FIFA Soccer 2003

"It should be a better game."

I have been a soccer player for all my 18 years of life, because I love that game. I also love FIFA since I started playing it in 1996. But FIFA 2003 just shocked me how bad it is.
In the last years EA has been trying some new things out. Until now, none of them bothered me, but this game just does not follow the fun I had with its predecessors.
Starting with the title screen there are many new acquaintances I had to make. An important one that follows throughout the whole game is the loading speed. You might press X to execute a command, but wait couple of seconds first to get any kind of response. That is just annoying. But you can make it through that. Next is the look. It does not appeal to me as much because I think it could have been made more user friendly.
Then come the modes. You have your regular league championship, international championships, and a club championship. That is very nice because it provides variety but there is one thing I am missing. TRAINING MODE! This game incorporates a lot of new moves, and it is very sad to see that you cannot practice them to improve your skill and see how this game works.
THE BEST PART. You chose mode for yourself and your ready to play. Now the graphics of the game are very good. I enjoy seeing players that almost look real. EA has to be given props for that. The stadiums make you feel like you left home and the crowds will get you chanting with them.
THE WORST PART. It’s kickoff time. You’re playing your first game on FIFA 2003. You can wait ‘till you start scoring all those goals. But then you realize this isn’t the regular FIFA game. Passing is different. As is dribbling. Basically the whole gameplay is unlike other predecessors. And sadly not to the good side.
PASSING. FIFA 2003 has very bad passing. Simple passes are just to weak. Through balls are hard to aim. And mostly important if you are sprinting and trying to pass, 90% of the time you’ll loose the ball. The reason for that is delayed reaction time. It will take your player about 1-2 seconds or more to stop and pass the ball.
DRIBBLING. Unlike other FIFA games where you press a button to trick an opponent, here you use the right analog stick. EA calls it Freestyle. Now even though that sounds good it does not help. It is very hard to “create” a trick and especially more difficult to time it right.
SHOOTING. It all depends on you this time. You have to aim, and set the power. Although that is nice because YOU earn every goal, it can make you mad if the shot does not got as you would like it to.
Over all the game is nice to play. It does not catch my attention for to long though. I honestly have never played any other soccer game, so I cannot compare it to other games mentioned in these reviews. Personally I feel that this game is not worth buying.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 02/15/03, Updated 02/15/03