This is an ongoing list that is attempting the impossible! To Rank every game ever made.. For previous games and rules i would advise looking at the past blogs.

Let's take a walk down memory lane, when sports games came in more than just simulation games and could come in pseudo arcade games where the point was to have fun not be realistic. That time of course no longer exists, as nearly all console sports games are simulation to try and get as close to the product you see on TV.

Freestyle Street Soccer, yes that beautiful blockbuster exclusive game to my left, is a 3 on 3 arcade soccer game. Gone are the likes of players you might recognize, or teams you root for, and instead you get early 2000 stereotypes. Do you want to play as the Jamaicans? What about the convicts, or the all girl team? I know this was just common shorthand for games like this, because if you dont have the license to do things proper you are going to need a fast and easy way to come up with enough teams/people to populate your game, but it still feels so lazy.

In the story mode, your gang is essentially taking over rival turfs by beating other gangs in soccer, working your way up to... I guess world domination? I wasn't really clear on what anyone was playing for, but I'm sure there is a great motive for each team to rule the land (free tattoos for all).

In game, the feel is what you would expect from an arcade sports title. The game plays fast while the ball magically hones in on players for passes, stays juggled in the air while someone launches a 20 second trick shot, or gets stuck in a corner because of a rare block. Slowly during the game a gauge will fill based on style points that you are performing, and when full will create a glowing spot on the field where someone from your team can launch a special move at the other team. This shots rarely if ever miss, and almost always are awarded to both teams at least once a game (No matter how you play) which cancel out in the long run. While a player is lining up their super shot, you can't contest or even move until after the animation is complete, so your only hope in blocking it, is that your character was in the way BEFORE your opponent triggered their special. Super shots aside, this game didn't need any help in generating goals, with a crazy frequency I was able to pass from a defender to the offense, and while the ball was in the air mash the shoot button to set up an animation where my player upon catching the pass would immediately start "Free styling" and then shoot. While these shots were not guaranteed goals by any stretch of the imagination, it was an easy to execute plan that roughly resulted in 7 goals a game. What is so crazy, is that game wanted to showcase so much the "moves" that it programmed in, that basically all of the juggling shots could not be interrupted, they were always a shot on goal. Ignore the fact that there are no fouls in this game, and some yahoo is standing and flipping the ball on his foot for what feels like 5 minutes, why didnt someone just come and push them? It would have saved so many goals.

I digress. Freestyle Street Soccer is exactly the game you would expect it to be upon playing it. It makes sense it was a blockbuster exclusive, because basically a rental would be all you need to get everything out of the game. You might have some fun showing a friend and doing "cool" trick shots in the first game, but three games into the season, you have seen them all dozens of times, heard the same licensed songs over and over, and witnessed the edginess of early 00s cursing from your hooligans.

There really isn't much more to say about it. Its.. a game.. and its current place on the list is simply because it was reviewed so early. Are you interested in seeing me play it? What about seeing one of my premie kids who is smaller than my hands, you can check out that video here

Thanks for listening

-Phil

Is it the Greatest game of all time: No

Where does it rank: It is the 8th greatest game of all time. Better than #9 Simpsons Road Rage, but worse than #8 WCW Vs. NWO World Tour.

Next Game to be reviewed: Speed Devils for the Sega Dreamcast.