Customer Reviews

FIFA Soccer 2003

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Just got this game yesterday and played about five games and the one thing I've learned is that this game is very realistic. fifa 2002 you could basically just dribble the whole team and score, which happens hardly ever in real life. in fifa 2003 you must pass the ball in the midfield, get one opposing defender out of position, and exploit him. some people may find this frustrating and not fun, but once you actually score it is very very rewarding. i personally would rather work hard to score 3 goals than mindlessly score 10 by dribbling four guys with one player. also as previously noted free kicks are much better, all based on timing, like kickoffs in (american) football games. other aspects of the game:
- players look real
- two settings: simulation and action. havent tried action yet, may be more arcade like and satisfy those who just want to run up the score
- the r1 speed thing: i didnt find this to be too much of an issue because you hold the button (as opposed to tapping it) and you dont want to speed burst too much anyway because a lot of times you will lose the ball or dribble in too close to the keeper.
- one-timers are 300% better and easier than in fifa 2002. this is one of the easier ways to score, as it should be.
- passing is much much better. fifa 2003 goes back to the old style of hitting the pass button while pointed in a general direction and the ball will go right to the guy who is in that direction. fifa 2002 you were forced to basically pass in the direction you were dribbling and the ball would go straight, not to any player in particular. but through balls are sort of like fifa 2002 in that you hit it to a spot and then you must direct the player there. not easy to do, but again, it's awesome once you pull it off.
so basically if you enjoy passing the ball around realistically, spreading the defense, and creating scoring chances then this game is a must buy. if you would rather just feed the ball to ronaldo at midfield, sprint to the net and score then fifa 2002 would be better (although maybe action setting in fifa 2003 is like this). oh and i cant say enough about the wireless controllers (wavebird?). you dont realize how cool they are until you get one.

Fifa 2003 is the best football game to come out ever. The usual teams are availible, but there are more stadiums and more detailed uniforms. The player's faces are remarkably realistic and the graphics are superb overall.

The best part of this game is the new control system. The passing is much more sensitive, however is it slower, so control is very different. It takes a little getting used to, but once you do it ends up being a much more realstic game and the passing is much more important in the gameplay. The crossing and lobbing is a little weak, though because it is hard to use and very inaccurate.

The free kicks are much better than 2002, you can actually determine where you want to ball to go and how much spin you want to put on it. This is all great, but you have to tap the shoot button at just the right time to get it right. This can be frustrating, but is very rewarding.

The shooting is difficult, but this is accurate. You can't just run around and shoot and score everytime. This keeps the score down, and it is like real football.

Tackling is good and goalkeeper controls are fine. The music is not as good as in previous editions, but it is acceptable. The commentary is delivered a pair of smooth British fellows who deliver accurate and varied assessment of play.

The Tactics are much more sound than the previous edition which allows for more detailed planning, but the AI is much better and it varies the style of play depending on the situation. Again, this adds to the realism.

Overall, the new control system makes this game excellent, but it does require a little getting used to. The other parts of the game are just as good as the last one, if not better, and the added challenge makes this game worth playing.

Graphics 9/10
Gameplay 9/10
Commentary 8/10
Music 6/10
Game Options 10/10
Overall 9.5/10

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After absolutely LOVING FIFA 2002, this game came as a great disappointment to me. The graphics are great, and the team selection is wonderful. However, it is MUCH more difficult to play than FIFA 2002. If you are expecting a game that a 2002 veteran can pick up and be good at, think again.

Shooting is difficult, passing is more difficult, and the controls are not the same as FIFA 2002. After playing 2 games, my hands hurt from having to constantly hit the R button to sprint, versus comfortably hitting the Y button in the 2002 version.

Also, there is a lot of choppiness in this game. FIFA 02 had bugs, but this game is just downright slow at times! EA must have been more interested in the almighty dollar than actually QA'ing the software.

All of the above issues are fine if you enjoy playing soccer by yourself. But I cannot see one of my friends ever being able to play this game with me without being incredibly frustrated. If you like playing on your own, this game might be well worth it. But from a fun factor perspective, get FIFA 2002!

One other issue. The lack of scoring in FIFA 03 may be realistic, but it sure makes for a boring video game. In FIFA 02, I could score 4-10 goals in an average game at the highest difficulty level. This did not seem excessive, but yet was still a lot of fun.

I traded this game in immediately and bought NBA 2K3. I am much happier with that.

