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IGN Sports: To be honest, I thought the first game was terrible. Convince me FIFA Street 2 is worth playing.
Simon Andrews: You're not the only one who thought that FIFA Street 1 could have been better. For FIFA Street 2 I really wanted to understand what consumers wanted from a street soccer game. We listened to all of the feedback from people who played the original game and we've done a massive amount of focus group testing this year in both Europe and North America to help us nail-down what changes to make to FIFA Street 2 and to help us prioritize our new features. We have added some innovative features like in-game juggling and given you more options with the Trick Stick to better execute your moves. What we have ended up with is a game that is a lot of fun to play, and a game I think you and anyone who tries it, will love. I'm very proud of what we have managed to accomplish in FIFA Street 2.
IGN Sports: How has the gameplay been improved?
Simon Andrews: There have been massive improvements made to gameplay. We started by addressing some of the problems in FIFA Street 1 like responsiveness, ball physics, dumb goalie, etc., and once we improved these things and had a firm foundation, we started adding features on top of this. We've really improved the intelligence of the AI players and this year you can take control the goalkeeper bring him out, play him like everyone else. You can even do tricks and score with the keeper in FIFA Street 2. We've reworked the whole Trick Stick idea, adding significantly more tricks (four times as many on PS2!) as well as providing Trick Stick defense to make it more fun and skillful on defense. Basically on defense now you can counter move in all directions as well as get more physical. You can now shoulder barge as well as slide tackle. You'll see some really cool defensive moments. Last but not least we wanted to add something that had not been done before in a soccer game in FIFA Street 2 you can juggle the ball in real-time by using the Trick Stick as well as do juggle beats on your opponents.
IGN Sports: How prevalent is Street Soccer throughout the world and how have you captured that atmosphere in the game?
Simon Andrews: Street soccer is obviously huge in both Europe and South America but it is really starting to infiltrate the US now. Wherever you look in the world you'll find soccer in some form or another. What changes is the visibility given to the sport. In FIFA Street 2 we looked for real locations around the world where people actually play street soccer. We've captured many of these venues in our game as we found them, from the beaches of Brazil to the very urban haunts of inner London and Amsterdam. What they all have in common is the people who play there, and their love of the beautiful game. You'll find our venues vary in size this year and that in turn has an affect on how the game is played. We've also added location specific PA announcers in our audio experience as well as music tracks that better align with where you are playing. An example would be if you choose to play in Brazil you would hear a Portuguese PA in the background while you listen to Latino beats introduced by a Portuguese DJ. On the other hand you'll get quite a different experience if you are playing in London.
IGN Sports: How does the Trick Stick help capture the crazy moves of the street game?
Trick high, trick low, left or right. Multiple levels of tricks are at your fingertips. If you want to really showboat you can juggle the ball in real-time with FIFA Street 2. You can move the ball from your feet to your knees, shoulders and head, as well as stalling the ball and pulling off some crazy juggle beats. These are my favorite. Juggle the ball in front of your opponent and as he comes to engage you instantly turn it into a juggle beat move to show him who is boss. If you're good enough you can catch it on the other side and continue to juggle. It's really fun and really cool.
IGN Sports: What is Gamebreaker Trauma and how does it work?
Simon Andrews: Gamebreaker is one of the features I'm really excited about because this year we have made it into a real game breaker. We decided why not give the real trick masters the ultimate ability to showcase their skills and win the game. Now in Gamebreaker you can win the game outright if you are skilled enough with the Trick Stick. It is a high-risk, high-reward situation. It doesn't matter if you're trailing in the game, if you are good enough to pull off the tricks in Gamebreaker Trauma, you are good enough to win. Period. That's pretty cool. It also forces your defender to step up and challenge you in order to save the game so there is a little more intensity when it comes to playing against your friends in those situations. Needless to say you have to be really good (or really lucky) to win the game this way but it can be done.
IGN SportsHow many teams are in the game? How many real players? How many venues?
