World Tour Soccer 2003

"This IS Football"

This is football doesn't always spring to mind when you think of a football game for PS2, but after you've been playing it for a while it will. Last years this is football 2002 was a great game, and this improves drastically on it. With so many teams on the game and all with skill levels matching their real life clubs, this game is a classic.

The game has many play modes including an all new career mode, which sees you play as a school team and try to get the youngsters all the way into the premiership and champions league etc... Also updating the game is VERY easy, all you have to do is select the player and take him from his original club and add him to his new one, like copying and pasting on a computer. After that you just need to delete him from his old club (so you don't have 2 of the same player on the same pitch when the two clubs meet.

The graphics are good too with most players bearing a little in common with their real life counterparts if not a strong resemblance. The pitches look magnificent too, the only problem is the pitches names like Europe 1 etc. but all this won't count when you look at the end product.

The sounds are ok with Peter Drury commentating, though it can get repetitive. And what little music there is suits the game.

The clubs names etc. are sometimes different from the real ones but don't make a difference to the difficulty of selecting your favorite team. The kits also don't show the sponsors or kit designers but still, at least they're the right colour. :-)

The only reason stopping TIF 2003 from getting a perfect score is the player names. A few players didn't want there names in the game, most notably the Dutch players (like in pro evolution soccer 2 & 3)like Ruud Van Nistelrooy and Patrick Kluivert being called Rod Nistroy and Patrik Kluivern respectively. But all this can be edited, as can most of the few flaws in this game.

The gameplay is amazing too allowing you to score some absolute belters and some clean finishes. Also a dive button is included which adds that little bit more over FIFA and the PES series. Tackles look realistic and the keepers save the ball realistically too.

Overall conclusion

just 2 words = excellent game.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 04/04/04