NFL Street again, eh? Right then, it‘s gloves-off time and straight to the point. Out of the zillions of sequels that have bombarded us in the last few months, this is without doubt the most ludicrously cynical cash-in we've seen yet. Hence, we're putting on our ludicrously cynical review hat (a bobbled snakeskin deerstalker) for this particular Xbox review. Basically, EA is presenting us with a follow up to last year's NFL Street that is almost entirely devoid of any improvements, even alterations, and this upsets us. There's a certain leeway permissible to most sports games series, after all, avid followers want their respective leagues and tables as up-to-date and as detailed as could possibly be. However, this BIG NFL spin off doesn't really have the same excuse for existing.
The whole concept of Street NFL football is entirely fictional as far as we can gather, so there's no necessary change of cast to deal with. And the gameplay hasn't changed... at all, as far as we can discern. So, confused and disorientated by the overpowering sense of deja-vu, we momentarily wondered if we had just dreamt up the whole of last year. Maybe it's actually January 2004, and this is NFL street the first time round. But no, a brief and reassuring phone call to the Citizen's Advice Bureau confirmed it is indeed 2005. With bewilderment replaced by disappointment and quickly swapped for anger, we realised that NFL Street 2 is just taking the mick.
NFL Street was really quite a decent game, and for the majority of non-American footballers, it's perhaps the friendliest available take on the sport. But that's a key point to remember if you're considering this as a purchase. The first game is almost exactly the same, and by now, it will likely be available for considerably less than the RRP that NFL Street 2 will snatch. If you've already got the first one and want more, well, you might as well go out and buy another copy of the first one. And if that doesn't suffice, only then could you reasonably consider buying this without feeling ashamed afterwards.
