NFL Street 2

What's more amusing? Is it that NFL Street 2 is a sequel that can't do much more than its predecessor? Or is the publisher still trying to flog the idea of making big-franchise American football an inspiring rags-to-riches story? There's something that feels so manufactured and mundane about this whole concept. But something is working here; the original title won some hearts and minds.

So the natural order of video game publishing means you must sanction a sequel if the first garnered a decent degree of success. No matter how stretched the concept, just put something on a compact disc, and let's send it to market. That's what the initial impression of NFL Street 2 is, arriving so close after the time of its original release. So let's see if there are any vast improvements over the first.

Same Streets, Different Style

What can you expect of a game released a meager 11 months after its predecessor? I'm sure plenty of fans enjoyed the first game and have high expectations for NFL Street 2, but from loading the game, not a lot has changed. We're greeted with the same graphical aesthetics, almost the same mechanics, and generally similar gameplay.

NFL Street 2 shakes things up from classic NFL games by adding a more casual dynamic. That's one of the more positives of this game, adding more game modes and minigames that ease up on the initial concept of the 'sport of the streets.' The idea of an 'underground football culture seems downright humorous to those from an outside perspective.

Yet, they've made it work better, intensifying the game and action and making it slightly more intuitive. There's more customization, no feeling the game has been rushed, and little tweaks here and there to make each match resonate more quality. However, that's where the problem lies: nothing has changed from the predecessor.

Players could quickly feel they've been ripped off paying top dollar for a game that's essentially the same as its predecessor. What's added into the game as 'changes' feels like fluff. In contrast, the core mechanics and gameplay of NFL Street 2 have no differences from the first. However, players enjoying the original could benefit from the minor improvements.

Owning the Turf

There's no questioning that NFL Street 2 brings a new perspective to the game outside the traditional Madden franchise. My main peeve with the first and second games is the street culture they try to brainwash into the game. It simply comes off as comical rather than the inspiring stories we get behind real street sports like basketball or soccer.

Round-Up - Pros & Cons

Pros:

• New game modes that give it a more casual edge
• High levels of customization
• Fluid gameplay with solid mechanics

Cons:

• Very similar to the first game
• The comical 'street' concept takes away from the experience
• Some game modes are far too long