NFL Street is the comedy brother of the Madden series i.e. the serious gameplay is replaced by comedic shenanigans. Instead of eleven men a side, there are 7. Instead of defensive teams and offensive teams the players are on both. This as an interesting edge to the game, as when you are levelling up your players you have to be aware of their defensive abilities as well as their offence, balancing their stats. Does this change from seriousness to action work? Yes! This is why.

 

Graphics:

The graphics are nothing too special, clearly suffering from the games multi-format roots. However they do the job well with decent animation on the players. The pitches are all 'street' settings, like rooftops and beaches which are well presented with plenty of detail and things happening just to add to the realism of the settings. The graphical overlays are very well done, a simple flick of the C stick and all your players' routes and plays appear on screen. Very handy!

Sound:

The soundtrack is one of this games strongest attributes. It has a whole host of licensed hip-hop and rock songs from the likes of Hundred Reasons and The Executioners. It complements the style of the game perfectly. Not only is the soundtrack great, but also the sound effects are excellently done. There is a lot of on pitch banter, with insults being traded after virtually every play. This really helps create the feeling of aggro you would get if it were to happen in real life. Not only that but every tackle produces some very hard hitting, along with a great sound effect. You really feel the pain!

 

Gameplay:

As with most of EA's games in the last few months, there has been a lot of effort has been put into this one. Despite the unserious nature of the game it has a very extensive playbook, both on Offence and Defence. It uses the same control system and passing system as Madden, so that is clearly no problem.

The game itself is simply huge. The main play mode of the game is NFL Challenge where you create a custom team with a limited number of attribute points, and then you take on the rest of the NFL. There are 8 divisions playable; each of these has a large variety of challenges, plus a ladder to complete. Completing the ladder unlocks another division, as well as an All Star team and the possibility to win players from the teams in that division. The challenges range from exceptionally simple ones that just require the completion of a style move or a scoring a touch down, to very hard ones, with goal line stands and shut-out victories. Something you are going to keep dipping into. During games, performing skills, moves, making a sack or gaining a first down etc earns you gamebreaker points. When your gamebreaker bar is full, you earn a gamebreaker. Using this on defence almost guarantees a turnover, whilst on offence almost guarantees a touch down. Use them wisely!

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However, there is one problem with the otherwise excellent gameplay. It is very easy to master Offence, but on Defence it takes ages to work out how to stop touchdowns. I found this, as well as everyone I have spoken to about the game. Even when I finally did find a play and technique that worked, as soon as I got near going 20-0, the CPU would cheat. As soon as you get close to winning, or getting a good lead then the CPU will make you fumble the ball for no reason, or trip over or something. It's a very irritating flaw but one that is surprisingly easy to forgive due to how enjoyable the game is aside from this.

Playability:

This game is very, very playable. It caters for both short burst gaming and long sessions. There are a variety of game modes available, from one player ladder matches, to a great multiplayer game where you get to pick teams from the in game roster, including randomly placed legends making it surprisingly tactical.

 

Lifespan:

This is a big game, with loads of different game modes, multiplayer and a good feeling of progression. I guess what I'm trying to say is that this game should last a very long time for all but the most ardent haters of NFL.

Final Say:

Absolute enjoyment! A very well made game, not flawless, but great fun.