Customer Reviews

Madden NFL 2003

5 star:		(93)
4 star:		(48)
3 star:		(20)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

...

I do own both these game and have played them extensively and let me put down what I think I like about both games so that it could help you decide which one to buy. Personally, I would recommend buying both :

First let me start off my saying both are excellent games but both are truly 2 different games. For those of you who are use to madden, dont think you can jump right in and play nfl2k3, and vice versa, both play completely different.

Madden2003:
-----------
This game is more for the casual football player. Madden is very polished and has options galore. If your into stat tracking, Madden is the game for you then. This game is very deep in all areas which will appeal to many people. It is truly the game for the person who just wants to pick up and play and not really have to think football. It is more of a family game in some aspects because of it's simplicty.
Plus':
-----
Graphics : Very good graphics, player models are done uniquely and stadiums are dead on perfect in this game. Also nice touches to the field textures and postplay animations. The game is very polished graphically, it really looks like a masterpiece.

Gameplay : very easy to pick up gameplay. Momentum based physics adds a lot to this game where it keeps the game realistic in terms of how players get hit and how they respond to tackles. This is truly more of an offensive minded game and that equates to more fun for some. Stat tracking is the best bar none in madden and the options can't be matched in any other game.

Sound : The football sounds and extra sounds are done very well in this game. Al Micheals and John Madden give the game a professional feel when annoucing althougth sometimes they get reptitive.

Minus'
-----
The only drawback in this game would be that the game is more cpu based than user based. So you can do everything right but if the cpu decides that it wants to complete a pass this down, well , it'll complete a pass that down. Sometimes the game may feel a bit too scripted.

---------------------------------------------------------------

NFL2K3
-------
This game is truly for the football minded technician or football minded coach. In this game, you have to know how to read the defensive formations, the kind of offensive plays you run, and the kind of players/teams you control. The best word I can use to describe this game is INTENSITY, because it is truly like you are playing an NFL game. This game is more of a user based game, so everything is up to the player rather than the computer to succeed. It's like putting your football mind into each player you control.

Plus':

GRAPHICS : Excellent player models and stadiums. Uses the ESPN license so it's based off of SPORTSCENTER and ESPN telecast, very profesional tv style look to it. Excellent Animations. Excellent player faces.

GAMEPLAY : More user based than cpu based. You must know football to win at this game. It's more of a head coaches game controlling the players which adds intensity and sense of professionalism to it. Passing and running the ball must be done correctly or you will eat turf. Defense is incredibly protrayed in this game where user can control any aspect of the defender. Gameplay wise this is more of a Defensive minded game.

Sounds : Top Notch second to none. The annoucers in this series have always been excellent and you really like to listen to them. Football sounds are done well too and crowd variance is teriffic.
Minus':
Only drawback for some could be that the learning curve for this game is very high. Don't expect to get this game and figure it out in a few minutes. You can't just mash buttons together and expect to win. It is truly for the football fanatic.

---------------------------------------------------------------

Well I hope this helps. Again, I would recommend buying both games since they play so different. I would compare these to games to say buying either a BMW or a MERCEDES. Both are great cars but have their own unqiue qualities to them that make them great rides. Enjoy!

Being a die-hard Madden series gamer, I must put in my two cents, and hopefully get this game into the hands of one more Madden fan.
I have played Madden since the early days of its creation. To this day, I haven't found a better simulation of the NFL and its players. You see, if you are truly an NFL fan, then Madden 2003 is the game for you without a doubt. Simulation. That point can't be stressed enough. Most people argue that the game has nothing "new" or it hasn't changed the style of the game. However they couldn't be more wrong. That's why the game is so great, they know how to do what they do, and they do it the best. Madden doesn't have to add new things each year, they simply improve on last year's edition. Being a true Madden and NFL fan, I enjoy more than anything improvements on small details. This is what I can't wait for in this newest edition...
*Mini-camp to see who really deserves to start and who should be cut.
*More options when creating a team; more colors, improved originality in designs, an extensive gallery of logos.
*Online play

*An even better system for passing...more accurate lobs/bullets.
*An engine that runs a little faster adjusting it more towards reality...last years was a little slow with player reactions/movements.

You simply cannot re-invent football, it is what it is. You can only improve how close to real it is each year. There is a reason this happens to be a number-one seller year after year. Give it a shot, you just may find it addicting. Have fun!