Simon Andrews: This year we have 20 international teams, 320 pro player, 16 "Legends" and a couple of "Street" teams that comprise some of the best street players we have found from around the world. We have 10 new venues this year that vary in size. We have gone for authentic wherever possible and really improved the look. The details we have added to the environments really bring to life the culture of street soccer and gives the game an authentic feel.
IGN Sports: Is there a story mode aspect to the game?
Simon Andrews: Like last year we have a "Rule the Street" mode that allows the user to progress through challenges and unlock cool stuff and build up their player. We wanted to avoid a linear progress this year as well as make it a more compelling experience. In Rule the Street this year you'll start as a Gun for Hire and progress your way through to Team Captain where you can build your soccer dream team. You'll have to deal with rivalries as well as keep your players happy to keep them on your team. You have the opportunity to unlock lots of different rewards this year from venues to clothing to tricks and retired players. Play in different series of event to progress and if you get really stuck have a friend plug his controller in to help you out.
IGN Sports: The top 25 players in the game have signature moves. What are some of the coolest signature moves captured in the game?
Simon Andrews: Signature moves for the world's best players were created to give soccer's true superstars greater in-game personality and authenticity. In FIFA Street 2 players are designed to be slightly more heroic than in real life to capture the arcade game experience, but by allowing each superstar player to perform his true-to-life signature move makes the players in FIFA Street 2 more authentic and identifiable. To develop the signature moves, researchers reviewed hours of video tape and newspaper accounts to identify authentic moves performed in actual games by each of the world's top 25 players, and then brought these moves to life in FIFA Street 2.
Freddy Adu performs what we have called the Phenom where he flips the ball up to his left knee then moves it to his right foot, and in one sweeping motion, knocks the ball behind his left leg and dashes past the defender. The signature move for Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal is the Hot Stepper where he juggles the ball between his feet, then fakes his opponent by crossing his left foot over the ball, knocking it forward with his right foot. The signature move for Omar Bravo of Mexico is called the Encore and it incorporates a juggling move sequence.
IGN Sports: Did you bring in any pro or street players to consult on the game?
Simon Andrews: Absolutely. Because we are an arcade style game our focus is on crazy tricks. For the latest and the coolest tricks we looked to real street stars from around the world. These are the guys that are actually winning competitions and actually creating these new moves. We have had the pleasure of working with many Dutch street stars, for example Lenny & Edward who you have probably seen in other advertising campaigns. On that front we also worked with "Capeta" from Brazil who is one of the most talented individuals with a ball I have seen. We worked with the LA Skills squad and also a number of players from London. In fact we had three motion capture sessions this year just due to the number of people we wanted to work with. We've ended up with four times (well over 200) the trick moves in FIFA Street 2 on PS2.
IGN Sports: What were the biggest complaints about the first game that you have addressed for the sequel?
Simon Andrews: The biggest complaints were lack of depth (both gameplay and in Rule the Street), lack of control (and responsiveness) as well as dumb AI players, especially the goalkeeper who you could not control. I am happy to say that all of these points were the first order of business and all have been dramatically improved. See my notes in "How has gameplay been improved" above.
IGN Sports: Where do you think FIFA Street 2 stacks up against the NBA Street and NFL Street series?
Simon Andrews: I have actually been lucky enough to work on NBA Street since Day 1. Part of my philosophy for FIFA Street 2 was to make it more like NBA Street. Basically a really fun game to play that happens to be soccer. We've taken some ideas from NBA Street and used some of the development staff!. Features such as Pitch Creator and some of the improvements we have made to Rule the Street have been inspired by NBA Street. I think FIFA Street 2 will be to Europe what NBA Street is to North America. The quality is there now and I am proud of the game we have produced. In North America I expect this game will continue to grow in popularity.
Video: Link.
The first game was cool, but I got bored of it pretty fast and never played it again. Judging by this interview though, it seems EA has improved some aspects of the game quite a bit, and I hope it to be a good game. After all, I need some other game than Winning Eleven to play with my "football addict" friends.
