It’s sort of surprising that FIFA Street 3 is the best yet in the series, because it’s by no means a must-buy even for even the most hardcore soccer fans (or football for those of you outside of the US). EA had high hopes for the franchise’s first HD-era game, and on the bright side, at least it looks good. On the downside, that’s really the only strong suit FIFA Street 3 has.
Like the other FIFA Street games, FIFA Street 3 just obviously misses the train in terms of the Street franchises. The first FIFA Street game was the beginning of the mundane future of the BIG titles; FIFA Street 3 does nothing to dissuade that belief.
Much like NFL Tour, this game is just plagued with a bunch of little things that add up, and a bunch of big things that never should have been. Perhaps the biggest flaw of the game is how short and boring it is to play. Sports games are known for their longevity; the ability to keep playing over and over. Hell, I played the same Pro Evo game for a few years before I finally felt the need to upgrade! And don’t even get me started on how long I played the last of the NFL 2K series. With FIFA Street 3, though, the game is literally completely finished about an hour or two in.
With most Street games the draw has always been the whole “create a player and build them up” task. FIFA, however, seems to be promoting the Challenge Mode as the main mode of play, which is how you’ll unlock all of the better players. Most challenges are too easy though, and they’re all very repetitive. Rather than see some unique situations again and again, you’ll usually run into the same conditions two or three times in a row.
The Gamebreaker in Street 3 has been completely retooled (thank God), so now it’s not a complete frustrating waste of time. Unlike the last version where Gamebreakers server as a way to take points away from an opponent, this time they increase your stats–as long as you can keep the tricks and goals coming, that is. In an odd move for the BIG brand, FIFA Street 3 places little emphasis on the tricks outside of the Gamebreaker mode. Most of the time things you’ll do during a match aren’t too unrealistic in what they are, just the frequency with which they’re performed. Activate Gamebreaker, though, and you’ll see some better moves.
Other than the extremely repetitive gameplay and a similarly lacking single player offering, my biggest gripe with FIFA Street 3 is that the game is too one-dimensional for a Street title. There’s no real ability to customize your matches, so it’s always going to be a battle of just scoring goals. You can literally never perform a trick move and end up easily beating someone who racked up more points than you even thought possible. Factor in the fact that there’s no real modes other than challenges and standard matches, and it’s a head scratcher as to what EA Canada spent their time doing.
Is FIFA Street 3 a good game? It could have been, but it’s not. Even for a Street game it’s below mediocre, and the constant little things like annoying AI, bad passing physics, and random ball bounces that lead to losing the ball add up far faster than they should have. EA made the move towards realism in a Street game, and it really took away whatever redeeming qualities it may have had. When people play FIFA Street they expect fun, absurdity, and soccer matches the likes of which they’d never see in real life. Instead, we get a game that’s more realistic than ludicrous, and offers little in the way of replay value. If I want a realistic soccer game, I’ll get Pro Evo. If you’re a fan of soccer (or football) at all, you’d be wise to pass this one up and do the same.
