FIFA Street 3 ($50 for Xbox360 or PS3) is the latest EA product to migrate a successful sports game into an arcade style experience.  The controls are simple and game play is fast.

The FIFA Football/Soccer series is one of the most successful sports game franchises in the world.  It has a fairly accurate physics model and focuses on team play and tactics.  FIFA Street is entirely different.  Part of EA’s BIG Sports series, the entire game has been simplified.  The physics model is more in line with a pinball game than soccer.  The play is more about tricks and style than tactics.  In some sense, it is more reminiscent of a skateboarding sim than soccer.

Still, it is entertaining.  Gamers from 10 – adult were able to sit down and play with little frustration.  All players could perform some cool tricks.  A style/confidence bar grows with successful combinations, continued possession and scoring.  The higher the style bar, the more likely a player is to succeed in a trick or in a goal.

Realism is not a hallmark of the Street series of games.  Playing with England, we were able to make Wayne Rooney score with successive bicycle kicks and caroms off the wall.  Not exactly they type of game play that he is known for. 

We found the game entertaining for less than an hour at a time.  It was definitely preferred by less experienced or less serious gamers.  We would classify this as a party game.  This is a fun rental, but not worth owning as a stand alone game.  If you really want to play soccer, buy FIFA 2008 or Pro Evolution Soccer.

Let us know if we need to schedule an AVID Soccer gamers shoot-out and world cup.