Customer Reviews

Madden NFL 2003

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

im so conflicted over how to rate this game. first off, madden 2003 is still an awesome and fun game to play. its more exciting than ever. graphics are top notch. instant replays will have u in awe! more options, stats, ratings, and possibilities that will have your mind spinning! oh, the audio is the bomb. al michaels brings his professionalism and objectiveness to the playbooth. madden doesnt seem so annoying with michaels taking over play-by-play. the gameplay is a bit more jerky. i mean, u can make moves more suddenly and quickly as opposed to last year's more fuild, smooth moves on the field. to me, this is a matter of personal preference, so im fine with either one. BUT, alas, EA did miss some spots. for one, if you dont have a souped-up PC, the in-game graphics will suffer. i have a 500 mhz p3 with 32mb tnt nvidia graphics card. yah my system was the bomb almost 3 years ago when i got it, but compared to today's standards, its ancient. but its MINE. that being said, EA seems like it has optimized madden 2003 for at least a 64mb geforce 3 graphics cards running on like a 1.7 ghz p4. i have to turn OFF a lot of the extra graphics and animations becuz gameplay suffers SO MUCH. oh well. another thing is that madden doesnt mention specific players. like last year he would be like 'rodney harrison is a blah blah blah' but this year he doesnt mention anyone by name. wonder why? oh, and its true, when the computer challenges plays, they ALWAYS WIN. get used to it! other than that, the defense secondary play has improved immensely. running the ball is tough, but not any tougher than it should be. the AI of the computer opponent is really good and adjusts to your play calling. overall, a solid upgrade, BUT madden 2002 was MUCH better as a game when it first came out.

I have played three Madden games on the PC: 2000, 2002, and now this one. The previous two were horrible (as you can read my review of 2000 on this website) in every way except graphics. This game, however, has the intelligence to go along with the glitter.

If you play this game on anything except rookie setting, you will be in for a war, and you will not be guarenteed of winning just because you're the human player. The AI in this game is the best of any football game on the market, and it offers a great way to challenge your playmaking abilities. Throw deep everytime and you'll be rewarded with batted balls and interceptions. No longer can you simply run the same crossing route over and over and score a TD on it everytime. If you call the same play over and over, the AI will take note of this, and it remembers you style as well, so you HAVE to mix your plays up and be somewhat unconventional. And that is what football is all about.

Audio? Oh my goodness it rocks. It even comes with the 11 Audio MP3's on the CD so you can put them on your PC, burn them, or whatever.

Now for the flaws: I believe there were 6 or 7 challenges in the NFL last year that were over-turned on the field (real life). In this game, the computer will use ALL their challenges in a game, 4 of them(usually), and, in the 2 weeks I've played, they've NEVER lost a challenge. They typically are used on fumbles. So if you're playing, and the computer fumbles, and you get it, chances are they will challenge and the refs will over-turn the call on the field. And usually, you really can't tell one way or the other because its too close, and in real life, you need conclusive evidence. In Madden 2003, tie goes to the runner. Another gripe that is very consistant with previous games is the amount of injuries. I know football is rough, and I know people get hurt a lot, but c'mon, every game I play usually 3 people get hurt. Most of the time, they come back later in the game or are just out for that game, but it is still annoying. At least it isn't like the 2000 game where, every time you'd simluate a game, 4-6 players would ALWAYS be injured for at last a month, usually longer. THAT was annoying.

The interface is also cumbersome, and you'll spend some time trying to find what you're looking for, but its all there. And, you can't sort the league leaders stats beyond the first category. This is a bug that should be fixed when they release a patch.

But all that is really minor compared to the gameplay, which is the best ever offered on a PC for football. The easiest difficulty is very very easy (I'm talking 49-7 easy playing on 5 minute quarters easy...), but increases radically thereafter.

Go ahead and buy it. I'm not the biggest football fan and I LOVE it.

The game is full of wonderful graphics. In fact it is very well done. However, the game play needs some definite work. Playing defense is impossible...expect to be scored on every time. The computer never punts, even if you play the worst teams in the league. I am fine with difficult offensive play, but if you punt one time, you lose.

The fact that you can only play exhibition against the computer is also a negative. Play NFL 2K3...it's much more entertaining.

I've been a loyal buyer of Madden NFL games for many years. After the disappointing Madden 2002 where the same color commentary from the 2001 version was reused in 2002 and the computer team will have a "star" Tight End that will always catch a pass on 3rd down (heck the Tight End could end up with more yards than your primary receiver), Madden 2003 has renewed AI and game play that it so much fun and realistic! The graphics are cool and the player animation is a sight to behold (the cheerleaders are a little stiff though). Commentary from Al Michaels and Melissa Starks adds to the "new-ness" of this game.

