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NFL Street 3 and its cover star, Chad Johnson, seem like a match made in heaven. NFL Street 3 is a fast-paced and hard-hitting game and, like the talented and outspoken Cincinnati Bengals receiver, not averse to a bit of trash talk. Unfortunately, NFL Street 3 doesn't manage to be consistently entertaining, and the new wrinkles in its gameplay don't do enough to differentiate it from previous games in the series. Unlike Ocho Cinco, Street 3 is probably a bit too safe for its own good.
NFL Street’s primary singleplayer mode is Respect the Street. In this mode, you’ll travel across the country visiting various cities that are home to an NFL team. You’ll take on actual NFL clubs or teams consisting of some NFL players and their fictional friends. There are tons of games to compete in and each game gives you respect and cash to buy new stuff with. As you earn more respect, you’ll earn additional plays, the ability to steal players from other teams, and new locales. In this mode, you have to participate in minigame-like drills such as jump-ball challenges that improve the statistics of your team members. Expect a tough challenge in the first few teams you face (you’re playing against NFL players after all).
The lineup of match types in the game include the typical brand of street football, as well as others like bank (where all Gamebreaker points are tossed into a general pool, scoring a touchdown gives you access to this pool), play elimination (where losing yards with a play causes that play to be eliminated from your playbook, lose all your plays and the game is lost), and time attack (puts a time limit on how long you can hold the ball without making a touchdown). You’ll still find the other exhibition modes and street events. NFL Street 3 on PSP lacks online support, but the game does have local wireless multiplayer.
As with other versions of NFL Street, and the Street series in general, NFL Street 3 is a fast-paced, light version of football. The game has seven-on-seven gameplay with simple playbooks and an emphasis on showcasing on your tricks. These include insane tackles and backflips, as well as off the wall (literally) moves. Pulling off tricks fills up your Gamebreaker meter. In NFL Street 3, you can choose which play to use a Gamebreaker on and in general works very well. It never manages to turn into lopsided matches and introduces some strategy. Be warned though that executing a Gamebreaker doesn’t really mean that you’ll get a touchdown.
The graphics in the game get the job done but this isn’t a visually stunning game. The game actually looks better on the PSP. The character models are okay but nothing fancy although the animations are fluid and increase the overall visual quality of the game. The game’s various fields are replicated quite well. The blurry, low-resolution textures that plagued the PS2 version are absent here; you can even read the text ineligible on the PS2. Thankfully, the framerate is fast and furious.
The on-field sounds are a bit more entertaining. The on-field sound effects sound pretty good and have long been perfected. The soundtrack consists of licensed rock and hip hop tunes. There is some voice acting in the game in the form of trash talk which helps add to the authenticity of playing a game of street football.
NFL Street 3 plays a fine game of street football. It’s the kind of game that you can get a casual gamer into in a few minutes, compared even to other casual games like the Madden series. -- Michael Taylor, PGNx Media
---- Nov 25, 2006
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