E-Mail This Article to a Friend Street fighter NFL Street 2 isn't for football purists BY JIM MURRAY
	NFL Street 2 Published by EA Sports Big. Developed by EA Tiburon. For PlayStation 2, Xbox, and Nintendo GameCube. Rated E for Everyone.

Let’s not make any bones about it: EA Sports are money-hungry sell-outs. Their recent monopoly on the NFL franchise is sickening to me and many other gamers. More importantly, when EA Sports finds an idea that works, they more often than not proceed to force that idea down gamers' throats.

The most recent trend by EA Sports is their "Street" series. Now, the idea itself has been around for a few years, starting with the fun, buttery-smooth controlling NBA Street, and its follow-up, the amazing NBA Street 2 (which, by the way, is one of my all-time favorite PS2 games).

Well, seeing as those two games sold like hotcakes, EA decided last year to apply the arcade-style play of their "Street" series to their NFL properties. Yeah! Just what I wanted: a goofball NFL Blitz rip-off that takes away all the thinking and strategy of simulation football games like Madden! Yuck.

Basketball is one thing, folks. I mean, really, how much strategy is there to hoops? Football however, is a different story. I want to feel like I’m in a virtual chess match with my opponent, not scoring at will because I’ve got my running back all juiced up with a power-up or "Gamebreaker." Hey, I’m in the minority; a lot of people liked the first NFL Street. I obviously didn’t, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that I’m not a big fan of the update, NFL Street 2.

If I weren’t offended enough by the (ahem) wackiness of its predecessor, NFL Street 2 goes above and beyond the call of duty to take any "real-ness" out of this game to piss off real football fans like myself.

Imagine, if you will, having Tom Brady avoid an on-rushing defender by running up a wall, leaping into the air, and then delivering a 30-yard mid-air strike to David Givens, who jumps up to catch the ball – between his legs. This kind of foolishness kills the game for me. Obviously, I understand that realism isn't what EA Sports is going for with this title (the game is published under their "Big" imprint), but like I said, I’m a football purist, and games like this generally make me sick.

Don’t let my pissy attitude toward this goofy genre deter you if were a fan of the first game. There are some new bells and whistles to NFL Street 2. There’s an all-new "Own the City" mode, where you’ll enlist a slew of nobodies to join you on your reputation-building march through the fictional backyards of Bay City. Think of it as RPG Football, albeit goofy football with absolutely no storyline.

As I stated above, you also now have "walls" on the playing field to run up and smash opponents into. I’m sure that’s enough to make the seven fans of the Arena Football League rush out and get this game right now. I didn’t really see the big deal.

Like the other "Street" games, if you keep playing well you can unlock stars from the past. Here in NFL Street 2, you’ll eventually get to play as anyone from Bo Jackson to Mean Joe Greene. I’ll admit, this is pretty cool.

Despite all of my biases, I’ll finish by saying that the game controls a helluva lot tighter than last year’s entry. Also, this is one of those titles that would be a good party game – assuming that your party isn’t attended by real football fans, like my snobby ass. Sorry, but NFL Street 2 just isn’t for me.

Score: 4.0 (out of 10)