FIFA Street 2
Added March 21st, 2006 by Kisan Parikh
Introduction:
EA’s Street franchise has seen tons of success with just about every one of its releases. People seem to love the out-of-this world arcade-gameplay offered by the series. The first FIFA Street game appeared to disappoint many Street fans. The gameplay was unpolished and felt awkward for the most part. FIFA Street 2 features many of the improvements that were expected, but problems still remain.
Gameplay:
The entire Street series has been built upon outrageous tricks and fast paced action, and FIFA Street 2 is no different. The game is great to pick up and play due to its arcade-like playing style. Everything is about just getting into the game and playing.
EA’s Street franchise has seen tons of success with just about every one of its releases. People seem to love the out-of-this world arcade-gameplay offered by the series. The first FIFA Street game appeared to disappoint many Street fans. The gameplay was unpolished and felt awkward for the most part. FIFA Street 2 features many of the improvements that were expected, but problems still remain.
Gameplay:
The entire Street series has been built upon outrageous tricks and fast paced action, and FIFA Street 2 is no different. The game is great to pick up and play due to its arcade-like playing style. Everything is about just getting into the game and playing.
This year’s FIFA Street game is similar to the original, except that it feels a bit more polished. The tricks and fakes seem a lot less awkward this time around and the Trick Stick really shines. By simply maneuvering the right thumbstick and using the trigger buttons, a huge array of moves are at your disposal. The tricks and passes feel much more natural this time, because the ball physics have improved greatly. You even have a new juggling feature in FIFA Street 2. The controls are simple, but you can really wreck havoc on the defense with well executed juggle moves.
The Gamebreaker, a staple of the Street franchise, has been tweaked a bit. Now, you can either just shoot and get an almost guaranteed goal, or play a bit more riskily. If you beat defenders before you shoot, you are awarded extra points. Beating 3 opponents before shooting within the time limit gives you an instant victory.
Also new to FIFA Street 2 is the defensive equivalent of the Trick Stick. By maneuvering the right thumbstick when not in possession of the ball, you can keep yourself from being burned by the opponent. You basically just move the stick to the direction in which you think the player will go. Your player will respond with a shoulder barge or slide tackle. By using this method of defense, you can avoid seeing the 2-4 second long ‘you got burned’ animation, which is still included this year. Basically, if you get beat by an opponent, you are unable to control your player for a set amount of time, which can be very annoying.
Another annoyance found in FIFA Street 2 is the camera system. You basically only have two different angles, vertical and sideline, but neither is too great. Vertical, the default camera, doesn’t quite look right, and the camera insists on zooming into certain moves. While not a major problem, the cameras could have been better.
The Rule the Street mode is still the main gameplay mode. You start off by creating your player with the game’s solid create-a-player feature. You can customize just about everything about your player’s appearance. This includes: body type, definition, eyes, ears, nose, hair style, eyebrows, tattoos, and even more. Additionally, you can choose different shirts, shorts, socks, shoes, gloves, and hats. Finally, you assign rating points to your player’s Speed, Trick, Power, Shot, and Defense ratings. The create-a-player mode is very well put together and lets you choose how your player looks on the street.
Once your player is created and customized, you participate in your first Kick About. Kick Abouts are the first phase of Rule the Street mode. Here, you play with other random teammates as you hope to increase your ratings. Once you achieve a rating of 40, you move on to the Team Captain phase. Here, you must manage a team of other players as you hope to win as many matches as possible. There are sometimes disputes, and you will have to make choices between players. Once you achieve an 80 rating, you are able to take your team to the Underground, where you compete with other top teams to rule the streets. The next portion of the Rule the Streets mode is International. This requires an 85 rating and allows you to take the game to the world stage and represent your country.
All along the way you are unlocking different items and fields. You progress through different cities and reveal new apparel for your player. You can gain access to new shoes, shifts, and logos. Additionally, you are unlocking players for both Rule the Streets mode and Play Now mode. Also, you are faced with different game styles as you progress. You play for just goals at times, but you also play for Trick Points and sometimes Gamebreakers. Unfortunately, the game becomes repetitive very quickly, despite the gameplay variations.
Basically, FIFA Street 2 plays the same as the original with a few welcome changes. The game still has some key issues, such as the 2-4 second lag after a player makes a move on you. The gameplay is far from perfect and gets repetitive, but gamers will still have fun with the outrageous soccer action.
Graphics:
The graphics in FIFA Street 2 are average and are not flashy in any way. Players look decent, with only a bit of detail, and playing fields feature some bland textures. The bright spot in the visuals are the animations, which are the focal point of the game. Tricks and moves are depicted nicely. There is a huge variety of smooth looking tricks and fakes. The visual portions of this game don’t, in any way, hurt the gameplay, but they are as average as graphics get.
The Gamebreaker, a staple of the Street franchise, has been tweaked a bit. Now, you can either just shoot and get an almost guaranteed goal, or play a bit more riskily. If you beat defenders before you shoot, you are awarded extra points. Beating 3 opponents before shooting within the time limit gives you an instant victory.
Also new to FIFA Street 2 is the defensive equivalent of the Trick Stick. By maneuvering the right thumbstick when not in possession of the ball, you can keep yourself from being burned by the opponent. You basically just move the stick to the direction in which you think the player will go. Your player will respond with a shoulder barge or slide tackle. By using this method of defense, you can avoid seeing the 2-4 second long ‘you got burned’ animation, which is still included this year. Basically, if you get beat by an opponent, you are unable to control your player for a set amount of time, which can be very annoying.
Another annoyance found in FIFA Street 2 is the camera system. You basically only have two different angles, vertical and sideline, but neither is too great. Vertical, the default camera, doesn’t quite look right, and the camera insists on zooming into certain moves. While not a major problem, the cameras could have been better.
