Customer Reviews

NFL Fever 2003

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(21)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

With all the high quality football games on the market, there's really only one final determining factor for your purchase: personal preference. If you're a Madden fan, you'll probably buy Madden. Same with the 2K series or Blitz or whatever else floats your boat. I happen to be a Fever fan, so when Fever 2003 came out, it didn't take me long to decide which one I was going to buy.

For those of you in the "undecided" bracket, let me plead the case. Fever is a great game. To me, it is somewhere in the middle of 2k3's great graphics and Maddens realistic play. I think it's the most well rounded of the football games. There are lots of plays, and they're easy to understand. The Dynasty mode is by far the best in any game, in my opinion, and the play editor is easy to use. The big reason for X-box owners to get Fever is that it will be a marquee game on the new X-Box Live platform.

For those of you who've already played 2002, there are only a few subtle changes to 2003. Probably only die-hard fans will notice anything past the roster changes. The graphics are only slightly improved over 2002, and it looks like the exact same engine. I guess they figured if it aint broke, don't fix it. The tackles and runs are far more animated than in 2002 which showed the same tackles over and over. While the engine is pretty much the same, the shading and lighting has improved, and the weather features look a little more realistic, especially field damage.

Once you get past the superficial aspects of the game, you can tell there have been other needed changes.

1. Defense: the secondary is much more of a threat than in 2002. The computer still passes 99% of the time (unfortunately) and instead of confronting the key issue and making the comp stay on the ground more, the secondary is better at blocking passes and breaking up plays. The A.I. is much imroved. If you throw all the time like the comp does, the secondary will adapt and become more aggressive. If you try to run every play, the same thing will occur. It becomes more obvious when playing the computer, but it's also a major factor when playing against friends.

2. Officiating. Anyone who played 2002 knows there were only about 2 calls the refs ever gave unless you accidentally encroached or made a false start on your own. One was holding, the other was pass interference. The officiating seems a lot tighter in 2003, and there's a lot mroe going on with the A.I controlled characters. I've already heard one too many "holding" calls, but I guess you can't eliminate it completely.

3. Dynasty mode. Not much has changed here, but one major difference is the way players improve. First, they improve far more slowly and less dramatic than in 2002. Having a stellar game in the box score does not guarantee improvement. In fact, I'm not sure what does. On them same side of that coin, it's also difficult to get worse. One cool feature is, after every game, they show you exactly who did or didn't improve. It saves you the trouble of having to go to management after every game.

4. Gameplay: Overall, the teams are a lot more balanced than in 2002. I think they've obviously tried to represent the salary caps this way. There are dominant teams, but they're not as dominanat as in 2002 where the margins were often huge. Teams and players now average somewhere in the 80's, and there are a lot fewer players with overall ratigns higher than 90. Far fewer than last year. I think they're trying to avoid players with unrealistic ratings that can achieve the superhuman (Cory Dillan on 2002 for example). This is probably the most dramatic change, and the one that is bound to have a big impact on people used to dominating on 2002. I used to play on the veteran or all-pro setting, but I'm getting my a$$ waxed at anything higher than novice right now.

Bottom line: if you liked Fever before, you'll still like it. They've done a lot to make the game more realisitc, without becoming tediously realistic. If you didn't like Fever, you probably still won't. Stick with what you like and stop hating. To each their own.

When I purchased NFL Fever 2003, it was the first Microsoft-designed football game I had ever bought. I had formerly used Madden and NCAA games. This game is not exactly what I'd call a "great" game, but it does have some distinguishing qualities as well as disadvantages, and upsets. The graphics are excellent, the surrounding stadium and field look photographed, and the sidelines look as though you were in a real stadium, standing there. However, the player's faces are very detailed, but none of them are choreographed to look like the real players! There are about 5 or 6 different faces, and they're all used over and over again. For instance, Jerry Rice looks exactly like Charles Woodson! The quater-backs on opposite teams may have the same face! The best hing about this game, is the replay. You can see all of the action over and over, even in slow motion! I like how you can move the camera all around the field, seeing where everyone was, etc. The camera movements look like something out of the Matrix or something.

Now we come to that inevitable subject of voice acting. There are about 10 phrases that the announcers use over and over and over again. If a play is from a rush to a 50-yard catch, you might hear " What a nice play", or if you kick the ball say 7 times during your game, 5 out of the 7 times you'll hear either "He got all on that one" or "Not a good kick at all". It gets annoying that you've been playing for 45 minutes, and you've heard two people say the same thing 50 times! Well, enough with that. To the gameplay we go!

The controls are fairly simple, a button to pass, select, right thumbstick to move, left to look around. A button for audibles, and of course, the selection tables. I will give Microsoft this. The plays are HUGE! I am talking all of the plays known to the NFL! There are plays for every situation, from about 30 different blitzes, to nearly 100 passes, to about 20 or so rushes, to nearly 100 different defensive plays! I will say that this game has the most expansive playbook I have ever seen in a game. I know Madden has a lot, but this at least doubles it. So far, I give the game 3 stars, but now we must move onto levels, and challenges.

The levels are fairly simple to understand, you can practice, play a single game agsinst the console, or a friend, or choose to run a dynasty! I like how you can make up, and choose dream players. My favorite aspect of the play, is the classic challenge. In this part, you get to face 7 of the all-time best teams in the league, dating back to the 60's and 70's. You get one game, and for each team you beat, they are available for use in the single game. I like how they chose the teams, for they are some of the greatest teams, but I don't sgree with all of the choices. I don't want to give away what teams you get to play, but they are challenging.