Simon Andrews: You're not the only one who thought that FIFA Street 1 could have been better. For FIFA Street 2 I really wanted to understand what consumers wanted from a street soccer game. We listened to all of the feedback from people who played the original game and we've done a massive amount of focus group testing this year in both Europe and North America to help us nail-down what changes to make to FIFA Street 2 and to help us prioritize our new features. We have added some innovative features like in-game juggling and given you more options with the Trick Stick to better execute your moves. What we have ended up with is a game that is a lot of fun to play, and a game I think you and anyone who tries it, will love. I'm very proud of what we have managed to accomplish in FIFA Street 2.
IGN Sports: How has the gameplay been improved?
Simon Andrews: There have been massive improvements made to gameplay. We started by addressing some of the problems in FIFA Street 1 like responsiveness, ball physics, dumb goalie, etc., and once we improved these things and had a firm foundation, we started adding features on top of this. We've really improved the intelligence of the AI players and this year you can take control the goalkeeper bring him out, play him like everyone else. You can even do tricks and score with the keeper in FIFA Street 2. We've reworked the whole Trick Stick idea, adding significantly more tricks (four times as many on PS2!) as well as providing Trick Stick defense to make it more fun and skillful on defense. Basically on defense now you can counter move in all directions as well as get more physical. You can now shoulder barge as well as slide tackle. You'll see some really cool defensive moments. Last but not least we wanted to add something that had not been done before in a soccer game in FIFA Street 2 you can juggle the ball in real-time by using the Trick Stick as well as do juggle beats on your opponents.
IGN Sports: How prevalent is Street Soccer throughout the world and how have you captured that atmosphere in the game?
Simon Andrews: Street soccer is obviously huge in both Europe and South America but it is really starting to infiltrate the US now. Wherever you look in the world you'll find soccer in some form or another. What changes is the visibility given to the sport. In FIFA Street 2 we looked for real locations around the world where people actually play street soccer. We've captured many of these venues in our game as we found them, from the beaches of Brazil to the very urban haunts of inner London and Amsterdam. What they all have in common is the people who play there, and their love of the beautiful game. You'll find our venues vary in size this year and that in turn has an affect on how the game is played. We've also added location specific PA announcers in our audio experience as well as music tracks that better align with where you are playing. An example would be if you choose to play in Brazil you would hear a Portuguese PA in the background while you listen to Latino beats introduced by a Portuguese DJ. On the other hand you'll get quite a different experience if you are playing in London.
IGN Sports: How does the Trick Stick help capture the crazy moves of the street game?
Trick high, trick low, left or right. Multiple levels of tricks are at your fingertips. If you want to really showboat you can juggle the ball in real-time with FIFA Street 2. You can move the ball from your feet to your knees, shoulders and head, as well as stalling the ball and pulling off some crazy juggle beats. These are my favorite. Juggle the ball in front of your opponent and as he comes to engage you instantly turn it into a juggle beat move to show him who is boss. If you're good enough you can catch it on the other side and continue to juggle. It's really fun and really cool.
IGN Sports: What is Gamebreaker Trauma and how does it work?
Simon Andrews: Gamebreaker is one of the features I'm really excited about because this year we have made it into a real game breaker. We decided why not give the real trick masters the ultimate ability to showcase their skills and win the game. Now in Gamebreaker you can win the game outright if you are skilled enough with the Trick Stick. It is a high-risk, high-reward situation. It doesn't matter if you're trailing in the game, if you are good enough to pull off the tricks in Gamebreaker Trauma, you are good enough to win. Period. That's pretty cool. It also forces your defender to step up and challenge you in order to save the game so there is a little more intensity when it comes to playing against your friends in those situations. Needless to say you have to be really good (or really lucky) to win the game this way but it can be done.
IGN SportsHow many teams are in the game? How many real players? How many venues?