The Rule the Street mode is still the main gameplay mode. You start off by creating your player with the game’s solid create-a-player feature. You can customize just about everything about your player’s appearance. This includes: body type, definition, eyes, ears, nose, hair style, eyebrows, tattoos, and even more. Additionally, you can choose different shirts, shorts, socks, shoes, gloves, and hats. Finally, you assign rating points to your player’s Speed, Trick, Power, Shot, and Defense ratings. The create-a-player mode is very well put together and lets you choose how your player looks on the street.
Once your player is created and customized, you participate in your first Kick About. Kick Abouts are the first phase of Rule the Street mode. Here, you play with other random teammates as you hope to increase your ratings. Once you achieve a rating of 40, you move on to the Team Captain phase. Here, you must manage a team of other players as you hope to win as many matches as possible. There are sometimes disputes, and you will have to make choices between players. Once you achieve an 80 rating, you are able to take your team to the Underground, where you compete with other top teams to rule the streets. The next portion of the Rule the Streets mode is International. This requires an 85 rating and allows you to take the game to the world stage and represent your country.
All along the way you are unlocking different items and fields. You progress through different cities and reveal new apparel for your player. You can gain access to new shoes, shifts, and logos. Additionally, you are unlocking players for both Rule the Streets mode and Play Now mode. Also, you are faced with different game styles as you progress. You play for just goals at times, but you also play for Trick Points and sometimes Gamebreakers. Unfortunately, the game becomes repetitive very quickly, despite the gameplay variations.
Basically, FIFA Street 2 plays the same as the original with a few welcome changes. The game still has some key issues, such as the 2-4 second lag after a player makes a move on you. The gameplay is far from perfect and gets repetitive, but gamers will still have fun with the outrageous soccer action.
Graphics:
The graphics in FIFA Street 2 are average and are not flashy in any way. Players look decent, with only a bit of detail, and playing fields feature some bland textures. The bright spot in the visuals are the animations, which are the focal point of the game. Tricks and moves are depicted nicely. There is a huge variety of smooth looking tricks and fakes. The visual portions of this game don’t, in any way, hurt the gameplay, but they are as average as graphics get.
Audio:
The audio in FIFA Street 2 is a definite improvement from the original. There is a new DJ, Zane Lowe, who does a much better job than last year’s. He does a good job of keeping the Street vibe without butting in nearly as much. The EA Trax featured in the game go well with the atmosphere, and you can even edit which songs you want to hear in the ‘Radio Station’ menu. The in-game sound effects are pretty basic and match up to expectations.
Controls:
The controls are incredible simple and work well for the most part. The Trick Stick and defensive moves are especially intuitive, and offer a wide variety of different maneuvers. The only fault with the controls is the substantial loss of control that is experienced after an opponent fakes or makes a move. While I understand the effect EA was going for, I found this especially annoying. By the time your player returns to your control, the opponent acquires 2-4 seconds to make his way down the field. It would have worked if it wasn’t so exaggerated.
Replay:
The only true mode in FIFA Street 2 is the lengthy Rule the Streets mode. You will spend quite a bit of time beating this mode, although it does become repetitive fairly quickly. The only other mode besides Play Now is the Skill Challenge. Here, you can work on your juggling maneuvers in a DDR-type mode. This mode is pretty lame after your first few times, so you won’t obtain a lot of replay out of it. The best source of replay value for this title is the Play Now mode. Here you can just jump in and play with a friend on the same console. This is arguably the most fun way to play, but this is largely due to the fact that there in no Xbox Live support.
The audio in FIFA Street 2 is a definite improvement from the original. There is a new DJ, Zane Lowe, who does a much better job than last year’s. He does a good job of keeping the Street vibe without butting in nearly as much. The EA Trax featured in the game go well with the atmosphere, and you can even edit which songs you want to hear in the ‘Radio Station’ menu. The in-game sound effects are pretty basic and match up to expectations.
Controls:
The controls are incredible simple and work well for the most part. The Trick Stick and defensive moves are especially intuitive, and offer a wide variety of different maneuvers. The only fault with the controls is the substantial loss of control that is experienced after an opponent fakes or makes a move. While I understand the effect EA was going for, I found this especially annoying. By the time your player returns to your control, the opponent acquires 2-4 seconds to make his way down the field. It would have worked if it wasn’t so exaggerated.
Replay:
The only true mode in FIFA Street 2 is the lengthy Rule the Streets mode. You will spend quite a bit of time beating this mode, although it does become repetitive fairly quickly. The only other mode besides Play Now is the Skill Challenge. Here, you can work on your juggling maneuvers in a DDR-type mode. This mode is pretty lame after your first few times, so you won’t obtain a lot of replay out of it. The best source of replay value for this title is the Play Now mode. Here you can just jump in and play with a friend on the same console. This is arguably the most fun way to play, but this is largely due to the fact that there in no Xbox Live support.
Summary:
FIFA Street 2 shows marked improvement from its predecessor, but it still has a number of issues. The gameplay becomes repetitive after a short while, and there is no Xbox Live mode to be found. While I still find the arcade soccer gameplay entertaining, this game isn’t the most feature-packed sequel. This title is a great rental for those who need their Street soccer fix, but if you are tired of the original, you might want to avoid this one.
FIFA Street 2 shows marked improvement from its predecessor, but it still has a number of issues. The gameplay becomes repetitive after a short while, and there is no Xbox Live mode to be found. While I still find the arcade soccer gameplay entertaining, this game isn’t the most feature-packed sequel. This title is a great rental for those who need their Street soccer fix, but if you are tired of the original, you might want to avoid this one.
