Customer Reviews

FIFA Soccer 2003

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

What I said for FIFA 2002 World Cup I say for this newest of EA products...What a great and pleasant surprise!!!. FIFA World Cup 2002 was pretty good. It started taking us back to the basics of the game with smarter goalies and more agile players. The reactions to opposing takles became more and more realistic and scoring goals became a more satisfying experience, even the vastly improved passing models continued to move towards the right place. But of course some of the problems of old persisted, and some new ones emerged as it is expected. For example, those annoying bugs which allow you to score the same type of goals all the time continued to be there, goalies did very stupid things repeatedly and without purpose, the AI, a continual thorn for FIFA games did not improve greatly, still making you feel incomplete, the feeling of the big game wasn't there since it was so easy to defeat top teams.

But now, FIFA 2003 has surely redefined soccer gaming, and why not, taken the FIFA series to perhaps a golden era should EA continue the improvements. I've only played the demo so far but what I've seen has taken me by storm. First off, gameplay is simply ADDICTIVE!!. Yes, it sounds like an impossible word for the FIFA series, but it is the truth, since I downloaded it I can't let it go. Player/Ball interaction is more realistic than I've ever seen in any PC soocer game, ISS and its Konami partners are the only things to come close, the reinvention really shows.

Passes, lobs, crosses and player reactions to ball physics are instinctive and simply amazing. After every cross into the box wether there was a goal or not you just wanna press the replay button over and over. FINALLY!, 1-0 games are a real possibility, whereas before that would only happen once in a blue moon, now it seems to be (like in real life) a somewhat common occurrence, with teams actually hunkering down to defend the lead.

And for last the best improvement as far as I go. The AI is definetly smarter. It feels like real soccer now, and from what the demo tells me the feeling of the BIG Game is back. Classics between Real Madrid and Barca seems a real dandy since the AI engine has been re-vamped. This also includes things such as tackling, ball recovery, goalkeeping, and even the passing game which now requires you to build your attack up the field, like real soccer. Other natural EA strenghts such as graphics and sound just keep getting better, nothing I didn't expect from them.

Yes, I've found some bad things remain (at least in the demo). The certain bugs about scoring seem to be there, althought not as omniprescent as before. Goalkeepers sometimes will not position themselves the rigth way to stop shots when they should,it feels like the are letting you score. Other minor unimportant details remain, not enough to taint the true brilliance of a job well done by EA.

If you haven't already, picked up your copy now, not having this game in your soccer gaming archives would truly be a crime!.

FIFA 2003 is a great game, but falls short in a few places, like these:

-- GRAPHICS (5/5) --
Some of the players on FIFA 2003 look identical to what they do in real life. They have the correct kits for most teams, and I think the graphics are amazing.

-- GAMEPLAY (3/5) --
I would call the gameplay better than FIFA 2002 for a few reasons, although I have found a few problems. On the plus, the players can actually cross the ball, bad either, and you can score from outside the penalty area, and they have changed the free-kick gameplay, and I like that better, but the problem with the gameplay is the computer. When they are three feet away from the goal with the easiest chance to score they put it wide. And also, when you are playing a bad team, when you start attacking, the defenders run back to the goal giving you an easy chance to score.

-- SOUND (4/5) --
I absolutely despise the FIFA 2003 soundtrack, what is wrong with it? In FIFA 2001 and previous versions, the soundtrack consisted of good music. It had Reel Big Fish and Fatboy Slim, but now they are playing a lot of dance and techno music. Even Avril Lavigne's song, (who I don't particularly like anyway) Complicated was a remix. On the other hand, the commentry was excellent, gave you random facts about certain players like the real commentators do.

-- REPLAY (4/5) --
FIFA 2003 might get boring after a while, but it certainly has a lot of competitions to play in. It has the league which you can play from 16 nations including the English Premier League, Spanish La Liga, Italian Serie A and American MLS. It has the Ladder Tournament, a tournament where you have to climb a ladder of teams; if you win you go up and if you lose you go down. It has a reigonal challenge, where you start off playing teams in your area, but then play national, continental, and finally the world, the UEFA Champions League, and a lot more.

-- OTHER PROBLEMS --
1) There is no editor on FIFA 2003, but you can download one at http://www.soccergaming.com.

2) I get really annoyed with the sponsors and numbers on the team's kit. It always goes really bright.

3) Whenever you have a shot, and it is going slowly towards the goal and hits the post, it always comes back really fast.

