FIFA Street 2 - Hands On Preview

Last year Electronic Arts' EA Big label continued to develop with a new 'Street' franchise based on the world's number one sport, football. Innovatively named FIFA Street, the game had an informal fluidity that captured the essence of a quick kick-about coupled with a number of special moves that wouldn't look out of place in a sports advert. Though fun to play, and successfully recreating the style of street football, FIFA Street was noted for its poor AI (especially in respect of the goalkeepers) and occasional jumpy transitional animation. Not only that, but the original title also failed to feature any online functionality.

So twelve months on and the release date for FIFA Street 2 rapidly approaches - have EA listened to the criticisms laid against the first title?

On the surface of things, there doesn't appear to have been that many changes save one or two, but dig a little deeper and the extra twelve months has seen a wide range of new features tweaked and added to the game. Obviously the change in view from side-on to end-on is the first noticeable difference, quickly followed by the more traditionally "Street" stylised players; FIFA Street 2's world players (over 320 of them) definitely seem less like their FIFA Football counterparts. The new view (which can be reverted back to the side-on version of the previous title) does offer a better view of the action and of the arena in general; it also means that the opposition goal is nearly always in view, which helps players aim their shot better than before. In addition to the returning friendly matches of Play Now and the tournament Rule the Streets (where players compete against other teams to literally rule the streets), FIFA Street 2 includes a new gamemode: Skills Challenge, essentially a combo/rhythm game against the clock. Keeping the keepie-uppies going whilst performing a number tricks by using the right thumbstick to make different shapes (bizarrely similar to last year's Darwinia of all things), players have to try and get their name on the leaderboard with the greatest number of points.

The core gameplay of stylish football and tricks of course return in FIFA Street 2, but EA has evolved the game to feature new ideas for both home and handheld console versions such as Skill Battles, and WI-Fi multiplayer on PSP (although this is yet to be confirmed as Ad Hoc or Infrastructure Wi-Fi - more likely the former). The main Rule the Streets tournament continues to pitch a Career path for players as they build their team up to World status by facing up to some of the rival 4-man groups from across the world. In order to get that for though players will have face up against names including Ronaldinho and Zidane before getting to the main 'start at the bottom' route. Each game in the Rule the Streets mode is given its own objectives whether that's to score a certain number of goals or 'out-style' your opponent, and so far it's shaping up to be a real test of mixing up the tricks and scoring goals, to a certain extent even more so than the original title.

Using the new found tricks from the Skills Challenge opens up a whole new range of moves in the main modes of the game, where they're given their own class: Juggle Tricks. The 'Beat Tricks' of the original title of course return and continue to be exceptionally useful tool, but the Juggle Tricks (which are activated with two shoulder buttons and the right stick) add an extra layer of one-upmanship to proceedings; allowing gamers to really humiliate the opposition. There are times however when the rival team members stand back and watch the controlled character execute a number of short keepie-uppies, which does seem a little unlikely, though other higher ranked teams including Brazil will just barge you down to the floor.

A feature of every Street spin-off is the Gamebreaker, a finishing move that almost certainly results with the ball ending up in the back of the opposition's net; for FIFA Street 2, the element is further developed with the integration of a 'beat system'. After beginning the move (which now occurs by taking the ball to a designated symbol on the centre of the pitch), players have to perform three 'beats' (tricks around opponent players) before belting the ball into the goal. The aim of this change is undoubtedly to introduce a higher level of skill to the move; last year's debut allowed players to score via the Gamebreaker just by hitting a combo of buttons - in FIFA Street 2, executing the beats could mean that two goal points could be registered on the scoresheet and not just one, thereby acting as an incentive for players to play with some skill rather than take the easy option and go straight for goal. Holding out for more beats on a Gamebreaker can also decrease the opponents score, which is especially handy if you're on the receiving end of a hammering.

Aside from the lack of online play, something that seems to be missing yet again this year, the original FIFA Street did have the occasional AI issue, especially regarding the goalkeeper. Although the player would save certain goals from being scored, the lack of ability to go for others just tarnished an otherwise fun debut for the franchise. By the looks of things the AI has been improved somewhat for this second title, and is helped by the fact that players can now wield further control over the keepers than before - but the occasional lapse still remained so let's hope that final adjustments have been made,

Matches end with players collecting the currency of the game "Skill Bills", enabling them to buy anything from new clothes for the footballers, new locations, and custom footballer upgrades. Gamers can also purchase classic all-time great footballers for their own Create-a-Team, so expect the likes of Pele and Cantona to feature strongly once the Skill Bill balance is sufficient! Other Create options such as the EA Sport favourite Create-a-Player also appear, with a range of apparel customisations from headgear, tops, trousers, trainers, and physical customisations including skin tone, facial options, and tattoos all available though others are unlockable with Skill Bills.

One really annoying aspect of the debut FIFA Street title was 'commentator' MC Harvey from So Solid Crew, who forced gamers en masse to turn down the volume every time a goal was scored thanks to the his irritating "Re-re-replay!" dialogue. Thankfully, EA have learnt their lesson and simply dropped the commentary, instead focusing on the soundtracks, three genre-specific radio stations including the rock/hip-hop focused Live FM hosted by Radio 1/MTV2 Europe presenter Zane Lowe. In addition to listening to Live FM and the other two 'stations', one of which is a Drum and Bass playlist, gamers are also give the freedom to mix and match their own radio station from the three playlists.