I loved FIFA 2002 World Cup. This is different though still the best thing out there. I have several quibbles though. One, the controls are different so once you go to 2003 it is HARD to go back and play previous versions (and there are reasons, see below). Two, as far as I can tell you can't curve the ball! Maybe I have missed it, but in 2002 it took a long time to perfect curving passes and shots, now you can;t. Shots go in much easier here. However, passing is painful. You see a man open up front but he;s behind a defender and you want to curve the ball to him - but you can;t. And your other players won;t pop open, it gets frustrating. Bending the ball is a basic soccer skill. I admit that when I first played 2002 I said ' why isn;t there a button you can hit to pass it directly to a guy', but after mastering the art of passing I loved it. Now the art is gone - and so are the options! Yes, you have to be tactical and work your way through - but it is not the way a real team works it. Further, the give-and-go option is gone, as far as I can tell. Lastly, I believe the free cam option is gone. Now you have to choose one of the set camera angles to watch a replay. I don;t even bother with replays anymore.
All in all it is still fun, but 2002 with the new stadiums, unis, faces would have been better.
And the new free kick option is cake. Anywhere within 30 yards (and out to 45!) you can easily put one in the upper 90 with a decent player.
There is also still the problem with the wandering of a guy when you click to him. You shift your control to a player and he will occasionally wander for a full second before he comes under your control. Major annoyance in both 2002 and 2003.
If you love 2002, try 2003 before buying. It is great but different.

The gameplay is much more realistic than was 2002. As in the real game, the side's passing, player movement, and runs into space are what dictate offensive success on the pitch. EA clearly had this in mind, as this is the single best area of improvement over 2002. One can't simply dribble up the pitch through the other side's defense and score. One must pass, make runs, send through balls.

The commentary by John Motson and Ally McCoiss is still impressive (though I think Andy Gray of 2002 was better than Ally, who is a bit dry). I personally like the music much more than 2002, but that's neither here nor there.

The graphics are stunning. Ruud van Nistlerooy looks more like Ruud that the real Ruud does. Beckham looks like he has a tad too much hairspray in that crazy mane, but what can you do. Zidane, Roberto Carlos, Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Owen, Scholesy ... they all look very much like the real players do. There are exceptions: Roy Keane curiously looks like Claudio Reyna, DiCanio looks like ... me!

One problem I'm having with the game is the freestyle capability with the yellow control stick. It's difficult to control and to predict how it will work. Maybe it take more time and practice than I've invested.

Overall, the tackling has improved from 2002. If you expose the ball in front of a defender, you'll lose it. Still, the slide tackling could use some work. It's too easy to slide tackle all over the pitch to win the ball. In real life, a player wouldn't be able to slide tackle with such frequency.

This game is just a top game, and will help does who favour football very much. The main attraction of Fifa 2003 are the graphics, kits, free kicks, and controlling the ball like a pro. The only down side of this game is theres no training mode and sometimes it is hard to save as a keeper. But the grpahics are superb. Vanistelrooy looks well good, ronoaldo looks exactly like him, and Ronoldinho has the same effect with his tooth(lol). The kits are wikiced too, since you can select , home, way or alternitive. stadiums are highly made, and my favourite part of the game is the newly free kick mode, where u have to b classed at timming. Overall the game is tottaly wikiced and i rate it 10/10 noo doubt.

This is an excellent follow up. After devoting much of my time to FIFA 2002, I was very pleased with this. If you are not a big soccer fan this game might get a little repetitive. otherwise I recommend this game.
GUNNERS F.C. rules!

this is the best game i have played in a while
i like it a lot since it is soccer it has great levels adn
is not to hard i would recomend this for a person who really
loves soccer

FIFA 2003 is by far the best game in the FIFA franchise. As soon as I heard about it coming out I couldn't wait. I wasn't dissatisfied. The graphics are GREAT and the controls, although they take a little bit of time to get used to, are smooth. Also, the player detail is amazing! I am a fan of the German club Schalke 04 and in addition to having it in the game I could recognize several of the players right away just looking at their faces! Another plus is the game has the UEFA cup and Champions League competions in it, although they are under different names. This is a big bonus feature. And with over 400 teams in the game this is the best soccer game out there. I would reccomend this game to anybody who wants a fun, exciting, realistic soccer gaming experience.

FIFA 2003 is by far the best game in the FIFA franchise. As soon as I heard about it coming out I couldn't wait. I wasn't dissatisfied. The graphics are GREAT and the controls, although they take a little bit of time to get used to, are smooth. Also, the player detail is amazing! I am a fan of the German club Schalke 04 and in addition to having it in the game I could recognize several of the players right away just looking at their faces! And with over 400 teams in the game this is THE soccer game to have. I would reccomend this game to anybody who wants a fun, exciting, realistic soccer gaming experience.