Playground Rules

NFL Street from powerhouse developer EA SPORTS BIG leaves the gridiron, the refs, and the endorsement contracts back at the stadium for an arcade-style football experience that’s even more fun with friends. Whether you choose to go head to head with pre-selected teams or build your own from scratch in a friendly pickup game, you’ll be hard pressed to find a more addictive or accessible football game on the Xbox.

It’s good! Iiiit’s goooood!

Multiplayer Modes
The game designers have made sure that multiplayer is almost always an option in NFL Street, since the game offers both co-op and competitive play. Co-op mode gives one player control of the quarterback, while the other player controls the rest of the team. Fortunately, the playbooks are simple to understand and are even labeled with the Xbox face buttons that match up with each player, so you and your teammate can easily stay on the same page. But, soon, competition must begin.

Communicate with your partner in co-op.

Without a doubt, the favorite multiplayer mode here at Xbox.com headquarters is the Pickup game. You and your opponent are the team captains, and each of you can choose from the same randomly selected pool of NFL greats … and occasional not-so-greats (not everyone can be a legend). Every game turns into a unique experience; you’ll have to work hard to play the same teams twice.

Pickup Lines
NFL Street may be stripped down, but that doesn’t make it a free-for-all—close, but not quite. To earn the right to dish the trash, you’ve gotta make sure the hits keep on coming.

• Mix it up a little. One of the coolest aspects of NFL Street is the ability to move players outside their normal specialties. It’s also a good way to surprise your opponent.
• There’s no “I” in “team.” Not everyone on the team can be a superstar, especially in a pickup game. So, make sure the players you choose fit well together.
• Know the battleground. Be sure to take the field into account, and plan accordingly. A game in the Legends stadium rewards a strong passing game and fast legs. The Warehouse almost forces both sides to use running plays and short laterals. And, the Beach has something for both quick and lumbering players.
• Play with style. Nothing throws your opponent for a loop like a well-executed combo or signature move, and nothing builds up that Gamebreaker meter faster. Press X before the ball is snapped (whether you’re on offense or defense) to cut loose the Gamebreaker
• Turbo in short controlled bursts. Why? It’s finite, for one. More importantly, you usually only need it for a split second to slip out of a tackle or leap to intercept the ball. Save it up for when you need to make a long run for the end zone, when it can make all the difference.

Control of the ball can change in a heartbeat and back again before you blink.

“Street” Is Relative
To excel in head-to-head NFL Street, learn the lay of the land ahead of time, especially on these challenging fields:

• The Warehouse: Tight, confined, and a blast to play in, the Warehouse is a quarterback’s worst nightmare. There’s very little room for long passes, which means you must have pinpoint accuracy to complete the bomb. Focus on a strong running game, and force your opponent to try and pass.
• The Junkyard: For a brutal slog, the Junkyard’s the field. A muddy mess that slows down all but the most fleet-footed footballers is bad enough, but the Junkyard is also littered with wreckage, barrels, and snarling dogs. Tetanus shots recommended.
• The Beach: Three unique types of “turf” await on the sandy shore, where some knucklehead went and set up the field right at the edge of the water. This means you’ll have to deal with water and dry sand, and if you want to get any speed at all, you’ve got to go straight down the middle.

By Ben Barker