f the passion of soccer leads people to violence, then I would watch out if I were FIFA Street – the game’s liable to make some people mad.

At its highest level, soccer is all about the imagination and skill of the players. Street doesn’t come close to conveying either. Pulling off the deke moves is as automatic as hitting one button. These skill moves instead should tap into your own prowess as a gamer, similar to Tony Hawk. Since a lot of these tricks are done in your normal soccer game, what’s the impetus for me to play Street? If everything was done with a more fantastical flair, then the game might actually distinguish itself. For example, the GameBreakers are nothing more than shots on goal with extra zip. Since there is no customization or earning of moves, everyone pulls the same dekes – which is an insult to the real-life players.

EA starts at square one as if it didn’t learn from the failures of its labelmate, the first NFL Street. The basic gameplay wears thin so fast that trudging through the career mode quickly bores, and the GameBreakers need to be more frequent (if less powerful) in order to jack up the intensity level. I also didn’t like the player AI (especially for the keepers), the fact that you can’t set up a tournament for national teams, or the often-slow button response.

Given where NBA Street is and the lessons EA should have learned with the NFL Street franchise, the bare minimum isn’t going to entice someone to come back for more. FIFA Street is like being homeless in Brazil: It’s not fun to flail around in the dirty streets of Rio.