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THE SPORTS JOURNAL | NEWS FILE |
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REVIEWS
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NFL Street : smackdown, knockdown.... Touchdown !
Posted on Friday, February 20 2004
| REVIEW INFORMATION |
 |
By
AndyP
"Head online for an all new style of football gaming with the latest outstanding release from EA Sports Big. If you're sim only then give this one a miss - otherwise you're in for tons of fun." |
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| DISAGREE ? POST YOUR OWN REVIEW |
Publisher
: EA Sports
Developer : Tiburon
Release Date : OUT NOW !
Genre : Football
|
| 9 |
Gameplay |
| 9 |
Graphics |
| 8 |
Longevity |
| 9 |
Presentation |
| 8 |
Sound |
| 8.6 |
Overall
Score
(not average) |
Platform :     |
|
HOW IT STACKS UP
| THE
GOOD |
| Player creation, addictive gameplay, stable online experience |
| THE BAD |
| Limited single player mode |
Graphics
The graphics are solid, the players are a little blocky, but well done in terms of detail and depth. Players are accurately represented in terms of features and it's easily possible to identify and recognise individuals. The environments are pretty cool with water lapping up against the sand at the beach and generally some very nicely done effects.
Longevity
Aside from the online component of the game, which you literally will find yourself going back to again, and again, and again.... (I told you it was addictive). Sadly the only other feature making any attempt to extend the life of this title in your collection is the NFL Challenge. The NFL Challenge allows you to build a team up from scratch and compete against the big guns accumulating rewards along the way. By the way you can take your custom team online and play against other custom teams, and for anyone with a broadband connection you can be guarenteed a smooth ride with the minimum of lag. You shouldn't find yourself frustrated by choppy gameplay unless the other player is on a 28k dial up connection. I can understand that for the first release in a series the effort of the production team went into actual gameplay rather than dressing up a flawed gameplay with multiple game modes. That's a good thing because if the gameplay isn't solid it really doesn't matter how many modes are in the box - you won't have fun. As it stands the production team allocated their time wisely and for version 2 we can expect more in terms of gameplay modes I would imagine.
Presentation and Sound
If there is one complaint with the Madden NFL series it's the lack of overall presentation on offer. Madden is crying out for that X factor in the presentation department (let's hope 2005 delivers that).
EA seem to be able to hit the right note with their EA Big series of games though, and NBA Street is a notable example. NFL Street has plenty of presentation - not to the same extent as NBA Street, but the players engage in a good deal of pre and post snap trash talking, and the hits sound as bone crunching as they actually look. In game music can be turned off if you don't like it, but I'm glad to say it's not irritating or annoying and I choose to leave it on. I can imagine some guys will prefer not to so it's nice that the option is there. The menus are easy to navigate with the minimum of clutter and fast loading times.
The verdict : 8.6 out of 10
NFL Street is the first game in a series that will undoubtedly be extended beyond this inaugural effort and a hit for some time to come. In all the fundamental areas the game is polished and delivers a good satisfying experience. It is well worth adding this title to your collection.
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