NFL 2K3

"A good solid game but not as good as it could have been"

I have played both Madden 2003 and NFL 2K3 so I have an honest opinion about which one I think is better. I rate all of my categories out of 10 and compared to Madden 2003.

Game Play 7/10
Of course, how well the game plays is the best and most important part of any game. An annoying thing about this game is that there are way too many interceptions. Even with a good quarterback like Garcia and a good receiver like Owens, he still drops it way too many times. Even worse I have averaged about 2-3 interceptions per game even though I am playing the Lions which has a sucky pass defense. Another thing is that when I tackle someone head on, I expect them to go down, not wiggle through and continue running. The last annoying thing is that you dive very far in this game as opposed to Madden. But I can't say that everything is bad because besides the mentioned flaws, it is still a good game.

Controls 9/10
There is nothing wrong with the controls except that some people may not like to use the analog stick to play. You have to use the analog stick to choose plays and when maximum passing is on.

Graphics 8/10
Some people say that NFL 2K3 graphics are better but I don't think so. I am not an expert at telling which graphics are better but any moron could see a difference. Personally I think the Madden graphics are better. Sometimes in NFL 2K3 if you watch the cinematic scenes, the players sometimes have weird spots on their face that disappears after a while.

Sound and Music 5/10
Not much sounds that you don't hear in other football games except for the commentary but that gets boring and repetitive after a while. I don't remember any music really.

Difficulty 7/10
There are 3 level of difficulty but there is another way to adjust difficulty settings. You can change the individual hardness of each category like pass defense, blocking, and all the aspects of football. That's what I don't like. After you have to play a real human, you have to switch the settings back to normal. Just a side note. Kicking is HARD. I missed a 15 yard field goal while the comp made a 40 yard field goal no sweat.

Replay Value 8/10
There is a Franchise mode so you can play a long time but after it may get boring.

Buy or Rent
Seeing as that is was 10 dollars when I wrote this review I will say buy. It is not that bad even compared to Madden so if you want a cheap, good simulation game of football, this is a good game to buy.

Final Score
7 out of 10 because of all the kinks in the game. Other wise this is a solid football game.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 04/13/03, Updated 04/13/03