4) The game is over 1GB, so some computers won't have enough memory to play this game.

- E d d y

This game ranks among EA's best work for PC, right up there with Madden 2003 in terms of quality and pure fun. It's great for soccer (FOOTBALL in the rest of the world, you well know) fans or overall gamers who are looking for a challenge. I've picked up the last 3 three years versions of FIFA, plus I enjoyed their World Cup 2002, but this is the best of all for PC. It is down-right addictive.
As always the graphics are a major plus. There is an expanded selection of stadiums, better rendering of uniforms and global players' faces. In the past many of the players were generic looking. The stars are recognizable.
The improved AI makes for more realistic gameplay. Players are more agile, moving laterally and side-to-side much better than previous versions. The one difference I noticed between this and World Cup 2002 defensively was the way defenders almost stumbled when attempting a conservative tackle. In FIFA 2003 they just seem to stick their arms out and outmuscle the opponent, which is still an improvement over earlier versions. Changes to the game's AI force gamers to pass the ball and position themselves to play defense rather than depending on straight ahead speed and long balls. There is a bit of an adjustment to be made as far as the controls, but nothing major, don't worry this also turns out to be an improvement.
The sound nearly exceeds the graphics in terms of quality. Crowd noise, singing, reactions, chanting are all much improved and very entertaining. John Motsen gives nice play-by-play, but I enjoyed color commentator Andy Gray from the previous version more than Ally McCoist.
The emphasis this year seems to be on club play. You won't find as many international teams as in FIFA 2002, but supposedly there are teams and features to unlock if you win tournaments. This game is very Eurocentric. English, Italian, German and Spanish leagues are the highlights but there are other leagues like those from Brazil, MLS, Japan, Korea, Austria, Belgium and sort of a best of the "rest of the world" section of teams to choose from.
I was not a soccer fan when I first started playing this game a few years ago. My interest in the sport has grown with the release of each version and I can now say I am a FOOTBALL fan interested in the EPL, La Liga and Serie A. FIFA 2003 is worth the price whether you are a FOOTBALL fan or a video gamer.

This game is a big step from 2002. Not only the graphics, but the gameplay is much more realistic. The are a lot of problems though. For example, the PC version does not let you score on corners. When you press the header button it simply doesn't do anything. Your guy just stands there while the defender heads it out of danger or the goalkeeper punches it out.

Then, configuring the controls is bugged. After playing 2002, it was hard to adjust to 2003's e sprint. When I tried to reconfigure the controls to the 2002 settings, it just didn't work. The controls stayed the same even though in the options it said they were as I changed them.

The switching of players is annoyingly stupid. It selects the person "closest the to opponent", so whenever you have a guy on a breakaway, it keeps selecting guys BEHIND the opponent, when you have a player above him who could easily cur across and tackle. This becomes very annoying on world class, since the comp has some good passes. Sometimes you can get scored on 2-3 times in one game because of that.

Then, finally, they don't have any Russian clubs. Now, I understand that Russia is like 25th in the rankings, but we DO have good clubs that could rival Manchester United and Arsenal, and none of them are in the game. They have some God-forgotten clubs in there, but not Russian ones...

However, this game does have a lot of pros. You can finally do breakaways. In 2002, the only easy special move was the "e"-move - scissors. It had to be timed perfectly to get past anyone and in world class it never worked. In 2003 it offers a lot more breakaway options. So now I score about 30% that way. But still, that is also not without annoying little bugs. When your player is on a breakaway, he finally got past every defender, he sometimes just stops. Sometimes he tries to do the "stop and go" move, but that gives enough time for the defenders to catch up to you and tackle. Very annoying at times.

Formations now matter a lot. You need to pick god counter-formations against your enemy, or on world-class you'll lose miserably. Managing your players matters a lot also. Placing one player in a bad spot can sometimes ruin the whole game.

Some person said that the game cheats. No, it definitely doesn't It just acts as it should in real life. Instead of going right into your opponent, you now have to dribble around him. When you shoot, you know have to tell your guy where in the goal to shoot, so when you are facing the goal and pressing the forward button along with shoot, your player is going to direct it right at the goalie.

Shoulder barging works, too. I've never had a problem with it when I got to the guy. I don't know what people are talking about.

So, all in all it's a very decent game, very addicting. It's probably easier than 2002, but much more realistic. It is possible to beat it on any difficulty with any team, I did so many times before. If you're a soccer fan, this would probably be interesting to you. If not, then most likely the number of annoying bugs in the game will overweigh the fun of the game.

