It has been close to a decade since I was first introduced to the xBox one game, NFL Street. At the time, my brother and I were obsessed with video games and this particular game was the holy grail for us. Although we had just gotten the Xbox One console at that time, the graphics still surprised us. The unique way in which the play of the game was controlled was something we had never experienced before.
I remember how excited we were to start playing and create our own teams; something that instantly seemed impossible. With all the different game modes and characters to choose from, making our own team was like a dream come true. We could make teams based on our favorite teams, or mix and match characters to make completely new combinations.
The game had an easy to learn but hard to master gameplay style; something that appealed to us. We soon found out that as you leveled up in the game, it presented an increasing challenge.NFL Street was also very realistic, allowing us to experience a game that felt like real football. The tackling, crowd noises, in game commentary and expert analysis; they all made us feel like we were part of a game that could be played in an actual stadium.
As the game progressed, we could upgrade our characters and experiment with different teams. We discovered that each team had their own strengths and weaknesses and it was up to us to find out how to exploit those weaknesses. This kept us entertained for hours, as we tried different strategies and lineup combinations. With every loss or win, we learnt something and became better at the game.
Although it has been a while since I last played NFL Street, I still remember sitting around the Xbox with my brother and yelling at the television in excitement. At a time when we could barely make it outside to play sports, this game was our way of living out our dream of playing in an NFL team. And even though we had to face unending defeats at times, it was so much fun to keep honing our skills and becoming better.
That was the beauty of NFL Street, it was a real life simulation of a football game that was designed to teach us the importance of practice and patience. Even though I don’t play the game anymore, I can still look at the Xbox and smile, remembering all the good times we had with NFL Street.