I have a love/hate relationship with my PS2. On the one hand, as with most platforms, 90 percent of the games I see/play/buy (even the good games) are just crap. I try to follow reviews and online forums, but still I end up putting down $50 for a game that I play awhile and then think to myself, “This is really someone’s idea of fun?”
But, of course, I keep doing it in the hopes of finding that game that just gets under your skin and completely sucks all willpower to stop playing (think Civilization II or Diablo). The latest game I simply can’t stop playing is NFL Street.
I’ve always preferred arcade-style no-holds barred football games like NFL Blitz over hyper-detailed (and boring IMO) games like Madden 2004. NFL Street takes up where Blitz left off and then adds a ton of improvements — including a Diablo like character progression system.
Like Blitz, this is basically a simplified, rules-lite football where rules like pass interference are non-existent. Thankfully, Street goes Blitz one-step further in this respect by eliminating the kicking game entirely. No boring punts, kickoffs or field goals.
Unlike Blitz, the fields vary as well, from playing on beaches with beach balls littering the field to playing in a New York field with garbage cans blocking the way and wooden planks and metal grates dotting the field.
Along with vicious hits, NFL Street also rewards players for something that many people hate about the NFL — showboating. During a game, players earn Style points for mocking their opponents by throwing no-look passes or for runners passing the ball through their legs while running toward the end zone. Earn enough Style points and you earn a gamebreaker which puts your already souped up players into almost (but not quite) unstoppable mode.
If this was all NFL Street had, it would be a great game, but nothing that would have me up until 3 a.m. playing. What seals the deal, though, are the role-playing progression elements that feel like their stolen straight from Diablo. Along with playing against NFL teams in a standard tiered ladder format, there are also dozens and dozens of Challenges that the player can take on. Stop the Rams from scoring on a goal line stand or beat the Lions to 30 only calling running plays. Successfully completing a challenge earns either experience points (development points) or new gear to improve the ability of your 7-man team.
So rather than trying to kill one more monster so I can level up and finally equip that cool-assed sword, I’m spending my evenings trying to beat the Vikings while only calling pass plays so I can boost my wide receiver’s agility. Each player has 10 attribute, along with height and weight which can all be modified by development points or special gear earned through challenges.
It’s completely addictive. I’d add more here about the online play or the awesome animation going on in the background during games but I’ve got to go try to get my DB that +2 wrist band of coverage.