What's not to like about Madden? Well I feel that there are still flaws in the gameplay that have been around for the last 2 years that haven't been fixed.
1) Fieldgoals and punts by computer. The computer is money all the time. 58 field goal in a blizzard with a 15 mph cross wind? No problem. The football doesn't just creep over the bar either , it clears by 20 yards! I swear the computer could hit a 70 yarder. This is unrealistic.
2) Blocking punts or field goals. This is impossible. I have never seen this on PS2 and I play alot! Given that this is quite a regular occurence in the real game and was possible on Sega genesis version of Madden in the early 1990s this is rather strange.
3) Hard too run between tackles. Good yardage in this area is still tough going. I can't remember the last time I ran over a linebacker and busted a big gain down the middle. You always seem to get gummed up behing your offensive line.
4) Have you ever seen a defensive lineman engage his opposite number and then immediatly fall backwards on the ground with his legs and arms in the air like a dead ant? This happens frequently, especially on pass protection. Often 3/4 of my defensive line are on the ground a second or 2 after the snap!! You would think they were 150 weaklings.
5)Wide receivers still not able to get good separation from dbs. Often u will connect on a long pass as your man gets behind db, only to be tackled after a step or 2. There is not enough YAC.
If they could fix these problems I would have given it 5 stars. However the game has been improved in many areas , and overall is more realisitic. Still worth it.

Madden 2003 has hit the stores and I have to say that this year Madden will be the cream of the crop. I have played '03 and I am impressed by the great improvements in the AI and computer teams. Never again will I have a 16-0 season in the franchise more.

The biggest and best change in this game has to be the addition of the preseason in Franchise mode. I love the fact that you can play your rookie to see who's scouting report was good and who was slightly off. Going along with that when you draft players this year you do not see their ratings, just a scouting report with a projected round and some comments like "This guy will tackle everything in sight!" This is a great improvement as it makes the franchise mode much more difficult and more realistic.

The addition of the mini-camp mode is fun and will help you fine-tune some skills that are hard to practice in game mode or in the practice mode. I also think that the addition of Al Michaels is great!

The one thing that I could have done without is the half-time cheerleader show. There is nothing more boring than computer generated cheerleaders doing the same dance each half time!

All in all another great game from EA Sports!! Don't miss this one, as there are enough new changes to keep anyone interested until Madden 2004 comes out!

The Madden series gets better every year and this edition is the best ever

GRAPHICS - amazing. Players look exactly as they do in real life - their height, weight, face, even equipment accessories such as gloves and arm bands

SOUND - satisfactory. John Madden & Al Michaels are much better than the old Madden & Summeral tandem. Plus the commentary is more timely now. For example, instead of the default "great touchdown" they will say something situationally relevant like "that's his second touchdown today"

GAMEPLAY - perfect. The game runs slow enough that you can actually read blocks, watch the defensive coverage develop, etc. Its amazing to run the ball and actually follow a pulling guard, versus other games where you just look for daylight

OVERALL - amazing game. Not only do you get the typical game mode, but you also get mini-camp mode and 2-minute drill which are brief and highly addictive. And best of all - ONLINE PLAY! That's right, you can challenge anyone in the world to a game of Madden at anytime

Madden 2003 is a good game but has some important features one should be aware about before purchasing.
1) Coaching Challenges: sometime they work, sometimes they don't. Sometimes they let rulings stand that shouldn't and overturn good calls. However, challenges make this game more exciting than it used to be prior to this release.

2) The game is realistic so you're not going to get blocked kicks, blocked punts, interceptions, and sacks as much as you might have wanted to. I want it to be realistic, but it not fun when your corner back goes right in front of the thrown ball 5 times a game and doesn't get an interception. Getting a sack is hard at least against any good team. You can be swim moving, ripping, spinning, and pushing with your defensive end and hardly ever get pressure on the QB because of poor coverage in the secondary.

3) No laterals: This really annoying me especially at the end of games.

4) Create-a-playbook is great except the only plays that I really wanted to make for tricks plays, something you can't do with it. Next year it probably will be better because this was its first year.

5) Franchise mode is great except it gets old after a couple of seasons.

6) Football 101: This is one of my favorite modes of the game. In it, John Madden tells you about the plays and how they were designed to work. This helped my understanding of the game tremendously. I only wish their were more plays you could do.

7) As with all sports games, players that got good during the season (Tommy Maddox, Michael Vick, Preist Holmes, etc.) aren't that good in this game. Players like Kordell Stewart, Kurt Warner, etc. are really good in the game even though they've had horrible seasons.