Simon Andrews: This year we have 20 international teams, 320 pro player, 16 "Legends" and a couple of "Street" teams that comprise some of the best street players we have found from around the world. We have 10 new venues this year that vary in size. We have gone for authentic wherever possible and really improved the look. The details we have added to the environments really bring to life the culture of street soccer and gives the game an authentic feel.
IGN Sports: Is there a story mode aspect to the game?
Simon Andrews: Like last year we have a "Rule the Street" mode that allows the user to progress through challenges and unlock cool stuff and build up their player. We wanted to avoid a linear progress this year as well as make it a more compelling experience. In Rule the Street this year you'll start as a Gun for Hire and progress your way through to Team Captain where you can build your soccer dream team. You'll have to deal with rivalries as well as keep your players happy to keep them on your team. You have the opportunity to unlock lots of different rewards this year from venues to clothing to tricks and retired players. Play in different series of event to progress and if you get really stuck have a friend plug his controller in to help you out.
IGN Sports: The top 25 players in the game have signature moves. What are some of the coolest signature moves captured in the game?
Simon Andrews: Signature moves for the world's best players were created to give soccer's true superstars greater in-game personality and authenticity. In FIFA Street 2 players are designed to be slightly more heroic than in real life to capture the arcade game experience, but by allowing each superstar player to perform his true-to-life signature move makes the players in FIFA Street 2 more authentic and identifiable. To develop the signature moves, researchers reviewed hours of video tape and newspaper accounts to identify authentic moves performed in actual games by each of the world's top 25 players, and then brought these moves to life in FIFA Street 2.
Freddy Adu performs what we have called the Phenom where he flips the ball up to his left knee then moves it to his right foot, and in one sweeping motion, knocks the ball behind his left leg and dashes past the defender. The signature move for Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal is the Hot Stepper where he juggles the ball between his feet, then fakes his opponent by crossing his left foot over the ball, knocking it forward with his right foot. The signature move for Omar Bravo of Mexico is called the Encore and it incorporates a juggling move sequence.
IGN Sports: Did you bring in any pro or street players to consult on the game?
Simon Andrews: Absolutely. Because we are an arcade style game our focus is on crazy tricks. For the latest and the coolest tricks we looked to real street stars from around the world. These are the guys that are actually winning competitions and actually creating these new moves. We have had the pleasure of working with many Dutch street stars, for example Lenny & Edward who you have probably seen in other advertising campaigns. On that front we also worked with "Capeta" from Brazil who is one of the most talented individuals with a ball I have seen. We worked with the LA Skills squad and also a number of players from London. In fact we had three motion capture sessions this year just due to the number of people we wanted to work with. We've ended up with four times (well over 200) the trick moves in FIFA Street 2 on PS2.
IGN Sports: What were the biggest complaints about the first game that you have addressed for the sequel?
Simon Andrews: The biggest complaints were lack of depth (both gameplay and in Rule the Street), lack of control (and responsiveness) as well as dumb AI players, especially the goalkeeper who you could not control. I am happy to say that all of these points were the first order of business and all have been dramatically improved. See my notes in "How has gameplay been improved" above.
IGN Sports: Where do you think FIFA Street 2 stacks up against the NBA Street and NFL Street series?
Simon Andrews: I have actually been lucky enough to work on NBA Street since Day 1. Part of my philosophy for FIFA Street 2 was to make it more like NBA Street. Basically a really fun game to play that happens to be soccer. We've taken some ideas from NBA Street and used some of the development staff!. Features such as Pitch Creator and some of the improvements we have made to Rule the Street have been inspired by NBA Street. I think FIFA Street 2 will be to Europe what NBA Street is to North America. The quality is there now and I am proud of the game we have produced. In North America I expect this game will continue to grow in popularity.
Video: Link.
The first game was cool, but I got bored of it pretty fast and never played it again. Judging by this interview though, it seems EA has improved some aspects of the game quite a bit, and I hope it to be a good game. After all, I need some other game than Winning Eleven to play with my "football addict" friends.
