Active Reviews

Written by Edward Hankins

Every guy who grew up with football played in the neighborhood streets and parks when they were little. The EA Sports "BIG" line of football has made an effort to capture that enthusiasm with actual NFL players and licensed teams. NFL Street 2, the second game in their over-the-top, hard-hitting, arcade-action football game is a strong effort that expands its gameplay while falling short of capturing the longevity of other football games.

Not your daddy's football game

Street 2 provides the most solid arcade action available in a football game since NFL Blitz back on the N64. The single-player experience is vast with three different modes, all differing in structure. The "Own the City" mode gives you a basic starting player and a city to conquer, amassing a team of "no-names" to defeat all challengers. The problem with this mode is its linearity. There are 8 activities per field, and all fields in an area must be conquered before moving on. The "NFL Challenge" mode starts with a generic team of players lacking skills. The objective is to complete challenges across the city to earn development points in 150 days. The linearity of the "Own the City" mode is completely absent, allowing the player to attempt challenges at any field in the city. Developers would have done well to simply combine these two modes into a cohesive "Street" challange mode instead of polorizing these two gameplay ideas. The "NFL Gauntlet" mode gives the player and actual NFL squad to challenge other NFL teams in the streets. The most boring mode available, the "NFL Gauntlet" mode could have used more innovation.

The actual gameplay experience is well done and exciting, in both single player and multiplayer. The action is fast paced and performing tricks while running up the score achieves a feeling of satisfaction, especially when you build up a Gamebreaker. An addition to the game from previous installment, using the walls and fences extends the field and gameplay considerably. Timing wall-jukes and Matrix-style wall-runs prevents defenders from trapping ball carriers on the narrow fields, while wall-passes give an almost unfair height advantage to the QB and wide receiver. NFL Street 2 emphasizes offense, except when Gamebreakers are involved. Using a Gamebreaker on defense almost guarantees a turnover, and if you save your first Gamebreaker and charge the second meter, the defense automatically gets a defensive touchdown through a ridiculous cut-scene reminiscent of NBA Street Vol. 2.

Flashy looks to go along with those moves

The graphics and sounds of NFL Street 2 are all well done. Player models are given over-the-top body proportions. The alleyways and the parking lots that serve as football fields are well modeled as well, complete with trash cans, boxes, trucks, and other obstructions.

The soundtrack is on par for this type of title. Hip-hop and heavy metal tracks play continuously behind the menus and action. It is nice to see that the music continues from one screen to another regardless of the loading screen. Taunting and celebrating are also included, but do little to detract or add to the experience.

Not quite Madden

NFL Street 2 is a good, but not great game. The gameplay for single-players is deep, but not overly interesting. The multiplayer aspect of the game is exciting at first, but it simply does not have the depth of normal "simulation" football games. The controls work well, but feel a little loose. Rent it for a week and if you are still enjoying make the buy. here.

Go back to the NFL Street page.

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