8) Injuries: It seems like every time you run your QB, even Vick, he gets injured. Be prepared for 4-5 injuries a game. Most are minor ones but are annoying anyhow.

9) The commentary: Everyone is posting about how good the commentary is with Al Michaels and MAdden together. It is horrible beyond belief. After ten or fifteen plays you start hearing the same stuff over again. None of it is insightful or important, just scripted phrases.

If you're deciding which football game to buy, I would recommend NCAA football 2003 because of the ability to use the option, the ability to run the QB without getting injured every play, laterals, more tricks plays, and EXTREMELY better commentary.

If you wanna play a football game online,don't play this cause' its not online anymore.It was only online for one year.That is a rip-off,dontcha think?Well,Madden 2004 is online...For now...But in August 2004,that too will be offline.So if you want a online football game that won't last online for only a year,check out NFL 2K3 or ESPN NFL Football.

Well I finally had a chance to have some good playtime with Madden 2003. The thing I immediatly noticed once I got into my game is that the stadiums are much improved in this years game. The crowd stands up during the intros and during dramatic times during the game- Everything feels more alive on the whole. The player introductions are awesome...You just gotta see them. (The home team's defense will get in a little huddle and the team leader will pump them up.) And thankfully the load imes have been reduced alot thanks to it being on DVD rather than CD as it has in the past, so thats good news.

Visually, the player models this year seem even skinnier than last year. In fact, from what I've seen so far I think I like the "thicker" player models from 2002 better. However, you'll notice right off the bat that some of the player faces look fantastic. McNabb, for instance, looks eerily similar to his real life counterpart but some are also dull. Presentation is cool too. The same color schemes are their but everything looks neat and there's a screen on the front. Like a small screen that game clips which looks really cool and better than a guy doing animations to nothing. And as I mentioned earlier, there's the pre-game which looks really cool. Overall there's just better screens here and there, the crowd looks great and seeing Urlacher pumped up and jumping in a circle as the whole team surrounds him and gets pumped is fun to see.

Gameplay-wise, the game is a notch slower than NCAA Football 2003. The momentum of running I liked a lot more. The fall on your back is gone I think and I saw A-train really working for yards. Like when I got gang tackled a real smooth animation of him lunging forward came up. Gang tackles work great too and make it so if you got 2 guys there you won't have one tackle and one slide off and the runner breaks the one guy and escapes 2 tackles when he really should be down. Also, fumbles can be caused by the ground and you can challenge that and you'll see how it gets knocked out of their hands. Then there's the special moves. Power running is back. You have momentum you could run through a smaller guy and if you have some space between you and a tackler beside you, you can throw out a stiff arm and he'll crumble.

The passing game feels like last years except, now, ... it isnt exactly the same. I played a lot of 2002 and know the feel exactly and everything seems smoother now with 2003. Also, in Madden 2002, you could drop back 10 yards and find the open reciever. 2003 really rewards you for stepping up in the pocket and making the accurate throw. Dropping back too far causes you to float the ball too much to your reciever, giving the DB time to step up and swat it down, or pick it off. You have to be start about passing. If you step up in the pocket and make a well timed throw, you'll be a lot more successful, and won't be turning the ball over nearly as much. These DBs are smart...Really smart. In order for your WR to break free you're going to have to run fake, pump fake, and mix up your passes. Not only that, but this year's game makes you control your passes a lot more. If you press too far forward on the analoge stick, you'll lead your reciever way too much and the ball will be overthrown by 5 yards.

You catch and get hit it doesnt feel clunky and akward to where your receiver slows like that. And when you miss a catch you can't have the ball fly up and connect back to your hands, you get hit hard and go down. CB's also change it in the closing speed isnt crazy like last time and they'll get burned sometimes and you got the guy open. Like my guy tried to block the WR but he got by it and was open and caught a TD pass while staying in bounds. Really seems they try to stay in bounds more too. I also heard screens are a big part of the game now and work well tho I havent tried them yet. Meanwhile I have seen guys go out, block and then run a route. Something new and definetly welcome. Right away I noticed hom much better it is controling lb's. Urlacher, Colvin and Holdman are real fun to control too. But anyway, hit R1 and they face the qb and run diagnol always facing that way, worked great. As I eluded to earlier, was cb's. Again, the R1 helped a lot. There was a short pass by Mcnabb into coverage and I picked up a CB and hit R1 to face forward. Then with total control I figured where it was and intercepted it. I also got myself picked off twice. It just felt perfect. They dont always get the pick but most of the time they'll make you pay if you throw it by a CB and you can do the same. Overall, the A.I is improved from last year's version and quite a bit more options.

