FIFA Street 3 review

FIFA Street is absurd, but not entirely unrealistic. For all its fancy flicks, deft touches and brilliant goals from impossible angles, it’s not that different from the football you think you’re playing while down the park with mates. Best of all, thanks to revised gameplay and new looks, FIFA Street 3 lets you live out your Kaka-esque dreams without the toe-curling urban ‘vibez’ - and dire MC Harvey commentary - of the old games.

EA Big’s bombastic PS3 debut comes with a new look, turning the players into caricatures. Rooney is built like a bear with massive shoulders, a stocky chest and a pug face, and Crouch looks like he’s made from a string of sausages.

Different players are put into one of four categories: Enforcers - defenders like Puyol who can tackle well, Playmakers like Kaka who can pick out more accurate passes, Tricksters that can dazzle with skills like Ronaldinho and Finishers - player’s of Raul’s quality who can score from all over the pitch. These talents are accentuated when you fill the Gamebreaker gauge by pulling off tricks and activating it. Each of your five players - from goalie to striker - will become even more powerful as the screen drains of colour except for the rainbow trail of the ball. Shooting is almost a guaranteed goal in this mode as long as you don’t smash it straight at the keeper, so tricking your way up to this status is well worth it.

FIFA Street 3 feels more fluid, too, thanks to the silky-smooth animations and new free-running elements. The moves are tinged with an element of parkour - you can run up and across a nearby wall with the ball still at your feet or sprint straight up it and backflip over a chasing defender. You can even vault over an opponent and perform a volley.