KERRRUNCH!! The quarterback drops to the ground like he's just been smacked by a kamikaze eagle, and is promptly buried beneath a tirade of howling bodies. No room for wusses here, lads. Street NFL is so damned hard that half the players don't even bother with padding. If you ain't got the bling, the ear for a bar or two of shouty rap, and the grooviest taunts since WWE held their Christmas work do at a West Coast lap-dancing joint, then you, my friend, are in the wrong part of town.

As you've no doubt gathered by now, NFL Street is the gridiron brother of EA Sports' snazzy basketball outing NBA Street Vol. 2. Here, straight-laced realism and depth is thrown screaming out of the window to be replaced by a far more comedic and culturally embracing representation of America's favourite sport. Take a gallant leap in and you'll find yourself battling it out on urban sportsgrounds, checking bodies with larger-than-life representations of NFL's past and current crop of stars, and steaming headfirst into its stripped-down eight-on-eight gridiron action. There are matches to win, ladders to climb, set challenges to smash and rather odd-looking teams to develop.

While the basic rules, passing plays and defensive set-ups remain similar to most gridiron sims (i.e. still relatively complicated), the newest attraction is the introduction of the style meter. For every sprint, pass and interception successfully completed, points are awarded, with patronising super-taunts further piling on the totals. By combining button combos, you can perform all sorts of ridiculous tricks, such as bouncing the ball (impressive), flicking it through your legs (very cool) or waving cheekily at the pursuing defenders beyond (downright rude). As soon as your meter bar reaches max, a simple press of the X button will call upon the almighty Game Breaker which pretty much gifts your players temporary invincibility.

So it's got the street cred then, but while it's a decent effort, we're not sure why you would prefer this to the more serious, but equally fun ESPN NFL Football and Madden NFL 2004. Sure, Street is more immediate, a tad faster and has got all the tunes, but the amusing 'street' aspect doesn't quite wash as it did with NBA. The actual gameplay, although good, is hardly foolproof either, with defending proving massively frustrating, whilst certain offence plays (we're not saying which) are seemingly guaranteed to end in success whenever you time them just right.

Street is worth a look at certainly, especially with the excellent multiplayer, but quite frankly this is a bit like Justin Timberlake - thinks he's cool, has al the moves, but ultimately a bit naff underneath.

1. Introduces NFL to the masses
2. Wincing bone-crunching tackles
3. Great flashy moves

1. Not as good as the serious Sims
2. Gameplay a bit thin

Power
Looks surprisingly bland for an EA Sports game, although the graphics do their job.

Style
It's a fun, larger-than-life take on the po-faced domain of NFL. Good stuff.

Immersion
Far easier to get into than serious NFL sims, although the defending side of things is a bore.

Lifespan
Good multiplayer game plus plenty of fun challenges to plough your way through.

Summary
A good laugh. Recommended to casual sports fans with an open mind and a 'street' sense of humour. Booyakasha.