...which makes it pretty sad that every year, EA continues the folly of improving the graphics at the expense of gameplay.

everyone who was lucky enough to play it knows the graphics of FIFA 98 don't measure up to what's around nowadays. yet in the 98 edition, you could take (for example) the cook islands, and starting with the regional qualifiers play them all the way into the world cup, first against similarly pitiful island nations and getting progressively tougher over time. passing was risky, headers flew all over the place, defenses converged with rapidity and precision, goaltenders flew all over the pitch.... in 98, the game was truly breathtaking. and it is still fun - to play as a tiny island nation, or juventus, or crystal palace - all the big euro leagues were in the 98 edition.

the last edition of fifa i paid for was 2001. the graphics were unquestionably better, but most of the international teams were jettisoned, and you didn't play qualifiers anymore. the korean league and some others had been added... but why? as for gameplay, there were NO, NO, NO headers, defense was an absolute joke, the commentary was shrill and lifeless compared to when andy gray ruled the booth...

2003 adds to the eye candy but continues to pile on the lifeless game play. player attributes are inaccurate, the defense and passing still aren't what they were in the '98 game, and there is still not the depth of gameplay the game had five years ago.

i'd love to give EA a better rating for this, but the truth is they are killing this franchise. i hope someone does for footie what high heat did for baseball - make EA take a year off to reconsider what they're doing, and come back with a much better product after an overhaul of the system. fifa 2003 is a tremendous disappointment.

I felt a little apprehensive before buying this game. The last EA soccer title I bought was FIFA 2000 -- easy to pick up and play -- but the last two efforts (FIFA 2001, FIFA 2002) were slaughtered by critics.

Much of what the other Amazon[.com] reviews say is true. Pros:

- The graphics are good and famous players distinct. I run a P3@850MHz with 256DRAM and play was smooth
- Likewise, the stadia are well drawn. You can see the photo journalists and items being thrown on the pitch!
- The sound is much improved from 2000, making for a good crowd atmosphere. The music tracks are easy on the ear
- Thankfully, the ridiculous goal celebrations have been cut back
- Players seem to be more equal in ability
- Selection of team colors. I'm color-blind and appreciate being able to choose strongly contrasting team strips -- which are, coincidentally, accurately rendered
- Gameplay promotes crossing. I think this is a big step forward and it makes for greater realism.

The game isn't without frustrations, however. Cons:

- Gamepad control. MS's Sidewinder P&P "A" button is NOT shoot! Reconfiguring didn't seem to change this
- Defending can be challenging. The toggling function can lead to strikers waltzing past your centre-backs
- Weighting passes/shots isn't as simple as it should be
- Getting the commentary team right is always tricky. Motson is the Madden of soccer coverage but he's uninspiring. Alan Green (also BBC) would have been better. Ally McCoist is a Rangers legend and a funny guy, but somehow EA didn't do him justice
- I like the EA NHL option to create your own player. It's fun being able to play for your team. This isn't an option in FIFA 2003
- You seem to be restricted with changing team options only during h/t. I could be wrong but I tried and failed to change formation mid-game
- The game is definitely Eurocentric. This is something of a big admission from EA who work hard to promote US sport. That European soccer looms large is true but Americans are slowly seeing the light as regards the sport. I hope FIFA 2003 doesn't reverse this trend.

Overall, I would recommend this game if you are a soccer fan. As far I can tell, you really don't have a huge amount of choice for soccer games right now. EA dominate and their claim that they are the, "#1 selling soccer franchise", is probably correct. Gone are the days of [PC] Sensible World of Soccer -- awful graphics but truly, amazingly addictive gaming!

Therefore, it comes down to your expectations of how a game should look and feel. I believe FIFA 2003 is a good attempt at combining attractive graphics with thoughtful gameplay. And it is an improvement from FIFA 2000.

ok, this is a much better simulation of soccer play than fifa 2002. the ai has improved tremendously allowing for a very realistic game play away from the 'arcade' theme. the players run, turn, pass, shoot realistically. the graphics is also much better than in the previous version showing accurate face detail (you can actually recognize who the player is), accurate net motion when the ball falls into the net, less dramatic (and less embarassing) celebrations after a goal is scored, very convincing player movement animations. other things: you can't pass 'through' an opposing player anymore, you can't do magical 180 degree turns/passes, players lack the magical 'super-player' property of previous fifa games.

