NFL Challenge

NFL Street is pro football in a decidedly non-professional context. With its sandlot fields, arcade-style action, and exaggerated player models, NFL Street is a hard-hitting football title with loads of attitude. It’s also a real test of your console football skills, especially when you venture into the game’s excellent Season mode: NFL Challenge.

The first thing you’ll notice about NFL Challenge is that it’s not a traditional Season or Career mode, as hardcore football gamers would define it. To begin with, select a style for your team, focusing on offense or defense and passing or running. You can also select a balanced style or customize one to your own specifications. This blend of season mode and create-a-team options continues into the player selection screens. The pool of players is much smaller than usual (12 each from the NFL’s best teams), and players are grouped according to position.

Fancy footwork!

You’ll have to assemble your starting seven-man roster from scratch (or you can have the game randomize your team for you). If that’s not enough for you manager masterminds, you can also create an entire squad from the ground up, naming the players and distributing stats as you see fit. Stat categories range from basics skills (like Passing, Speed, Blocking, and Catching) to advanced pigskin powers (like Run Power and Carrying). Remember: The players you choose will be on the field for the entire game. There are no special offensive or defensive rosters. Player stats really matter here because the same skills that make someone a great offensive player won’t necessarily make him a great defensive player. Fortunately, you can build up specific skills as you progress through NFL Challenge, so over time, you can turn your powerhouse into a speedster as well. You can even dress your players in the colors of your choice, with a logo and a team name you pick yourself.

After your squad is ready and suited up, you’ll start touring the NFL Street league, traveling the country and playing against other pro lineups. Tournament ladders include specially chosen opponent teams to match your lineup, so pay close attention to how you defined your team, as it will determine the teams you'll face. As you play through the tournaments, you’ll earn style points, unlock new equipment, recruit new players, and even meet a few Hall of Famers on the road to victory.

The other half of NFL Challenge lies, as the title suggests, in the challenges. These predetermined situations are set up with clear objectives that you must achieve in order to be successful. You might have to score on your first drive against the San Francisco 49ers, beat the Arizona Cardinals to 14 in less than 8 minutes, or combo two stiff-arms in a single play against the Seattle Seahawks. Some of the challenges are short and to the point, while others are tests of endurance. But, beating either kind opens up new unlockable features like new plays, players, and venues. Keep in mind that some of the fields aren’t regulation size and some have concrete walls instead of sidelines, so each new game during an NFL Challenge has the potential to be extremely wild and unpredictable.

High-flying action.

NFL Street succeeds in capturing the attitude and action of real pro football and combining it with fun and exaggerated arcade-style gameplay. While there are no helmets and no kickers to be found, the old-school informal feel is so engaging that such things would only slow this game down.

By J.N. Cobb