Ultimate Street Football

The chances of Samuel Eto'o ever playing football in the street are about as slim as a Pocket Gamer writer walking out at Wembley Stadium to fill England's problematic left-wing spot.

Samuel's probably got about 14 clauses in his Barcelona contract preventing him from even a quick kickabout in a quiet suburban cul-de-sac. Thankfully, mobile pays no lip-service to real-world contractual restrictions, so Gameloft is free to release this street footy sim starring the Barcelona goal-poacher.

Given this freedom, it's a shame the publisher has resisted the temptation to have Sam dodging crackheads in a grimy London backstreet. Instead, Ultimate Street Football sees you travelling the world exhibiting your urban skills (sorry, skillz) against a host of other teams.

It's a direct competitor to EA Mobile's FIFA Street, with the emphasis as much on flashy tricks as it is on goals. Matches can be played to a time limit or a 'first to x goals' format, and it's four-a-side with one goalie and three outfield players.

Unlike proper street football though, the goalies don't ever get frustrated and try to dribble through the entire opposition before spanking the ball into someone's front window. Shame. Instead, the basic controls involve moving, passing and shooting, with added tricks performed using the '*' key.

Each bit of ball-juggling or fancy dribbling helps fill a bar at the top of the screen, which can then be used to trigger Freestyle Mode by pressing the '#' key. A simple rhythm-action micro-game pops up, getting you to press numbered keys or directions in sequence: get it right, and you hit a scorching special shot into the back of the net.

As for modes, the game's Instant Play mode pitches you straight into the action, Free Match lets you pick your opposition from a choice of teams based on real-life clubs, and Challenge Mode focuses purely on the tricks element, using the same rhythm-action mechanic to out-juggle an opponent at five difficulty levels.

But the core of the game is My Street mode, which sees you create a team of raw players and take them from local kickabouts to international glory by beating a succession of opponents. Along the way you can upgrade your players' speed, activity, attack and defence skills, moulding them into a squad that suits your tactics.

Ultimate Street Football is well put together, and when you get to the match itself, the controls are much more accessible than the majority of mobile football games. Alongside the tricks, you can pull off one-twos with team-mates or the walls, and hit first-time shots to try and catch the opposition goalie off his guard.

It's a fun game, with a good sense of progression as you work through the My Street mode. The ability to make crunching slide tackles is a great touch, too; there's nothing more satisfying than taking the legs away of an opponent who's in mid fancy-juggle.

However, what stops this being a classic is the way it feels a bit formulaic. Matches are basically a case of keeping the ball and building up your Freestyle Meter, then letting off the special shots to score. Despite the skill-upgrading elements, there isn't huge tactical variation.

Maybe that's expecting too much – after all, this is street football, not an 11-a-side simulator like Gameloft's own Real Football 2007. While a bit more variety in the gameplay would be welcome, ultimately Ultimate Street Football is about fun tricks and net-busting goals: both of which it delivers.