engine from critically acclaimed basketball title NBA Street. FIFA Street rules are simple: 5-a-side, played on a wide variety of urban pitches from around the world that range from graffiti-filled back alleys in the Mediterranean to rickety abandoned oilrigs. There are no referees, no linesmen, no fouls, no formations, no substitutes and no half time. Depending on the match type, the winner is the first team to reach a set number of goals (normally five) or, more traditionally, the team with the most number of goals within a set period of time (typically from 3 to 10 minutes). There are some variations of these rules; for example, the first team to reach 5 goals from headers or volleys only. The lack of any match officials or any kind of rule system means that the short-lived matches are uninterrupted (unless the ball is kicked out of bounds) and leads to frantic and swift football action.Although FIFA Street 3 doesn’t include the huge number of players offered by the likes of FIFA Soccer or Pro Evolution Soccer, it does deliver over 250 of the world’s top players across 18 top international teams (for some reason Argentina is absent from the list). The relatively insignificant number of players isn’t necessarily a bad thing however, as each of the star names has his own distinct style and set of skills, and players will soon find themselves adopting a favoured performer based on those individual strengths. For added depth, each Street player fits into one of four categories: Playmakers, Tricksters, Enforcers and Finishers. This injects a degree of strategy and variety when lining up your next set pieces.

Unlike previous versions in the FIFA Street series, the players in FIFA Street 3 have been given a cartoon-like makeover and are now depicted as near-hilarious caricatures of themselves. For example, Manchester United and England star Wayne Rooney is represented as a lumbering heavy-browed Neanderthal-type while Liverpool and England giant Peter Crouch’s tall and thin stature is faithfully translated to a lanky Goofy-like being. The graphical presentation of the in-game players is second to none and such attention to detail is matched by the graceful and incredible animation of the players when performing their various acrobatic moves.Gameplay wise, FIFA Street 3 is very simple to pick-up and play. However, after completing a few matches, you’ll find that there’s more to playing this game than just scoring goals. First off are the controls, which consist of the usual pass, shoot, lob and sprint buttons generally found in most other football games. However, in FIFA Street 3 there is a button assigned to ‘flick’ the ball, which launches the player into performing fancy tricks such as keep-ups using various parts of the body or hurling the ball over their helpless opponents. The right analogue stick is also used to good effect, this time to ‘drag’ the ball, i.e., perform stepovers, feints, and sidesteps to further infuriate the opposition. By using a combination of these controls players will soon be performing impressive and spectacular moves normally found in (CGI-assisted) commercials from sports brands such as Nike and Adidas. For those who are looking for a bit more strategic team-based gameplay, Street players can perform quick one-twos by holding down the pass or lob button.Performing amazing ball tricks in FIFA Street 3 is not just an exciting opportunity to show off remarkable skills and humiliate opposing teams. Moreover, players are encouraged to perform tricks to launch the ‘game-breaker’ mode. This involves stringing together a succession of fancy tricks and combos so that the game-breaker bar at the top of the screen increases. When the bar reaches capacity, the player’s entire team is rewarded with a time-limited boost in strength and, invariably, a boost-assisted goal (or several goals) ensues.

By contrast, controlling defenders is a simpler yet somewhat more frustrating affair thanks to the choice of either a normal or aggressive tackle. A normal tackle causes the player to lunge at the opponent (normally with no outcome), while an aggressive tackle produces an impressive low roundhouse sweep to an opponent’s feet (again normally with no outcome). Successful tackles are rather scarce in FIFA Street 3, and more often than not the tackling player is left dazzled and stumbling for his footing – which is most annoying. Indeed, this can be extremely infuriating when playing on defence, and seems somewhat unfair and unbalanced compared to the arsenal of moves that offensive players have at their disposal. The A.I. in FIFA Street 3 is something else worth mentioning at this point. Although not overly flawed, teammates tend to lack the awareness required to make dashes into goal-scoring positions or to provide direct movement assistance, instead just running about aimlessly and waiting for a set-piece initiation. The A.I. of defensive players is similarly lacking, and it doesn’t take long to figure out how to successfully score goal after goal against the computer-controlled teams – with glory usually guaranteed when lobbing the football to any player nearest the goal, before then pressing the ‘shoot’ button just before it reaches them. Boom! Score!The single-player mode of FIFA Street 3 is rather disappointing, offering only a few in-depth game modes. The only worthwhile mode to hold player attention is the FIFA Street Challenge. This essentially throws several challenges at the player where the prize for completing each challenge is the unlocking of extra Street Teams. The other notable mode is the Head-to-Head Challenge, which opens up a host of customisation options. It’s a pity that a Street League or Street Championship wasn’t included in FIFA Street 3, not least because this would have added much-needed longevity to the single-player mode.

FIFA Street 3’s online feature offers the same basic game options as the single-player mode. However, obligatory online fare such as ranked and unranked matches, leaderboards and online stats are all present too, with the inclusion of leaderboards going some way to adding online incentive. Although online play was a lag-free experience, it proved difficult to actually initiate an online game, taking around 10 minutes for the EA servers to match and connect to an online opponent who actually wanted to play. Cause? General lack of online interest or review research so close to the game’s retail arrival? You decide.FIFA Street 3 is a game that doesn’t attempt to be a serious sports sim such as FIFA or Pro Evolution Soccer, and to compare it to these refined, in-depth titles is a little unfair. At its core, FIFA Street 3 simply offers the chance to perform spectacular tricks and score unbelievable Hollywood goals that even real football stars wouldn’t be able to execute without the aid of computer graphics. However, in a sense that’s the problem with FIFA Street 3 – gamers have now come to expect the in-depth gameplay and endless mode options found in the FIFAs and Pro Evos of the gaming world. Slamming in spectacular goals and performing impressive skill tricks, while fun and satisfying for a while, quickly becomes tedious and repetitive as central gameplay. Factor in the uninspiring single and multiplayer modes and the lack of an immersive Street League or Championship option, and the glitz and gloss of FIFA Street 3 is left tarnished by an unavoidable shortfall in terms of longevity.Score: 69%