EA is famous for sports titles, their biggest being of course Madden Football. Unlike EA's other sports titles which focus heavily on realism and simulation of the professional game, NFL Street takes a more arcade like approach.
The rules are simplified. In order to get a first down, simply get past the fixed marker on the field within four downs. There is absolutely no kicking. That means no punting and field goals. Extra points are determined by running the ball in (1 point) or passing it in (2 points). Even the playbook is rudimentary with very few options. This may sound like a bad thing, but it actually works. The idea is to make plays in the field not work with complicated playbooks.
The action is intense. The hits are bigger. Even with no pads or helmets you never have to worry about an injury. This is a video game with artificial characters who can do anything. How could they possibly be hurt? That's the point of this game; it's a video game. It isn't Madden.
Madden fans should find lots to like about this game. Firstly, EA made the controls very similar so the learning curve is shorter for Madden players. Second, those looking for a real football simulation already have Madden (or ESPN NFL Football or NFL Fever). Those players shouldn't be looking for another Madden clone. This game is about fun; big plays and big hits. The ability to pull off style maneuvers and taunt your opponents only adds to that.
Now the bad. This game is hard. At least for me it is. I'm not that great at Madden but at least I can play competently. With this game, even on the easiest setting I'm having a rough time. "Easy" should be easy. Hardcore sports gamers probably won't mind (those that play Madden on All-Madden difficutly) but those of us (like me) that aren't hardcore gamers who'd like to pick this game up for the fun of it will be frustrated by the difficulty level. It's hard to have fun making trick plays when you can't do them.
The other miss on this game is the play modes. NFL Street's primary play mode is Challenge Mode where you take a team of seven user-created characters (very cool BTW) and play games that have a certain challenge that must be met such as getting to 14 pts first without a turnover or performing certain style moves. Completing challenges earns you points to upgrade your players stats. Once you've upgrade your stats enough you can try the ladder portion of the mode where you play teams in a tournament format. The challenge mode is interesting, but in any other game it would be an additional mode, not the primary.
Another mode are Pick-Up Game where 40 players are randomly generated and each person takes turns picking players to fill a seven man team for the true playground experience. This would be a lot cooler if you could play a tournament like this. Finally, there is the option to pick any team in the NFL and play them against other teams.
What would have been nice is some sort of season type play, maybe not like the NFL exactly, but something. Winning seasons is more fun than winning games. Along with this would of course be stat tracking for your players. Right now there is none.
Overall, NFL Street is a decent game worth buying if you are into the genre. The graphics suffer from that all-too-typical problem of having to be able to run on a PS2 which keeps many XBox games from looking as good as they should. Also, because this is EA, online multiplayer is only available for PS2 (no Live!). You can also play with up to 4-players on one system. I haven't tried this, but a couple of buddies who are competative would make this game a blast.
The game is far from perfect, but far from poor as well. It mostly suffers from not enough polish and not going far enough with some of the ideas it proposes. NFL Street 2 will most likely address all this. I just hope it's not so difficult.
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This game is extremley hard. Even on the easiest levels.Having a street school like NBA Street would have been
extremley helpful.But through my frustration and controller
slamming I keep playing. There is so much to unlock.
And with as hard as this game is, it will take a while to unlock it.
One reason I think this game is so hard is there is nothing like it. You have to learn the system and logic that EA has built in this game.
But on to the good, this is backyard football with showboating
balls thrown under the leg, or off a wall. What's really fun
about this game is lining Warren Sapp or Ray Lewis
up at reciever and sticking Randy Moss Or Terrell Owens at running back. It is a trip. There are few games that frustrate
me so much, but for me to keep playing shows there is something
special there.
Overall it is a great game.
Best Deals for NFL Street - Xbox
Man, what a fun game. That is until the computer decides thatyou will lose no matter what. Case in point I made it through three complete divisions with a mediocre team. I found a defense for each opponent and coupled with a strong run game and a dink and dunk pass strategy was able to win.
Until that is I met the Denver Broncos. I cannot win no matter what I do. No defense works, I'm up 20 0 they win anyway.
To echo the other comments, when the CPU needs a turnover, your great running back turns into fumblina. All passes get intercepted, you can't stop their run attack and they pitch four times to win games. This one is going back unfortunately, It is just too frustrating to be fun anymore.
Honest reviews on NFL Street - Xbox
I've been looking forward to NFL Street for a few months now. With Blitz gone, where would I get my arcade football fix? NFL Street quickly solved those problems. The game is fast paced, frantic, and really fun.Pros:
Sweet Graphics (Looks like NBA Street Vol. 2)
Fast Gameplay w/ lots of big hits
Easy to Pick and Play
Controls are good (like Madden, but easier)
Cool Unlockables
Awesome Multiplayer
Online (PS2 only though...)
Interceptions are sweet
Cons:
Impossible to play defense (especially stopping the run)
Way too many fumbles (I've had 3 or 4 on one play)
Action gets a little too frantic sometimes (can't see where your player is or ball, or anything else for that matter)
Limited Playbook ( Only like 1520 Offensive plays, same with defense)
Replay options are a bit lacking
If the other player has a gamebreaker, you're screwed
Just Wondering:
How do the fat lineman catch my super speedy running back and recievers?
All in all, NFL Street is an excellent arcade football game. While it is a bit rough around the edges, EA Big has still managed to craft another incredibly addictive "Street" game. Great to play with friends.
Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for NFL Street - Xbox
There is only one word to describe NFL Street and that is... AWESOME! I don't know how this game has gotten a rating of only 3 stars on XBox when it is clear that it is superior to the rest. This game has bend the rules a little bit and for the good. It is just not fun running and passing when you can run and pass with STYLE. I personally am not a fan of NFL games but this is THE exception. Its not just football, it's a whole lot more.Gameplay-
As you may know I love this game, I play it a lot and it does not look like I'm going to be putting it down any time soon. Well this is how it goes... You play football and at the same time you rack up points, the more points you get the faster you earn a "Game Breaker". If you are wondering... A game breaker is when your team gets unlimited Turbo and if you are on offence you are likely to leave everyone in your dust, and almost guaranteed a touch down. If on defense you are also almost guaranteed a turn over on downs or fumbles. Well back to game play, there a lot of cool moves you can pull off when you are running. Like spin around your opponent, plow threw him, and sooo much more. This is useful to rack up points and earn that game breaker or simply just to lock good while running for the touch down. This is were in my opinion NFL Street shines the most.
Graphics-
I have no idea how another person said that the graphics were "cheasy". I don't know if he is looking at the same game I am looking at, but they are definitely not cheesy. They are extremely good, the players look like the real life guys, there are no skips or lag. In fact I thought they were the best, because even the fields are done very well and some-what interactive. Like for instance in a junk yard you can fall on some wooden boxes and they will brake, in the beach there is a big volleyball that you can hit and it will react and bounce away also some surf boards you can hit and will fall down. So to me the graphics are just perfect.
Sound-
I regularly don't pay attention to the sound on games, but in NFL Street how can you not? The crashes sound good and I guess a little exaggerated but that does not necessarily make it a bad thing. Also everyone talks trash to each other, my favorite quote for now is "If I got a dime for every yard you just ran, I would be broke... dead broke." And when you are playing there are some nice beats on the background so sound is great as well. Plus on XBox you can listen to your own tracks/songs on the menu screens.
Bottom line If you like football and are looking for a little more, buy this. If you don't like football rent it and I'm almost certain you will like it, I did and like I said I'm not a fan of NFL my self. But if you are a hardcore simulator fan DO NOT BUY IT, it is not about simulation its about having fun and soo much more!
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