Gaming
Games
Street Power Football: the tricks are awesome and the nutmegs SAVAGE
The team behind Street Power Football offer tips for getting started with the game, from incredible tricks to becoming king of the street and the ritual humiliation of nutmegs.
Ace new arcade football title Street Power Football presents us with myriad ways to get the better of our opponents, from bagging goals to pulling off mind-blowing tricks, including brutally nutmegging other players.
With so many ways to play and so many skills to master, we called upon Michael Sportouch, CEO of SFL Interactive, the masterminds behind the game, to break down his beginner tips across every mode, giving you the chance to hit the street with style.
What would you recommend beginners do first when firing up Street Power Football?
We’ve built tutorials in the game, and I think these are a very good way of getting familiar with the mechanics. We’d definitely encourage the players to play the Become a Street King mode, with [Red Bull athlete] Séan Garnier. This is a journey where you follow the past steps of Séan and he gives you plenty of advice. We’ve captured a lot of videos where he’s talking about his background and the culture of street football and freestyle football. We really recommend the players enjoy this journey, because you’ll be able to use Séan’s advice and tips. Also, the way we have designed the mode means you have to perform various tutorials back-to-back, before you start the adventure.
However, if you’re a very experienced player, you may just want to jump straight into the other game modes. For example, one of our team recently visited the Fortnite streamer Doigby, and as a very experienced gamer, he didn’t use Become a King – he just wanted to dive straight into the other modes, like Freestyle and Panna. He immediately understood the technique and how to play the game, and was very quickly able to challenge us.
Humiliate your opponent n Street Power Football
© SFL Interactive
What are your tips for Freestyle mode, and are there any differences between the characters?
In freestyle, there are no stats attached to the players. It’s all about your performance and skills with the controller, and your ability to perform the tricks at the right time, at the right pace.
To start, we’d say visit the tutorials to find out how to launch a move and how to carry out a combo. After that, you can go into the list of moves and select three or four of them and start to play the game with basic, simple combos, and then take it step by step. Also, you have a pop-up window where you can select your favourite moves, so we recommend players start to learn and select their favourite moves, otherwise, the moves you haven’t selected have to be memorised. Believe me – when you have 90 moves, it can become very complicated!
We have done a lot of testing with more and less experienced players, and what we found is that the more experienced gamers are better at performing right away in Freestyle, while beginners need some time to learn the ropes.
Trickshot requires both precision and speed – what would be your tips for players looking to nail that high score?
This is a very different style of gameplay, because it’s closer in style to what you’d find in a golfing game. So, you have three meters to consider when playing this game mode. On the bottom left of the screen you have a flame ball, which is a power gauge with different visual indicators showing the players how much power you need. It’s almost pixel perfect – you have to get the right power in order to find the right distance.
Then, there are two other meters you have to play with – the height of the shot, so you have a vertical arrow which you control with the stick, and the more you elevate the arrow, the higher it goes. Then, there’s a direction arrow, which again has to be pixel perfect if you want to hit the ball in the direction you want it to go.
Here it’s all about playing with these three meters. However, the objects and the targets are not always the same – some of them, you have to do dropshots, like basketball, where you have to get the ball in a bin. Some, you just have to hit the target. Others, the targets are hidden behind a stack of objects, so you have to get rid of the stack of cartons, for example, and unveil the target which is hidden.
For some objects you have to use a special curve shot, because the object is in a very tricky corner. This game mode is all about skill and precision, with three different layers of complexity. There is an Easy, Medium and Hard mode – in the Easy mode, the time pressure is reasonable, and you are not limited by the number of balls. In Hard mode, you have much less time to achieve all the challenges, and you’re limited by the number of balls you can use. So, the more you miss, the more pressure is on your character because you’re running the risk of running out of time, or balls.
Visit Playgrounds all over the world in Street Power Football
© SFL Interactive
Superpowers play a huge part in Street Power Matches – how do they work, how can you earn a superpower, and when’s the best time to use them?
Unlike Freestyle mode, where players do not have stats, Street Power Match has characters with different strengths. It’s closer to a traditional football sim, where some players will have better offensive skills, or defensive skills, and also different superpowers for each character. However, players will have to discover the stats and right combination of powers for that mode.
