FIFA Street

Compared to the very successful FIFA 12, there’s obviously less depth to FIFA Street. But there’s also a lot more immediate fun to be had. Yes, its highs aren’t as thrilling and its lows aren’t as crushing. There isn’t as the same level of immersion or as many variables to master. Yes, its pleasures are cheaper and more ephemeral, but you’ll keep coming back. FIFA Street is more about fantasy fulfilment: it’s about nonchalantly pulling off audacious tricks, scoring outrageous goals, and humiliating your friends in the process. It exists as both a worthy companion to FIFA – providing a quick, f...

A lot has changed in the football genre since EA released FIFA Street 3 back in 2008. The mainline FIFA franchise has enjoyed an impressive transformation over the past five years and, consequentially, has knocked former champion Pro Evolution Soccer from the top of the league. It’s telling, then, that the latest FIFA Street comes without a number attached; this is a reboot built upon the foundations of the established FIFA format. But does it perform a bicycle kick or score a humiliating own goal?

There’s an unwritten rule in Stuff’s lunchtime FIFA 12 tournament: too much showboating and you’ll find yourself on the receiving end of a what’s known in the business as a reducer. There’s a time and a place for that sort of thing – it’s called FIFA Street. EA’s reboot of the flair-focused footy sim is what the sport would be like if it’d been concocted by Cristiano Ronaldo in a lab deep under Nike HQ. On these pitches, trickery is king.

Soccer, or more commonly known as football in Europe, is one of the most popular team sports around the world. I imagine it is because all you really need is a ball that you can kick, have agreed upon markers to score on (such as two sticks in the ground) and an area to play in. In fact, unlike a lot of sports, soccer can be played on almost any hard surface and in most types of weather. As long as there is space to kick and run around, you can probably play it, which makes it an ideal and an accessible sport for almost anyone. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about FIFA Street for the P...

It's worth acknowledging that the faster paced trappings of a street soccer experience can lure in casual sports or soccer fans and the shallow nature of the title's gameplay might not be as bothersome as it would be to a FIFA veteran, but as a game that is meant for soccer fans familiar with the FIFA brand though, comparatively, it's hard not to feel as though Street received less attention and less polish. Still, it's something new and (mostly) fun for soccer lovers to sink their teeth into.

It's not an awful game for sure. There's fun to be had here, even if it is somewhat limited, and there's definitely the basis of a decent series underneath all the ropey implementation