FIFA Street 3

Of EA Sports’ “Street” offshoots, FIFA Street has to be the most beleaguered of the bunch. The series has underperformed critically and commercially, especially when compared to the much more popular NBA Street series, which is done in the same arcade-style vein. However, the team at EA Canada is looking to change all of that with the latest release in the series, FIFA Street 3. The third incarnation of the series fixes a lot of the issues that have plagued the series thus far, making it a lot more fluid and more fun to play than previous games in the series.

One of the most noticeable improvements over previous years is the enhanced framerates. The game moves at a solid 30 frames per second with no slowdown, with a noticeable bump in the animation and the flow of the game. When it comes to a fast-paced, arcade-style sports game, the framerate can either make or break the experience, and luckily FIFA Street 3 delivers in this regard. The framerates are beneficial to the gameplay, allowing for better execution of combos and jukes.

The GameBreaker moves have been changed quite a bit from previous entries. While they used to be unstoppable, you now actually have to use some skill and thought when you execute them. This time around, you are given a new crop of moves, but using the GameBreaker doesn’t necessarily guarantee that you’ll get an instant goal.

Aside from the aforementioned framerate clean-up, the graphics have received a marked boost from last year’s game. The characters have a sort of stylized, cartoonish look to them, albeit one that actually looks like the characters on which they are based. Couple this with the smooth animations and the overall aesthetic is a big improvement.

The soundtrack is what you’d expect from EA Trax. This means a wide array of artists from around the world, like Chromeo, Bassnectar, and M.I.A. to name a few. One interesting element is the way that the music will speed up when you activate a GameBreaker, which is a nice touch that really helps to bring you into the game.

FIFA Street 3 is a game that takes the formula of its predecessors and adds an element of fluidity that was lacking in previous entries. The end result is more in line with what the “Street” spin-offs were supposed to entail, basically a fun, fast, arcade experience that anyone can get into. Soccer fans should look for a full review next month.