FIFA Street 3 review

You can now juggle the ball and upset the opposition further. While standing still you can perform keep-ups using your feet, knees, shoulders and head, and for an extra bit of flair you can trap the ball on your shoulders or foot. The skills certainly look ace and varied, but we soon found ourselves using the same run-and-juggle technique - it easily builds up your Gamebreaker bar and makes it almost impossible for the opposition to get the ball - especially when you’re playing against the computer, it seems.

The reason we adopted this one-dimensional approach, aside from it being the simplest way to win, is because FIFA Street 3’s Challenge mode is dull - and you’ll be keen to blast through it. Other modes offer traditionally timed-matches where the most goals wins, or matches where you can score with headers and volleys only, modes with no Gamebreakers and games with a variety of score targets to meet. You unlock new teams and players as you go, but there’s no payoff after each challenge is completed. It all feels patchy - you jump from one challenge to another without so much as seeing your players actually celebrating. And because there isn’t an ultimate goal - except for unlocking new players, teams and kits - it starts to feel empty after a short while. Playing against a mate, as ever, is miles better because at least there’s someone to humiliate with your mad skillz. But the single-player challenge will leave you cold.

Still, FIFA Street 3 ticks all the boxes - and it’s more accessible for ditching the hammy urban sheen. You can dip in for a quick game, but you can also go a step further and create your perfect team, tailor your play to each of your players' strengths and weaknesses and go up against the elite online. There’s limited solo fun to suck from it, but rope some mates in and you’ll be able to digitally show just how good your real-life skills are. Well, how good they are in your mind, at least.

Feb 19, 2008