NFL Street 3

For a country prone to churning out macho, gun-toting hard men a la Agent 47, Duke Nukem, and countless (nameless) others found in various combat/shooters/GTA's and GTA-alikes, America seems to produce a surprisingly sissy bunch of sportsmen. In the case of American Football, we just can't understand what's wrong with hitting the grass protected by only a nipple-chafing piece of cotton. C'mon guys, what's with all the padding. Take your hits like men!

The players in EA's NFL Street 3 seem prepared to do just that. Ditching their traditional mummy's boy padding in favour of just an over-sized jersey (that's what Americans call them, we're told). These boys are rough. They seem a bit pre-disposed towards playing on concrete, for one. And they also seem prepared to lose their pigskin in the underside of heavily girdered bridges. Of course, it wouldn't be very 'street' if there wasn't the sight of mammoth works of civil engineering lurking in the background.

The main addition to the usual confusion of setting up plays and knocking people over is the new 'Respect the Street' mode. It sees players competing against other NFL teams to gain (wait for it.) respect from the streets. A win allows players to improve the playbook, handpick top-flight players from other teams, and buy new equipment (so maybe you won't have to be exposed to the pavement for too long).

The game also sees an improvement on the hallowed Gamebreaker move. It returns in classic form, but it's gotten a little more complex. Time it wrong and all your hard won flashiness goes to waste.