this game is not perfect however (i give 5 stars as a relative rating to what is out there). i found a few things annoying, like: you have no power control when passing the ball, you can't curve the ball left/right like you used to in fifa2002 you can only direct it in the general direction of the net (left/right), no control of replays, no control of weather/time of game, team strategy is not modifiable during a game, team strategy is chosen from a smaller palette of hard-coded player positions.

initially when i started playing the game i was frustrated with how the ai worked because the fifa2002 game play has been imprinted in my mind. then i realized, hey this is how the game is supposed to be played and had to re-educate myself in playing this game.

all in all, it's a great game for people who enjoy the play of soccer and don't mind a few inconveniences. i would give fifa2002 3 stars now.

playing time : about 10 hours
when the game is adjusted to the slow setting ,the "tele" camera angle and the user figures out which speed and resolution is appropriate without slowing down game play one realizes that this is a realistic and fun football gaming experience.
I turned on an actual footy game on TV today and tried to compare reaction times and gameplay with the software and it was very close.
passing is a pleasure... the ball feels alive, light ,round and not attatched to the foot; there are some weak points but folks this is a video game (plus a patch will soon come out)-
the sound is intense as the crowd is as reactive as any sporting game on the market, graphics are top notch
the game excels in the club championship season as each team (18 in total) has its own stadium and chants (of course there is all the other leagues as well)
one can download a "creation center"(from EA directly) and construct players, leagues and seasons from scratch
Most proffesional game reviewers are rating this game between 8 and 9 (out of ten): this is a must buy for any soccer fan:
ronaldo is not on the national team because of political reasons(thats what EA said) just download the creation center and put him there.
how annoying is that guy who rated the wrong game...
be well

This game seems awesome at first, especially after fifa 2002. Great graphics, more teams, more choices, club championship, lotsa differen cups to play, etc. But then you start noticing things you don't quite like.

I played professional in 2002 and struggled. Probably because I rarely tried to crosses. But nevertheless, a win in professional was very hard for me. In fifa 2003, which is totally different in gameplay, it took me a month of playing (and I was in school - didn't really have time to play much) to get to world class. And that was without using crosses. But about them later.

You start to notice a lot of inconviniences that at first you try not to notice but then start freaking out when it costs you a game and 16 minutes gone for nothing. Example? Sure.
You can't use headers unless challenged by a computer player on the PC. It seems allright but once in a while it happens that after a lob the comp doesn't go for the header, instead he just waits until your player chests it, and then tackles the player as soon as the ball hits the ground. Very frustrating when you were on a attack.

Another great bug is the player selection tool. When a comp is on a breakaway, forget it, there is no way to get him. Because the stupid game selects players BEHIND the opponent. So if you want to tackle him, you gotta do it from behind. The only chance you stand against a breakaway is trying to get the ball in midfield all the time. Because a breakaway in midfield (happens a lot actually) still can be intercepted.

Direction of passes is really weird. When all of your players are in proper position, everything's ok, but when your players are, say, running into position after a free kick and you gotta get the ball out of the box before a swarm of 5 opponent players gets you, you got a problem. For some reason, when not everyone is in their spot, a pass directed straight forward becomes a pass downwards, a pass downwards becomes at different times becomes a pass backwards, forward, up, down, ANYWHERE.
You can argue that you can use a through ball, but it takes too long and you get tackled before that happens.

I've been playing this for about 5 months. First 3 months seemed lotsa fun. I still lost a lot on world class, still was playing cups. But the comp is not challenging anymore. The computer does the same stuff all over again so now I'm able to defeat Real Madrid with my made team (all 30s and 20s in overall skill) 6-1.

The only pleasure in the game are crosses. Crosses are automated, although you have to press down which way to hit the ball to score. There are so many different ways to cross and crossing requires such perfection in world class, that it is very satisfying when you finally score on a cross. But at any rate, this is a game you play for a while and then throw away.

I would recommend this game to anyone... but I have to say that there's a couple of disappointments i've run into in comparison to previous FIFA Soccer Versions.. in FIFA 2003 I learned that there isn't a Create-A-Player mode in the game which I find disappointing another is gameplay might be too hard for beginners although I'm trying not to be negative this is an awesome game certaintly one of EA Sports best. just those two things disappoint me for some reason but I won't be returning it I'll defenitly enjoy this awesome title !