The way we have designed the game is to allow players to play the game their own way. Some players might want to make extensive use of the superpowers, others might not. The way the superpowers work is that you have the flame ball icon, which is always a very important icon across the modes, and is your skill meter in Street Power Match. So, the more you execute tricks in the game, the faster you fill this bar and then activate superpowers.
Once you have the opportunity to activate your superpower, you have to decide when is the right moment to use it. If you’re losing the match 4-0, and have only one minute to go, you could argue that it’s not going to be particularly useful, and that the probability that you recover is pretty low. When the game is very tight or challenging and you want to make a difference, this is probably when you should use the superpower. Also, some of the superpowers have a limited time to use them, so you have to learn the impact of each superpower and then build your team accordingly. Some are offensive, like Shaolin Soccer-style volleys that nobody can stop, or you have defensive superpowers, where you can put a wall across your goal. So, if you’re winning the match 1-0 and there’s only a minute to go, maybe that’s when you want to activate your defensive superpowers.
Also, while each character’s superpower is only unlocked by performing skills, you also have consumables, which are little cans that appear randomly, and are like mystery boxes in Mario Kart. So, you pick up the cans during the match and it’s like an instant reward or power. For example, you can electrify your opponent or block your goal, so you have two layers to play and beat your opponent. It brings so many unexpected moments when you play the game.
With Panna mode, what are your tips for players just starting out and hoping to get some nutmegs under their belts?
In Panna, the Playground is much smaller, and the action is really fast-paced. You have two different modes within the Panna game mode. First, you have the Panna match, where the winner is the player who hits five points first. The way you score points is either by scoring a goal, which is one point, or you can perform a Panna, which is worth two points. The other variation is Panna KO, which is like sudden death in football. So, you can be winning the match 4-0, but if your opponent executes the Panna, it’s game over. It adds an extra level of intensity and humiliation, because you really want to make sure your opponent doesn’t nutmeg you!
In a traditional Panna match, you fill the flame ball meter by performing tricks and dribbles, and only when the bar is filled can you perform a Panna. You have to be facing your opponent to be able to try a Panna. If you’re not in the right position, you can’t try to perform one. Once you’ve filled the bar and reached the position, that’s when you can unlock a ‘Panna battle’, where you’ll be facing your opponent like a boxing game, and you have to follow a series of button prompts, and your opponent has to defend by doing the same. The buttons are selected randomly, and you have to be super fast. If you win this battle you’ll perform the Panna, but if your opponent has defended it, they’ll steal the ball from you.
Pull off incredible tricks with Séan Garnier
© SFL Interactive
In terms of tips, you have to find the right balance of scoring goals when you see an opportunity, and you can even use the rebound of the wall to score a goal. It’s a bit like rugby – so, in rugby, when you are very close to the try line, and there is a fault, you have to decide whether you take the penalty or still try go for a try with the risk of missing. It’s very different, but in Panna, you can say, ‘OK, I’m not trying to score the goal, instead I’ll score a Panna because it’ll bring more points’. Or, you can focus on scoring the goal instead. What we expect is that people will play it very differently. We expect a lot of teasing and provocation between players because some will try to play it safe, while others will want to win with style and try the Panna.
Tell us more about Elimination mode – how can players best adapt to the speed of this mode?
The way the match starts in Elimination mode, is that the ball is in the middle of the pitch and you have to run to gain possession. Then, it works like basketball, and we’ve looked at the way people are playing street basketball in Venice Beach or different playgrounds around the world. In this mode, it’s a 1v1 street match where you have to get the ball and you have 10 seconds to shoot, otherwise the goal will be blocked. If this happens, you’ll have to get out of the shooting area in order to unlock the goal again. It’s not about scoring a Panna, it’s about scoring a goal. It’s all about taking your chance as quickly as you can.
My tip here is to use the curve shot as much as possible, because sometimes you’ll be blocked in the corner, or your opponent will be defending very aggressively against you, so the curve shot is a very useful method where you can score the goal even when the angle is almost impossible. That’s a technique players will have to learn if they want to win Elimination mode.
Street Power Football is out now on PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PC.
