FIFA Street 2

FIFA Street 2 for PlayStation 2 is EA Canada’s 2006 arcade football sequel, published under the EA Sports BIG label. Released in North America in February and in Europe in March, it turns the FIFA licence away from full-pitch simulation and toward compact four-a-side street matches. The PS2 version places licensed international players in enclosed urban and beachside courts, where individual flair, quick movement and showy ball control are as important as putting the ball in the net.

A match is built around small teams and an intentionally exaggerated style of play. Players pass, shoot, tackle and switch control in familiar football-game fashion, but the design gives much greater weight to dribbling past an opponent with a trick. The Trick Stick Beat system uses directional stick inputs and shoulder buttons to select and extend moves, allowing a player to send the ball over, through or around a defender. Successful sequences earn the style points that define the game’s street-football identity and help create opportunities in the tight spaces around goal.

FIFA Street 2 expands the first FIFA Street with a deeper juggling system. Keeping the ball aloft is not only a display of control: the game lets players chain juggle tricks and even catch or pass while juggling, so the mechanic feeds back into regular play. A separate turn-based juggling challenge supports up to eight participants competing for trick-point totals and high-score recognition. The main PS2 game supports up to four local players, making both straight matches and skill contests suitable for couch competition as well as solo play.

The single-player Rule the Street mode provides the longest progression path. Players create a street footballer and take part in skill-based events and tournaments, earning rewards that can unlock players, tricks, venues and clothing. Progress eventually allows the created character to assemble a team, lead it as captain and pursue international success. The mode also incorporates team rivalries and player morale, giving its career structure more to manage than a simple sequence of exhibition matches. A friend can join the Rule the Street journey as well.

The PS2 roster is organised around 20 national teams and 320 professional players, alongside two Street teams and a Legends side of retired stars. Its selection includes famous footballers associated with skill and personality, while the legends group includes players such as Eric Cantona, Franz Beckenbauer, Paul Gascoigne and Zico. Cristiano Ronaldo appears on the cover. Rather than building the game around club leagues, the national-team approach makes the roster a collection of recognisable players ready for fast arcade contests.

Its ten venues take the action to real-world-inspired locations with differing layouts and visual character, including Barra Beach in Brazil, New York’s Lower East Side and London’s Westway Sports Centre. Court size is not merely decorative; the varied spaces change how readily a team can find room for a run, a pass or a trick. Pitch Creator adds another layer of customisation, letting players shape a court’s surroundings, fencing, goals, surface, colours and textures. Goal choice and playing surface can affect the way the game plays, linking presentation with the on-pitch action.

As the follow-up to 2005’s FIFA Street, FIFA Street 2 sits within EA Sports BIG’s broader Street line of arcade sports games. It arrived on several systems, including GameCube, Xbox, PSP and Nintendo DS, but this PlayStation 2 edition is one of the four-player home-console versions built around the full trick, juggling, venue and Rule the Street features. For PS2 players looking for a FIFA game centred on freestyle moves and local multiplayer rather than conventional eleven-a-side tactics, it offers a distinctly stylised take on football.