FIFA Street 2 review

The old saying went that America's streets were paved with gold. Maybe that's because the rest of the world's streets are paved with the skin and blood of unruly soccer players having a match wherever there's some spare asphalt. Now that FIFA Street series has come to the Nintendo DS, you too can get your kicks anywhere you see fit. Sadly, the blacktop under your feet will be dotted with the bitter tears of disappointment.

Arcade sports games are usually great on the go, giving you a chance to either play a quick game or whittle away hours at a time. The DS version of FIFA Street 2, on the other hand, plays far too poorly to offer much enjoyment. Some one-timer shots will even inexplicably head in reverse, straight into the net of your own goal. The computer has no concept of getting loose balls, much less minding a clock in the waning moments of a game. With a proportionately smaller court than the other versions and faster turbo speed, soccer games degrade into slapstick scenarios of players falling over one another.

Tricks, also known as "beats," use the worst control configuration of any DS title so far - and that's really saying something. How EA expects players to take their hand off the face buttons which control shots and passes, look away from the screen where the actual action is occurring, pick up the stylus, and etch out directional presses on the touchscreen is borderline psychotic. You do have a random trick button, but opponents seem to pluck away possession at will, and you will never store up enough trick points to launch a goal-gimme GameBreaker - especially since this version relies heavily on the game clock.