Madden NFL 2003

"Lacking, but not terrible"

Madden NFL 2003 is a good game. However, many things bring this game down from the 10 rating I gave the 2002 version. I'll get into these details in my review.

Gameplay: 7/10

This is the feature of the game I was most displeased with. I found the gameplay to be too slow to be realistic, and if you even try to play on all-madden difficulty level, you will find that offesnive linemen can outrun Michael Vick. Yes, i'm aware this has been a common problem in all Madden football games, but it still exists. Why it exists, I have no idea, you'd think they'd of fixed it by now but oh well. There were also way too many huge plays by crappy players on crappy teams. I was playing Jacksonville once in a franchise, Mark Brunell was injured. I'm leading by 14 when all of the sudden David Garrard hits some no-name reciever for two TD's and I have to win in overtime. That is also known as the EA Screw, which is where teams mount incredible comebacks in the late minutes. All in all, the gameplay is still Madden gameplay, better than any other game, but it could be improved.

Graphics: 10/10

This game continues to raise the bar for graphics in a football video game. My friend's mom walked in and thought we were actually watching an NFL game. The players look like their real life counterparts, the uniforms are crafted to the finest details, and player accessories are numerous and realistic. The animations in this game were very realistic, especially the introduction of ''gang tackles'', something many of us have been asking EA to include for quite some time. They still aren't where I'd like them to be, but they are much improved.

Features: 9/10

Franchise mode continues to be one of the best parts of any sim sports game, if not the best. EA went with what worked, and it works well. It can still be improved a bit, but it's better than anything else anyone puts together. Minicamp is a new feautre that EA added, and it's actually a bunch of Mini Games, where you try to accomplish various deeds for rewards (Madden Cards). Deeds you try to accomplish are: Make a certain number of field goals in a time frame, etc. The EA Sports TRAX are a new thing that many people are glad to see, actual music instead of goofy rappers singing songs about John Madden. The songs were pretty good in my opinion, keeping you entertained. It would be nice to control them yourself though.

Sound: 6/10

Nobody expects a high sound rating out of a Madden game. Al Michaels is better than Pat Summeral, but hopefully they can stop sounding like robots and have good commentary. The music is good, as I mentioned above.

Buy/Sell? If you're a Madden junkie, this game isn't a dissapointment. However, if you've never played a Madden game before, and you buy this one, Keep in mind that it isn't Madden's best work. See Madden 2001 for that. However, i'd still say buy because it's not a bad game.

OVERALL SCORE: 7/10

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 10/27/03