FIFA Street (GameCube) Preview

Although FIFA Street boasts 250 players from 16 different countries to play as there is also the obligatory customer player option that you can deform to slight degrees and uses your skill bills (Don't ask) to round over your footballers attributes, like tackling, tricks, accuracy, shot power and speed. As is the necessity, as you progress with you footballer in the career mode you can upgrade these stats till you become some sort of football-ing deity.

Unlike the usually game of football, FIFA has four on four player matches that take place, surprisingly in the Street. Graffiti and steel fences included. Although there are no sell out stadiums to play in, you will always notice some pedestrian and traffic animations in the backdrop. However another step away from real football is the lack of referee (Probably a dream come true for some) and the fact scoring the most goals is not actually the way to win in some cases.

Each match in FIFA Street lasts about 10 minutes, and are either played to the end of this time or till a team scores a set amount of goals. Modes on offer include the usual "friendlies" and the Rule The Street mode, where you can take your squad of players all over the world, winning street tournaments and using skill Bills to build up their skills or just buy new players, if you have one weak link in your quartet of talent.

Having only four players in a team means that the usual positions are scraped in favour of having a goal keeper and players that alternate between playing upfront and staying at the back. A well rounded team is greatly needed; all your players can not just be tricksters, you need someone who is good at winning the ball and then another who is good at making the runs and getting the crosses in. This means that the four player team basis has some decent ground for it and scope for tactics.

The controls are geared for a pick up and play style, with the usual long and short passes, sprinting and shooting buttons, along with skill buttons, and the C-stick becoming the trick stick. Scoring is now even more in-depth as you can score in any part of the goal using the control stick to place it anywhere in the back of the net helped by goal diagram at the bottom of the screen showing where the ball is currently placed.