Easily customizable and the best football sim out there right now! Don't forget the cool MP3 tracks included as well!

The Game looks almost like watching a real game. It imitates very well real NFL situations- Holding penalties, injuries etc.
I have had several problems with the game & have many more complaints. Firstly, Their minimum requirements do not list a Game pad/Controller but it is not possible to call plays using a mouse. After emailing tech support & reporting 3 other game bugs they had no solutions. Actually EA tech support said that Mouse functionality was a "game-play" issue & directed me to a non-EA website FAQ.
Menu/options system they use is deficient & makes it tough to learn the game.
Another thing that is annoying is the Commentary. After just 1 game you have heard the same commentary over & over.
Also- the Update button. Why have an update button if it can't update. I had to manually locate and install Update patch 6.5.
Overall, I think it is probably a great game if you have a hardware configuration to support it, but thats just not the way it has worked out for me so far.

Okay Okay! Its not as close to watching Football Live on ESPN, but its the best thing on your PC. The graphics are amazing. Simply amazing. Im playing Madden 2003 on my 1.6Ghz, 256MB Ram GForce4 64MB Nvidia and im in heaven. The players move smoothly without any graphical glitches. However there was one thing I found absurd, which was that the players can walk right through their team mates.

The sound is beautiful. The crowd is life-like and their continious cheering really motivates you to score some touchdowns. There is also some In-Game music. If you think thats not enough, then pop in some or all of your favourite MP3's and "Play with the beat".

You also have "Mini-Camp" which allows you to have practice drills which is really helpful. In Multi-Player mode, you can host tournaments and make online-clubs, which allows you to sell or buy players from others online. A really swell idea!

Well thats about it. Bottom line, Madden 2003 is the, I repeat The best football experience on your PC!

Madden NFL 2003 is one of the best sports games I've ever played.
In this game, you can work through 30 years of career stats and player progress. you can even draft,contract,sighn free agents,creat your players, creat pay rolls and trade players with tips from your scouting staff. All this is great, but too play a good game of foot ball, you should have each period about 8-10 minutes long. Playing the game like this took me about 2 hours to play just one game.I tried to play a with each piriod at 5 minutes long, and it wasn't much bether. I relize that foot ball is a long game and has it's share of wistle blows, but to play in franchise mode for 2 hours per game is just to long. One last thing, the computer controled players on the opposite team are imposible to play with. Their QB's are way to good, their blockers are imposible to get by, and when one of my players chases after one of the other teams runners, you can't chatch him. This game is a lot of fun, but will take awhile to play.

Well last year Madden 2002 has horrible, just to break the surface. The whole AI was terrible, but now Madden 2003 improves on this problems. First AI is improved, passing game is much better, commentary is still a little dry but it has definitely improved and more great graphics from EA. But the online mode is still terrible. After 6 months you have to pay a [$] fee every month after 6 months is a joke.

Good things are better gameplay though that is very important because you will not see those quick passes late in the game that kills your score on the game. Passing is more balanced with the swatting the ball. Interesting how they now have a challenge mode. Where you can challenge a play if you think the ref make a wrong decision. The refs are very realistic with audio and videos of them, different types of refs for your game. Mini camp is good for pratice.

More improvents boost Maddens game up some stars for me, all around a good game.

This game ROCKS!!!!...VAST improvement over 2002 version in every way. The graphics will BLOW YOU AWAY...the sound...KILLER!! Just BUY it, never played before??? LEARN!!! and you'll be hooked!!!...this game SUCKS EVERY LAST OUNCE OF POWER TO RUN!!!!!!!!! So I have to agree with others posted comments on needing a somewhat newer machine to utilize ALL the game has to offer. At least a P3 800MHZ PC with minumun Geforce 3 video card....or save some cash and buy a XBOX or PS2. Hope this helps!!!

I have played nearly every football game on the market for playstion and playstation 2. This game is the most realistic thus far. The Franchise mode is awesome. You can progress with the same team and add and cut players for over 10 seasons. I think the limit is 15 or 25 or so, something like that. If you liked Madden 2002, you love this game even more. The graphics are better than 2002, and with this game you can through preseason and training camp to sharpen your skills on nearly every aspect of the game (defense, offence, kicking and punting, etc...). This game is great.