My Street: My Street Hands-on Company: SCEA My Street was definitely one of the more unique online offerings from Sony at this past E3. Not because it features a new, groundbreaking gameplay mechanic or intense online experience, but because it's based around a simple concept that seems to have been lost over the last few generations of kids. While it may seem a rather archaic form of entertainment, believe it or not, kids used to play outside. As much as I would like to think this was because of some lethal toxic spore in the air, the fact of the matter is that it's because of video games. Well, leave it to Sony to bring today's generation of kids together with yesterday's by combining both of their childhood after-school activities in one game. My Street takes nearly every playground activity imaginable (well, at least those that don't involve torturing the nerdy kid - although Dodgeball is close enough), and brings them online. While the demo I played only allowed me to take part in two of these activities, Dodgeball and Marbles, the final version will include activities such as Volleyball, Lawnmower Racing, RC Racing, and Chicken Herding. Of course, everyone who knows me realizes that out of all the different activities included on the disc, the only one I was even remotely into is Dodgeball, or as I refer to it - The Sport of Kings. What really amazed me about both of the games was their simplicity of play. Where some developers would have tried to add a few over-the-top antics to these kids' games, My Street makes it feel like a real game. The rules in both Marbles and Dodgeball work just like they would if you were playing out in the street, sans the break every 5 minutes because of a passing car. The graphical package is good, with bright colors and really well animated characters. The one major complaint I had was the lack of voice chat. As I was playing Dodgeball, I wanted to yell at the other players as I mercilessly took them out one by one. After all, that's part of the fun of playing with the neighborhood kids. In the end, My Street looks just as quirky now as it did last May, and should offer a fun, original online alternative to players who are growing sick of games of football and SOCOM. -Starscream, GameVortex Communications AKA Ricky Tucker Related Links: Sony's Official Website The ONLY link this preview needs...