NFL Street 3 review

Written by Ben Heron

Saturday, 02 June 2007

Mindless violence. With more padding than usual (always welcome!) and an actual purpose. Get to the other side of that big field… Take all this, add more grunts, less body armour and replace spongy grass with… er… ruddy tarmac. What have you got? Apart from an Insurers' nightmare and a private doctors’ primary basis of income? NFL Street 3. From the start I am not going to pretend that a; I know anything about American Football and b; that I like the sport… A resounding “NO” shall be heard passing my lips… Getting started: Boot this game up and you are presented with an all out action intro movie with well known football stars, big fields, pretty lights and lots of gravity defying acrobatics. You’ll also hear lots of deep booming voices and recognisable music and I’m sure, be rather excited to get started! The visuals in this intro are excellent and you’ll all be suitably impressed with the music accompaniment. Training: Obviously the first thing that I did was head straight to the tutorials for some rather desperately needed education into this very American Sport! You’ll be guided by various NFL stars, depending on what position you are training in. The rules aren’t really explained however I it’s fair to say that EA expect anyone considering buying this game is either; 5 years old therefore don’t care about any rule that doesn’t involve seeing people beat the crap out of each other; or have played/have an interest in American Football. The tutorials are long enough as it is so I think this is an obvious and agreeable decision by EA. Control your brute! During the tutorial you will be taken through the basics of controlling your man shaped monsters, performing spins, fakes, throws, tackles and jumps. Also you will learn how to perform super special variations of the above, which basically means the same but faster, with flames coming from your arse and more opponents falling over. (The wimps). The voice of an NFL star will instruct you what buttons to press in order to achieve whatever action you seek – I found out though that just because you have pressed the correct button at what seems to be the correct time doesn’t mean you’ll get it right. Oh no, you have to be very exact in your timing with moves such as super passes and special tackles. If you don’t get it right, the tutorial will reset and you will once again hear the voice of whatever coveted NFL star is relevant to your task. After my millionth attempt at certain passes, tackles and jumps I still couldn’t do it and the so-called stars voices became very chuffing repetitive. Anyone else who’s not played an American football game before should be prepared… To those familiar: In NFL Street 3 you can play a Standard Game; reach a required score before your opponent to win. Respect the Street; which is essentially the career mode whereby you need to defeat teams in order to proceed to other areas and also to improve your players playing attributes (such as speed, passing etc). Bank; where “style points” accumulate until someone scores a Touchdown whereby the scorer gets those points. Defensive Scoring; teams are awarded points for defensive moves such as sacks, interceptions and the like. Playbook Elimination; where both teams start the game with the same amount of offensive plays. If a player has a negative result (like not gaining any yards or not completing a pass) they will lose one of their plays. The player who reaches 0 plays loses. I’m not being funny here – but this one just feels like EA flogging a dead horse… Time attack; the offensive team has one minute to score a point – bonus points are awarded for each second you have spare after scoring. Yards for points; each yard gained awards a point. The first team to a predetermined score wins. Now, again trying not to appear ignorant toward the far West but, in a sports spin off game such as this, what about games such as Crippler Match where each broken limb earns a point, two points if the victim starts crying and five points if they die? Face for radio? Each pitch resembles something of a badly kept car park however the visuals are hardly unsightly. There are such added details as graffiti on the walls (which mark the edge of each pitch) and textured barrels (to jump on!). There is also a lot of facial detail that has been applied to each NFL player, however I must say that they all appear to have had their mouth stuck on an air compressor and thusly look rather over inflated. I understand that these players are huge with muscle bulging aplenty but the players on NFL Street 3 do bring on minor fits of giggles. I think someone got a little carried away. NFL Features: As well as the usual American football gaming, you will also be able to launch yourself very high in the air, walk on walls, vault on barrels/boxes and grunt very loudly while performing signature taunts. NFL Street 3 has also introduced ‘Respect’ which is said to be what American Street Football is all about. You gain respect by dominating games and as you do will have the opportunity to increase your players’ abilities. This is where addiction can set in as making improvements will give you something to aim toward. Throughout a match you’ll be able to collect game modifiers, credits (which you use to purchase equipment and unlockables) and even footballs to give you a small advantage. This adds a little depth to the final article however the unlockables are almost entirely made up of custom skins which (yawn) isn’t much of a motivator. NFL Street 3 allows you to create your own players and team which you can use in the ‘Respect the Street’ career mode. With a game like this, such a feature is essential and EA have stuck to their guns with their methodology. You’ll all enjoy creating a team, led by yourself, of deformed and humorous looking mutants… Sound of the Underground: There is popular music aplenty in NFL which has an excellent jukebox feature adding to the control you can have over the game. All music is atmospheric and heart pumping – very relevant to a game such as this. Multiplayer? In short, yes. You’ll find all the game modes listed above in the multiplayer option. It’s fun, but it’s nothing groundbreaking. Though there is a strong satisfaction of pummelling your friend into the ground and hearing first hand all their curses and excuses. Summary: If you like NFL, the “Respect the Street” angle may just revitalise your enjoyment with a solid career mode and all the right boxes ticked in the form of player and team customization and music jukebox features. However, if you’re not a fan, then this is hardly an introduction into the world of American Football. Although the grunts and groans make a strong case for themselves… EA boast that NFL Street 3 is bigger, better and deeper - and they are probably right. But like most films, sequels are ok, but after 3 you can’t help but think that the idea has run its course. Controls: 5 / 10 – There are too many commands, and they don’t really work properly. Graphics: 8 / 10 – For a PS2 game, you can’t really complain! Detail where it’s needed, without the glitches but with the smoothness. Audio: 9 / 10 – Lots of music for everyone. A jukebox to choose your own music and very funny sound effects in the form of grunts, groans and taunts. Game-play: 7 / 10 – Nothing groundbreaking here. There’s a Career mode as well as all the expected extra game modes. Multiplayer: 7 / 10 – Everything to be expected again here! EA are “sticking to their guns”. Lifespan: 6 / 10 – There’s the jukebox, player and team customisation and unlockable goodies. However the control mechanics and lack of true innovation count against this game. It has the feel of a licensed film/game and is undoubtedly a gimmick. The control mechanics are not for anyone new to this game. If you’re a fan, then have a go however if you’re not spin on!

 

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