FIFA Street Preview

It's back and bigger than ever. While the main FIFA series is attempting to go down the sim-esque route with Sky Sports highlight moments thrown in for good measure, FIFA Street is going bigger and bolder than ever. The completely off-the-wall flavour has been ditched for a more authentic down to earth game. In spite of this, tricks and skills are still the order of the day.

The number of skill moves included in the game has been increased and fans want to see them. Not only is there an emphasis on winning, but teams must entertain the fans. Each player will be rated according to how entertaining they were over the course of the match. Flicks, spins, tricks and flashy passes or shots will be met with approval. If used correctly, they can wrong foot the defender or goalkeeper and turn the match in your favour.

While the skill moves themselves will take a little time to actually understand so that you can pull off the right move at the right time, there are a large variety of tricks that each player has up their sleeves. Cheeky passes and shots are the order of the day. Best of all, any player can feel like a footballing god quite easily. If a skill move or two come off and set up a wonder goal, it is the moment where you feel like you have accomplished something spectacular. But of course, you can never stop at one moment.

The gameplay is quick, frantic and exciting. The matches showcased at a recent EA preview were 5v5 or 6v6. In great news, indoor soccer is back. While it's not quite the same as the good ol' days of FIFA, it brings back fond memories. The focus of FIFA Street is the grassroots soccer. Well, not quite grassroots… Players will take on teams on streets, beaches and courts from around the world.

There will be several game modes included in FIFA Street. Along with exhibition matches, game modes based on panna (1v1) and futsal will be included. Players will also be able to start with a squad of nobodies and take on the world. Along the way, they will be challenged with the potential reward of picking up notable real world players. Your created player could finally earn the chance to play alongside Wayne Rooney for example. The World Tour mode challenges players to progress from the local scene to national, European and ultimately world-stage tournaments.

It is shaping up to be a cracker. The play is fluid and fun, the skill moves are animated well and the game is graphically impressive. While the action is more frantic and goal mouth action is frequent by the nature of the size of the pitch, goal-fests are not to be immediately expected. Keepers are more than capable of holding their own and will pull off some impressive saves.

FIFA Street blurs the line between reality and simulation. Tackles are more realistic pokes and players will occasionally stumble as a result of the impact engine. The larger than life tricks and skills at the beckon of an player remind the gamer that this is not your typical FIFA game; this is FIFA Street.