FIFA Street 2

Forget offsides, corner kicks and the discipline of coaching whiteboards. FIFA Street 2 took football, stripped it down to a t-shirt, set it on a concrete pitch ringed by a fence and said: now show what you've got. Street football as a genre stands or falls on style, cheek and the ability to humiliate an opponent with a trick that on a professional pitch would be almost indecent.

The gameplay mechanics of the FIFA Street series revolved around flashy tricks and feints. The player chained together dribbles, flicked the ball over opponents, bounced it off walls and built a combo that translated into flashy gestures and so-called game breakers, special finishes. The goal was not just to score a goal but to do it with the maximum dose of style. Smaller pitches, smaller teams and an emphasis on individual skill made every match a fast, acrobatic show where creativity mattered as much as precision.

FIFA Street was developed by Electronic Arts as a lighter, more arcade-like alternative to its main football series. It was part of a wider wave of street sports games that at the time also included basketball and other titles built on the atmosphere of the street, music and visual style. This wave responded to the popularity of street culture and tried to bring its energy into video games. The handheld version on the PSP brought this concept into your palm, where it suited quick, informal sessions.

Culturally, FIFA Street captured the phenomenon of street football, which at the time was strongly present in advertisements and music videos. Football was presented as a form of self-expression, as a dance with the ball, and the game celebrated this aesthetic with colorful environments, urban backdrops and an emphatic soundtrack. Here players did not pretend to be professionals in jerseys but heroes of the street whose only measure was the respect won through flashy play.

The PSP suited this type of game splendidly. Its power was enough for the fluid animations of the tricks and the widescreen display gave the street environment the right atmosphere. Sports titles were among the popular choices on the portable console precisely because they offered fun in short doses without the need for a long campaign. It was enough to switch the console on, start a match and within a few minutes experience a portion of adrenaline and style.

FIFA Street 2 thus represented a counterweight to serious football simulation, a celebration of instant joy and glitter. Where the main series strove for credibility, FIFA Street exaggerated everything and made a virtue of it. Players did not seek realistic results but the flashiest moment, when they literally ridiculed an opponent with a trick and the crowd exploded.

It is precisely this self-confident cheek and emphasis on personal style that make FIFA Street 2 an interesting chapter of football games. Instead of imitating reality it offers a dreamlike, exaggerated version of it, in which the main goal is to look as good as possible. On the PSP this philosophy paired with the idea of playing anytime and anywhere, so flashy street football was always at hand.

Why play: When you tire of serious football simulation and just want flashy tricks and style, FIFA Street 2 is an arcade celebration of the street in your pocket.