NFL Street 3 is one of the games that just sort of slipped in under my radar. Except for a small poster with “Ocho Cinco” himself, Chad Johnson, smiling at me at GameStop, I wasn’t aware that the game was even in development. So, what can you expect from the series’ third installment? Well, a whole lot of the same wrapped up with a nice, new Career mode.

NFL Street 3 uses the same visual style as the previous two games. Players are over-exaggerated and look more like cartoon superheroes than NFL players. Everyone on your team is big, even guys who in real life are a little smaller. During games, players pull off all manner of over-the-top moves, including wall jumps, flips and flying tackles. Really, it’s the stuff that makes highlight reels on SportsCenter, only here they happen every down.

Games take place in places you would never expect to find a pick-up game going on. All of the fields work and even have spots that you can perform the previously mentioned stunts off of. In some respects, its like playing football in a skate park.

The presence of the EA Trax logo can mean only one thing – an eclectic mix of rock, rap and a some techno. I wasn’t a fan of everything featured on the soundtrack, but could still appreciate some of the selections since they fit the game. There isn’t as much trash-talking going on during games, but the on-field sounds are still loud and booming.

Like previous entries in the series, NFL Street 3 is an arcade-styled football game. Everything has been simplified in order to build a faster game that feels more like a pick-up game at the local playground than a professional game on Sunday. Of course, in NFL Street 3, you get to play with a selection of NFL players rather than that skinny asthmatic kid no one wants on their team.

NFL Street 3 offers a new single-player Career mode called Respect the Street. Here you move from city to city and take on players and their buddies in games. As you complete games, your respect grows, opening up new venues to compete at and the option of taking the best players from other teams and bolstering your roster. You also earn money to spend on equipment.

Other than taking a while to really get going, the only major problem facing Career mode is that it might be a little too long. After a while, you find yourself dragging yourself from game to game. Long games are always fun, but there is a limit.

Other than playing more like an arcade game, NFL Street 3 also tweaks the traditional formula by introducing new game types. In one type, if you fail to gain positive yardage with a play, it is removed from your playbook. The goal here is to outlast your opponent’s playbook rather than by outscoring them. Another limits your time of possession. If you can’t do anything before the clock runs out, you lose possession. Finally, there’s Bank, where all Gamebreaker points are added to one big pool. The first team to score gets the points. Whoever gets the most Gamebreaker points wins.

The new play types add a welcome strategic element and keep games from becoming stale. It takes a game or two to get your bearings in each mode. When the game is going fast, it is really easy to forget what type of game you are playing, so it is possible that you’ll use a play that would have worked in one game type but doesn’t in another.

If you want a quick game, you can enter Exhibition mode. All of the game types are available and give you a chance to practice before jumping into Career mode. You can also play against a friend using Ad Hoc wireless play.

NFL Street 3’s learning curve can easily be described with one word: Chaos. There is little room for learning or errors as in-game situations are constantly shifting. One minute you are dominating and the next you are down by a touchdown with another on the way. At times, this can be a great thing since you can’t take any plays off. Other times… okay, a majority of the time it is cheap. The A.I. is constantly adapting to the game, making things feel really cheap. A.I. players go on incredible hot streaks and can be unstoppable.

Getting started in Career mode is an uphill battle. Your starting team simply can’t hang with your opponent’s team. It takes a while to get going, so expect to spend a lot of time running drills in order to improve your player’s stats.

Imagine running down the sideline with two guys making a beeline for you. Normally they would drill you into the side, but instead miss because you’re now running on the side of a wall. These types of moves are typical in NFL Street 3.

True to its arcade style, NFL Street 3 is easy to pick up and play. The analog nub makes it harder to pull off cuts and plays with the same speed as you would on the PS2, but it works for the most part. The number of stunt moves has been slightly increased, though they remain the same as in previous games.

The Gamebreaker system has been revamped, giving you a little more control over what happens rather than watching scripted sequences. When and where Gamebreakers are played is completely up to you. When playing on offense, you can deliver a Gamebreaker to turn momentum on your side, or just to kick a losing team while it is down. Gamebreakers can also be used on defense to bring up big interceptions or stop the run.

In the end, NFL Street 3 isn’t much different than NFL Street 2. Even with the addition of a Career mode and a few new game types, things get tedious. The inconsistent, sometimes cheap, difficulty level doesn’t help much either. Newcomers to the series who find Madden just a little too stifling might find something to like, but only the most hardcore of the hardcore NFL Street fans will appreciate the third one.