FIFA Street 3 is EA Sports Big's attempt to slap soccer into an arcade format, letting would-be ball kickers play footsies around beaches, rooftops and other non-arena locales. Like the first two games, it relies on simple, "get the ball into the goal" basics, while throwing in a few tricks along the way. Unfortunately, most of the game's content has a recycled feel. It's more like a rehashed Street than the full-blown sequel.

In FIFA Street 3, you choose to go right into a quick match or tough it through the Challenge modes. In the latter, you'll find numerous tasks to test out your soccer skills, such as getting a certain amount of "headers" (bonking the ball into the goal with your noggin) or successfully nailing three Gamebreaker goals (temporarily super-powering your player) in a limited amount of time. Unfortunately, there's little diversity in these tasks, as you'll breeze through most of them within a matter of tries. You can also try out a World Challenge mode and a player-selecting Playground Mode, but they get old, too. Pick-up play works a little better, as you can accommodate your gameplay style with a number of fancy techniques and tricks.

Overall, the gameplay doesn't really have anything amazingly new to offer. The tricks are cool once you start mixing them into your passing and shooting, but there's nothing that goes leaps and bounds over previous Street releases. There are four player types available for each team – Tricksters, Playmakers, Finishers and Enforcers – and sizes, too, but their duties don't differentiate enough during an actual match to make that big a difference. Furthermore, the game suffers from spotty artificial intelligence. Sometimes it's incredibly stupid, and other times it acts like Pele on enhancements.

You'll probably have a better time playing against other people. FIFA Street 3 strongly supports Xbox Live, as you can hop online and easily get a real match going. You can also play locally offline against others, making this a short but sweet game to pull out for parties. The game also has a good amount of unlockable content, and swarms of teams that will please the hardcore soccer fan.

Although the presentation isn't EA's best work, it's pretty suitable. The courts come alive with a steady amount of background details, including billboards, slight weather effects and graffiti art designs scattered across the walls. The animation is sufficient and the frame rate moves fluidly at 60 frames per second, although some characters resemble human skeletons rather than actual players. The sound is a vibrant mix of worldly tunes, a better example of the EA Trax selection process at work. That's good, because the sound effects are paltry by comparison.

Don't get us wrong. We're all for a good soccer game, like the arcade-y Sega Soccer Slam and EA's more serious FIFA 08. However, FIFA Street 3 just feels like the same old thing, rather than that significant "next step" in the series. The online options are good and soccer fans will thoroughly enjoy lobbing a ludicrously high-speed ball at a goalie. However, like NFL Tour before it, it just doesn't go as deep and hard into the sport as it should have.

Related Links

FIFA Street 3 Game Guide

EA Sports Big