Madden NFL 2003

"Like it says on the box: The Best Gets Better"

Madden, the most common sports game word in video gaming. It is regularly known as the best football series to exist and I definitely agree with it. This review will not be comparing it to NFL 2k3 by Sega because I haven't played that, and because those guides tend to really bash one of the games which is really boring to read. So grab yourself a bag of popcorn, sit back, and get ready to find out why Madden NFL 2003 is the best football game this season.

STORY:
No season mode this time around from EA Sports, they decided to get rid of it because of the HUGELY popular franchise mode. You pick your team that you feel like being and go through the preseason, playing your rookies and backups getting them better. Then during the regular season you try to win as much as you can to make it into the playoffs. If you make it in then you must play your way to the Super Bowl and try to take home the Lombardi Trophy for your team. After the season you must resign all of your stars or cut your subs. Draft the next big star of the NFL. Sign the top free agents to your team. Replace all of your retired players/unsigned players. You are able to do this for up to 30 seasons which takes a very long time.

SOUND: 9
This years version of Madden adds the cast of Monday Night Football since John now is the broadcaster for them. He works along side of Al Michaels in the booth and it provides probably the best play-by-play for a football game yet. It doesn't though have Madden's opinions about players and stuff. Like you won't hear John go on and on about how Marshall Faulk is the best player in the NFL. Most people may actually like not having it but it was fun to hear what he had to say about some of the players. Also there is a new person from Monday Night Football who tells you about the injuries that happen during the game (I can't remember her name although I was just playing a half-hour ago.) The menu music in Madden 2003 has changed from mostly hip-hop, to mostly rock. It does take a bit to get used to the change from the previous seasons, but there are a lot more songs included which is a good thing. During the games there is a lot more conversation between the players on the field. It does seem rather loudly for a football game, but it's kind of fun to hear the players tell each other to guard the left side or some other comments. Also, at the beginning of the game you get to hear John and Al talk about the key players to the game and how they think it will turn out.

GRAPHICS: 10
The graphics engine in Madden 2003 is the same as 2002's which is a very good thing. It is easier to tell players faces apart than last seasons. Also most of the players seem to be more polished, like they move much more fluently for some reason than last seasons. There are a bunch of more player animations for catches, tackles, and breaking tackles on Madden 2003. Also now there is gang tackling, which has a few animations which make the game seem more realistic when you see a back going through the line and getting pounded by a few D-Linemen. One more minor thing is that Madden 2003 now has sweatbands that you can use to put on your players elbows. So now the players look more like their real life counterparts (IE: Ricky Williams)

CONTROLS: 10
Same old same old. Not a bad thing at all since if you played 2002 then you should get the 2003 controls almost automatically. X is to sprint on offense and to change your character on defense. Circle is to spin move on offense, while it is used for turbo on defense. Square is to dive on both sides of the ball. Triangle is to hurdle a fallen defender while on offense, while on defense it is used to jump up to intercept the ball. L1 and R1 are to juke while on offense, while L1 is to knock down the ball or do a swim move on defense and R1 is to do a swim move also. L2 and R2 are to stiff arm on offense, while L2 on defense is to strip the ball and is also used like R2 is which is to do a spin move.

CHALLENGE LEVEL:
Just like last season version, there are 4 separate difficultly levels. Rookie for the beginner, Pro for the semi-experienced players, All-Pro for the experienced players, and All-Madden is recommended if you are a very good player and want a challenge. The main difference between the levels is that on All-Madden the CPU players all catch up to the ball carrier INSANELY quick, which does get annoying. If the game seems unrealistic just tweak with the AI sliders and you can change it to your likings of the game.

REPLAY VALUE: 10
The franchise mode of Madden 2003 is the best one yet. There is a preseason unlike in 2002, so you can test out your rookies and stuff in the preseason without the score mattering. Also in the offseason of it there is a much better player progression so that if you have a great season he will go up lots and if it's a bad one, well then he won't go up much if any. Also there is a much better draft. You can listen to your staff to hear about where a player should be drafted and there are scouting reports on players which makes it seem super realistic. Also there is the addition of the mini-camps, where you can work on the fundamentals of being an NFL player. There are 8 different camps: QB accuracy, QB pocket passing, RB blocker following, LB chase, DB swat down, D-Line rush, Clutch kicking, Corner punting, and one other that I can't remember. Also like usual there are the Madden cards, which this year some must be unlocked by having other EA Sports Titles saved onto your memory card, kind of cool but annoying at the same time. Also you can create your own teams and players like last season. Also... you can make your own playbook! So now you can make sure that you have that play that you need in a certain situation. Also there is online play so you can see just who really is the best Madden player in the world. You do need an ISP and some way to get on the internet (USB Modem, Ethernet Adaptors, PS2 hard-drive thingy that hasn't come out yet...) but once you have the stuff you can play all sorts of people, make new friends and create rivalries.

FINISHING THOUGHTS:
Madden 2003 is easily the best football game that I have ever played. It has so much to do and is incredibly fun. It's a blast just to work on the minicamps and is pretty fun (long though) to make a playbook to fit your style of playing the game of football. With the upgraded franchise, and online play I say Madden 2003 will be a favorite till the next Madden is released.

FINAL SCORE: 10

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 08/17/02, Updated 08/17/02