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FIFA Street 3 – Xbox 360
Thu, 1st May 2008
FYI, this story is more than a year old

EA Sports BIG has a way of transforming seemingly normal sports into arcade like, over exaggerated, stylish games bursting at the seams with attitude. The arcade sports genre has been dominated by EA of late, with some truly excellent games making their way into gamer’s hands. Of late though, EA Sports BIG has been hit and miss at best — NBA Street Homecourt was fantastic, yet NFL Tour was horrific. So where does FIFA Street 3 fit in?

The structure of FIFA Street 3 is much like any of the other street games. You’ll choose from a collection of teams, which in FS3 is uncannily small, and take them to play on a host of strange, “street” locations. Unlike previous instalments though, there are no trick points as we’ve seen before. Instead shots on goal and tricks fill up a meter which eventually gives a game breaker, but without the traditional points, game modes focussing solely on tricks are eradicated. In place of these are matches in which you can only score with volleys or headers, but the novelty of these wears off quickly.

Single player modes are few and far between, with only exhibition matches and the lacklustre challenge mode. The AI is at just the right level, but it’s all too much of the same and focussing to finish the mode was a challenge in itself. The last game in the mode takes near on an hour to complete and those who finish it will understand how well this sums up the game.

The multiplayer is certainly better than the single player, but this isn’t saying much. The online games were serviceable but expect cheap and frustrating matches.

The presentation far surpasses the gameplay. The graphics are fantastic, with an amazing caricature type art style used. The use of lighting and shadows is very impressive. The soundtrack is also excellent with thirty well-chosen upbeat tracks.

Sadly, FIFA Street 3 has gone the way of many street games and failed to live up to its potential. Its presentation is excellent, and if the gameplay gets up to standard, EA has a winning combination.