Options seems great- There's a ton of classic uniforms (they have the powder blue chargers uni! Whoo!). The Create-A-Play rocks!!!

I created my custom "Diamond" formation that has 4 wide receivers positioned like this

----X--------------OO0OOT
----------------------Q
X------X

----X

With a TE on the right side of the o-line. (Just to test it out, I tried putting him on the left side, but alas, the cpu informed that it was an illegal formation ) The ability to "draw" your own WR routes is really cool. The possibilities of this formation are endless.

Also, I checked out the Football 101 tutorial. Wow- EA did a great job with this. I'm a huge football fan and a Madden veteran, but this mode does a great job of explaining the different formations and situations that you will face. Madden narrates the demo shown of the play you pick, laying out how it should be run.

The mini games are also fun. An hour or so flew by with me just trying to best my previous score (personal favorite= DB swat). I went in a little skeptical about the fun factor of this mode, but came out pleasantly surprised. I simmed a season in Franchise mode and had the Eagles vs. Steelers in the Super Bowl. Needless to say, Kordell must have been rocked on several occasions as the Eagles won 19-6. The rookie scouting was surprising as well, and rookie ratings are much more realistic. The best player in the draft was about a 75 (w/ most players averaging a 60-70). Doesn't sound like much? Factor in pre-season progression and end-of-year progression and that same player could be about a 80-85 for the start of the second year. Just like NCAA 2003, defense is much more fun to play. Pressing R1 on defense will have your defender turn to face the line of scrimmage, so moments where your DB/LB had a ball hit him in the back of the head have been reduced greatly.

Sound. Big Al might not be perfect, but he's at least alot more enthusiastic than Pat Summerall ever was. The commentary is pretty good. It's just nice not to hear Summerall. It isnt as good as 2k's but it's decent now. The crowd like said earlier looks lively now and there's a authentic nfl atmosphere. You really have to hear it.

As for online, well I bought the PS 2 version of Madden 2003 since it is the only version of Madden that's online this year and playing online is a blast. You can also update your rosters online to cover recent trades or rookies. This game is just fantastic all around. And I didn't even really get into the deep franchise mode yet. I can see why some people would think it's the same game as last year just from reading previews, but once you sink your teeth into it, you see the little details that make the game what it is- an incredible football simulation and literally the best and deepest version of Madden yet.

EA Sports really had it together with Madden 2002. The only
problem I saw was you could not run between the tackles.
With Madden 2003, it doesnt matter what defensive coverage
your're in, your opponent can still complete Deep passes,
underneath passes with two and three defenders on them. This is
ridiculous. In Madden 2002 your opponent had to know his/her playbook and they also had to know the defensive coverages in order to win games. Go back to the defensive oriented style and
you remain #1. I.E.- NEW ENGLAND VS ST. LOUIS (Defense wins).

With the exception of an utterly confusing combine system, the point of which I still havent figured out, this version is hands down the best ever.

The Good:

1) They implemented a challenge system, that unlike last years braindead version is INTELLIGENT and at times dramatic. The officials will miss calls from time to time that can swing a game and its up to the player to maintain a sufficient level of awareness to pick it up and throw the red flag.

2)Admittedly I thought they still hadnt fixed the problem of impossible to cover computer recievers after playing through a frustrating season, but I realized that you have to draft or sign wisely and let the computer control pass defense for you until after the ball is caught, picked off or dropped. If you let your DB's play they make quick cuts, knock down balls, and jump routes for picks on a realistically consistent basis.

The bad:

1)Player progression is solely based on production so if you run four wide alot or want to have a balanced run/pass attack your probably not going to build alot of superstars over time. You have to focus your offense on a few players or they wont get the numbers every year and their stats will stay mediocre. Worse yet, if a player doesnt have superstar production his stats will decline even in his second and third years. If you draft a player and he sits behind an established starter for the whole year you may as well cut him because he'll get -5's across the board during the offseason player progression.

2)Just like the last two years DT's and DE's will probably get between 5-10 tackles a year which is ridiculous. My entire defensive backfield has 50+ tackles a piece but Michael Strahan has 4. Same with pancakes (Computer controlled lineman has 70, your best guy has 1).

Other than that stuff the game is very balanced and realistic.