FIFA STREET 2

Publisher: Electronic Arts

Formats: PS2, Xbox

Price: £39.99

Family friendly? 3+

IF EVER a game didn't deserve a sequel then it has to be Fifa Street, a woeful football game that tried so hard to be cool but just came across like your granddad on a skateboard - vaguely embarrassing.

Mind you the first game was such a stinker that a sequel simply had to be an improvement - didn't it?

The template for success already exists: both the NBA and NFL Street games are fun to play without disgracing the sports that gave life to each of them.

But so little has changed for the FIFA Street sequel - a few minor control issues and some minor gameplay tinkering - that the hoped-for improvements are nowhere to be found. Instead, what you get is a slightly upgraded version of the first game. At least these changes lift FIFA Street out of the video gaming gutter but what we're left with is still strictly mediocre.

It's simple enough to get started, just select "Game on" to choose from a wide number of international teams and let the software set all the other parameters for you. At least this time we have recognisable players and certain superstars have their own special moves.

If you want to select your own options, it's a better idea to select a friendly match from the main menu.

The career mode is known as "Rule the street" wherein you create your own player profile and try to make progress through the FIFA Street ranks mastering new tricks and abilities as you go along. You can also team up with a mate in the co-operative mode.

The player creation is decent enough of its type with plenty of custom variants even down to the shape of your chin and the hair on your head. In keeping with the "cool" nature of the game there's even an option to pick a rudimentary tattoo for your budding Beckham. New clothes become available as you improve your skills (or should that be skillz?)

A star team feature allows you to build a team of your favourite players then take them into the game.

One new feature is the "create-a-pitch" option that gives you the opportunity to design your perfect footie venue. As with the create-a-player option there are a bewildering array of variables, although none of them seem to hand a home advantage to your team. Hmmm.

The gameplay is pretty much like it was before: two teams of four contesting a bastardised version of football on a tiny pitch ringed by a wall (there's no concept of the ball ever going out of play - it just bounces back into the arena).

If you can accept this, the game allows you to "pass" to a team-mate by bouncing the ball off the wall a bit like a game of squash. If the ball is in the air when you hit the shoot button your player will produce a spectacular attempt on goal. You can put swerve on the ball by nudging one of the analogue sticks and using an aiming target in the goalmouth.

If you pull off a series of tricks the ball starts to catch fire and your shots will have even more power. Enter the "gamebreaker" mode (by doing tricks and filling up your gamebreaker meter) and your players become even more skillful.

Graphics-wise, it's not bad. The players are nicely rendered and move smoothly but the "banging" soundtrack had me reaching for the TV's volume control.

If you have got this far and still think FIFA Street 2 sounds like a pretty cool game, then I reckon you'll probably enjoy it.

Just don't buy it in the expectation of playing anything approaching a computer simulation of the game of football.

SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS AND FRIENDS UNITE!

Publisher: THQ

Formats: PS2

Price: £29.99

Family friendly? 3+

NOW this is more like it - a charming action adventure featuring some of cartoon-dom's favourite cult characters in a brand new story.

Professor Calamitous has created his own fearsome foursome picked from the ranks of the world's greatest criminals. Together Prof Calamitous, Plankton, Vlad and Crocker have formed a group known as The Evil Syndicate.

And without anyone or anything to stand in their way the Evil ones are wreaking havoc in Retroville, Bikini Bottom, Amity Park and Dimmsdale.

Enter boy genius Jimmy Neutron who - determined not to be outdone - has created his own band of heroes to defend the world. He calls upon his pals Spongebob Squarepants, Danny Phantom and Timmy Turner to help vanquish The Evil Syndicate once and for all.

And that's about it. You take control of your fave characters across 15 free roaming levels that will be familiar to lovers of Nickelodeon's crazy cartoons to do battle with an army of baddies.

Each character has a set of unique abilities that can be upgraded along the way. Pay close attention to how each character interacts with the others, however, because you will need to use all four if you want to beat The Evil Syndicate.

Given Jimmy Neutron's leadership it's a puzzle why this game isn't called Jimmy Neutron and Friends United!, although it may have something to do with Spongebob's popularity in this country.

Whatever the reason, this is a fun game. OK, it may be a basic platformer squarely aimed at junior school kids but it's a fun distraction well capable of bringing out the juvenile in us all. This Spongebob adventure is the perfect distraction for a wet weekend.

www.thisisthenortheast.co.uk/ leisure/bytes.html