NFL Street 3's formula leans on pass, run, and trick plays, just like any serious football game. The execution, however, flips this formula on its head. Players use knockdown, drag-out tactics to score and stop an opposing team from putting six points on the board. This leads to more trash talking, more bone-crushing hits, and the kind of unbelievable player movements that would leave a SportsCenter anchor looking on in disbelief.
This has always been the case with the first two NFL Street games, so what's been added this time around? There are a few new moves, such as aerial maneuvering. Here, a player launches themselves into the air, doing a stylish flip or sidestep in mid-air to continue their successful drive to the end zone. They can also run off of walls to score boosters and power-ups. Likewise, defensive players can knock the wind out of a player with some moves of their own. Environmental factors such as snow and mud cause fumbles. Thankfully, the NFL's "ground can't cause a fumble rule" doesn't apply.
In the earlier games, using a Gamebreaker pretty much guarantees an easy six points. In this NFL Street, the chances of scoring with them have decreased. Players still get an arsenal of offensive and defensive maneuvers to give them a temporary boost, but their power only lasts so long before the other side begins to do its thing. This retooled Gamebreaker system makes the game more of a challenge than before -- and no longer does it guarantee invincibility.
In terms of modes, the enjoyable Respect the Street takes players on a journey through the NFL Street rankings. Here, they take control of a team of chumps who must be shaped into band of marauding score-makers. As each team is beaten, new ones pop up from various cities, with new challenges to conquer and different home fields to visit.
In Playbook Elimination mode, EA Sports Big tests the brains and the brawn. In this mode, each player receives a certain number of plays. If a certain play assigned to the team doesn't work, it's taken out of the playbook, leaving one less to select. The person who runs out of plays first loses -- mainly because they don't have access to an offensive and defensive coordinator. This mode adds a little bit of excitement to the game, something it's in dire need of.
The graphics feature solid animation, weather, and lighting effects, yet the current generation appearance looks dated. As for sound, EA Trax makes its return, including a mixture of hip-hop and rock from BG, Megadeth and Fong Sai U. However, it offers very little ambience to the game.
Those who still own a PlayStation 2 for the holiday season and don't mind some more street football should feel right at home with NFL Street 3. It still has acceptable (yet underachieving) online options for matches, as well as plenty of modes and new moves. But the whole thing feels very similar to its predecessors.
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