EA Sports looked to steal Pro Evolution Soccer’s fans with Street but did it impress the critics that are such a crucial factor.
EA has released the first FIFA Street game in ages and are hoping to increase their share in the market for football games. They also signed Barcelona’s Argentine wizard, Lionel Messi, to be the face of the reboot of the series.
Plenty of trailers and tutorials were shown off and fans genuinely seemed excited, yet with the review scores now out, we take a look at what the critics had to say about the return to the ‘Street’.
The Official Xbox Magazine (US) gave FIFA Street the highest score at 9.0 out 10. They praised the game as “a welcome alternative for veterans, but even folks relatively unfamiliar with soccer will find a lot to love here.”
GameInformer seemed to find more than just a few minor imperfections in the game and settled for a 7.25 out of 10 rating for the return of FIFA Street. The publication claimed that the game relied too heavily on animations.
“This version of FIFA Street captures some of the fun and freedom that past titles have lacked, but this is ultimately limited by the game’s reliance on animations.” There's no way FIFA Street could have merely been an additional mode in FIFA Soccer 12. The latter takes to the conventional styles of soccer, where setting up plays and well-timed crosses are the keys to victory. The former focuses on "the beautiful game," where one player juggles a ball around with blinding grace, tricking an opponent into moving one direction while taking the ball in the other.
FIFA Street utilizes the Player Impact Engine found in FIFA 12, which relies more heavily on the physics of players and the ball instead of using only animations. It's a good starting point for a game that, compared to other FIFA titles, spotlights soccer tricks more than ever. The end result, however, turns into a "FIFA lite" of sorts, with shoddy action frighteningly reminiscent of the problematic FIFA 12 demo.
With smaller courts, fewer players, and closer camera angles, the Player Impact engine shows more flaws than in FIFA 12. Players fall all over one another in unnatural ways in every match. Trying to trick the opponent with a panna move -- where one player kicks the ball between an opponent's open legs before skirting around them to retain possession -- often leads to the two players awkwardly bumping into one another and stopping for a brief moment. There were also a number of times where my goalkeeper would simply fall down when fighting for possession against an attacking opponent.
That's just the beginning, as gameplay issues are endless. Attempting to tackle an opponent while on defense is rarely successful. When failing, your player gets stuck in an odd animation where they stick their leg out and twist their body, as if they can't decide whether to fall over or start breakdancing. When you successfully kick the ball away from an opponent, there's a fair chance your player will stop in their tracks after detecting a collision that might have never happened. Regardless of the points where FIFA Street shines, it suffers from too many buggy player animations. After seeing EA Sports do magnificent things with FIFA 12 -- cleaning up a majority of these same issues in its engine so that players weren't always falling over for no apparent reason or stopping dead in their tracks -- FIFA Street comes off as a disappointment. I would hope that with some tuning, there would be more of the great moments FIFA Street can offer. Spinning around an opponent is fun enough, but the lack of of variety in game modes leaves you hanging after a few trips to the court. The latest FIFA Street could be the foundation of a great game down the line; it just isn't one now.
The Sixth Axis is known for being objective when it comes to rating games and this time around they too have opted for 8 out of 10. They seemed more than pleased with the game apart from a few “minor niggles, FIFA Street is a very enjoyable game, even though it’s not the game I expected.”
IGN also had praise for the game as they stated, “It exists as both a worthy companion to FIFA – providing a quick, fun multiplayer fix.” They also said that the game is a great alternative for anyone who is worried about FIFA 12’s steep learning curve. They awarded the game an 8 out of 10 as well.
So all in all FIFA Street seems like a must buy for football fans who want something ‘light’ and fun as opposed to the intensity of the core FIFA series.
EA has released the first FIFA Street game in ages and are hoping to increase their share in the market for football games. They also signed Barcelona’s Argentine wizard, Lionel Messi, to be the face of the reboot of the series.
Plenty of trailers and tutorials were shown off and fans genuinely seemed excited, yet with the review scores now out, we take a look at what the critics had to say about the return to the ‘Street’.
The Official Xbox Magazine (US) gave FIFA Street the highest score at 9.0 out 10. They praised the game as “a welcome alternative for veterans, but even folks relatively unfamiliar with soccer will find a lot to love here.”
GameInformer seemed to find more than just a few minor imperfections in the game and settled for a 7.25 out of 10 rating for the return of FIFA Street. The publication claimed that the game relied too heavily on animations.
“This version of FIFA Street captures some of the fun and freedom that past titles have lacked, but this is ultimately limited by the game’s reliance on animations.” There's no way FIFA Street could have merely been an additional mode in FIFA Soccer 12. The latter takes to the conventional styles of soccer, where setting up plays and well-timed crosses are the keys to victory. The former focuses on "the beautiful game," where one player juggles a ball around with blinding grace, tricking an opponent into moving one direction while taking the ball in the other.
FIFA Street utilizes the Player Impact Engine found in FIFA 12, which relies more heavily on the physics of players and the ball instead of using only animations. It's a good starting point for a game that, compared to other FIFA titles, spotlights soccer tricks more than ever. The end result, however, turns into a "FIFA lite" of sorts, with shoddy action frighteningly reminiscent of the problematic FIFA 12 demo.
With smaller courts, fewer players, and closer camera angles, the Player Impact engine shows more flaws than in FIFA 12. Players fall all over one another in unnatural ways in every match. Trying to trick the opponent with a panna move -- where one player kicks the ball between an opponent's open legs before skirting around them to retain possession -- often leads to the two players awkwardly bumping into one another and stopping for a brief moment. There were also a number of times where my goalkeeper would simply fall down when fighting for possession against an attacking opponent.
That's just the beginning, as gameplay issues are endless. Attempting to tackle an opponent while on defense is rarely successful. When failing, your player gets stuck in an odd animation where they stick their leg out and twist their body, as if they can't decide whether to fall over or start breakdancing. When you successfully kick the ball away from an opponent, there's a fair chance your player will stop in their tracks after detecting a collision that might have never happened. Regardless of the points where FIFA Street shines, it suffers from too many buggy player animations. After seeing EA Sports do magnificent things with FIFA 12 -- cleaning up a majority of these same issues in its engine so that players weren't always falling over for no apparent reason or stopping dead in their tracks -- FIFA Street comes off as a disappointment. I would hope that with some tuning, there would be more of the great moments FIFA Street can offer. Spinning around an opponent is fun enough, but the lack of of variety in game modes leaves you hanging after a few trips to the court. The latest FIFA Street could be the foundation of a great game down the line; it just isn't one now.
The Sixth Axis is known for being objective when it comes to rating games and this time around they too have opted for 8 out of 10. They seemed more than pleased with the game apart from a few “minor niggles, FIFA Street is a very enjoyable game, even though it’s not the game I expected.”
IGN also had praise for the game as they stated, “It exists as both a worthy companion to FIFA – providing a quick, fun multiplayer fix.” They also said that the game is a great alternative for anyone who is worried about FIFA 12’s steep learning curve. They awarded the game an 8 out of 10 as well.
So all in all FIFA Street seems like a must buy for football fans who want something ‘light’ and fun as opposed to the intensity of the core FIFA series.
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