So, leave you now, and you can probably find out through my review why I gave it 4 stars. The gameplay is good, graphics, yes and no; BUT THIS IS A RENTER FIRST! If you want a new football game, try this one out. It delivers a solid challenge, and some unique XBOX traits. BUT, IF YOU DO WANT A SURE-FIRE GAME, GET MADDEN 2003!

First off, I'm a huge EA Sports Fan, and have been playing Madden since way back in the day. I just bought my X-Box, and wanted the best football game to start things off. Trust me, I don't buy with haste, and these past few weeks, I've been collecting material on all three of the biggie football titles on X-Box (Fever, Madden, NFL2K), and trying to decide...

Well, I just played my first full game, of Fever 2003, and I really had nothing to complain about. The graphics are very crisp, and clear, and there is a very good amount of detail, although the players faces do tend to be generic looking.

The sound (I have surround dolby 5.1) was realistic to the sport, and it was fun to hear slightly muted sounds of the opposing team yelling out taunts to you. The announcers worked well, and I was pleased with the commentary, although at some points it does get repetative.

The gameplay, which is the biggie, worked well. There was good responce from the controller, and the timing is right on. If you have played Fever 2002, it is very similar, with a few minor upgrades...all in all, It's a fun time, and if you're not into the very technical Madden, this is a fun game to own.

At this time, Madden 2003 is yet to be released...I'm going to rent it, and if it's better, you better believe I'm returning Fever for it...on a side note, NCAA 2003 is a fab football game too, if you dig the college scene.

Generally speaking, I think it's unfair to write a review, and especially a critical one, for a game in which a primary attraction--online play in this case--isn't yet available. Nevertheless, after renting this game and trying it out, I'm confident I wouldn't be interested in its online play because the fundamentals of the game leave so much to be desired.

Last year, when NFL Fever 2002 came out, I was pretty impressed with its quality, particularly since it was likely built from the ground up (as opposed to Madden or NFL 2Kx, where they could build off what they had from the previous season). The game was generally fun to play, and I thought the graphics and especially the play motion (i.e., the general motion and movement of the players on the field, both before and after the snap) were terrific.

The game had some serious shortcomings, though. Chief among these was the extreme ease with which opposing teams could pass on you, even at the Rookie level. Throughout football video game history (well, I admit I don't know a whole lot about the days of Ten Yard Fight and before that), the inability to defend against the pass has been the bane of many otherwise good and great games. In NFL Fever 2002, this was abundantly the case. I would play ten minute quarters on Rookie and get passed on to the tune of 800 yards by Chris Weinke. It marred my enjoyment of the game to no end.

Enter NFL Fever 2003. I thought for sure this game would kick tail, given how relatively good NFL Fever 2002 had been in its inaugural year. I thought for sure that Microsoft would be anxious to get feedback from customers (maybe by even paying attention to these same Amazon reviews!) and fix a lot that was wrong with their very promising start.

Imagine my annoyance, then, when I played this game and realized that virtually nothing has changed in the fundamental play action of the game. The AI opponent can still pass on you at will, and it even seemed like it had even gotten slightly better than last year's release. The perspectives or instant replays didn't seem different at all. The announcers were still saying pretty much the same things. I don't think it had improved one bit! On the game box, it said something like, "improved AI". Well, if by that they mean that the AI can pass on you even more easily than before, then I might agree with that. But in no aspect of the play action did the game seem to be improved. In fact, the game seemed worse than last year's because of the expectations Microsoft had built up in my mind from their performance of last year.

So what did Microsoft spend their time doing? I can only guess that they spent a heck of a lot of time on the online play module. I'm sure it's very comprehensive, with the ability to set up an entire league and draft players and play with people on a weekly schedule on the internet. In those respects, I'm sure it's the game to beat. But where's the fun if the underlying game play isn't that great?

Compare this game to my experience with NFL 2K3. I reluctantly rented this game, because I wasn't overly impressed by its predecessor. Now, I'm glad I did, because it is outstanding in virtually all regards. Whereas Microsoft didn't seem to do jack in the way of improving its game play (rather confident on its part, since the game was only introduced last year), Sega Sports did a lot to beef up its game, including redesign of the graphics to make them more colorful and engaging, better and more varied announcing, more realistic play motion (quickly closing the gap with NFL Fever), more realism with respect to the balance between running and passing, and more. Now, they really don't have as robust an online gaming module as I would have liked (in fact, it simply seems as if you can play a single game online against one person), but I don't care so much because it's so darn fun to play. I don't own and haven't played Madden 2003, but if it's anything like its sister college game, NCAA 2003, it too will be a lot of fun to play. The only game that really, really failed to improve over last year was NFL Fever 2003. And it's a shame because they obviously invested a lot in the game prior to last year's release, laying the groundwork for a great football franchise. Hopefully we'll see better things from Microsoft in 2003, when (if?) NFL Fever 2004 comes out. Until then, don't waste your money on this game, and instead go with NFL 2K3, which really is a tremendous NFL game.

Well, I was intrigued to see if Microsoft could complete another quality football game from scratch for 2003. After playing the game at my friends house for the first time, I decided two things. One, it is identical in gameplay/graphics to Fever 2003. Two, Kevin Calabro should stick to Seattle Sonic basketball commentating. After getting NFL Fever 2002 for christmas last year, I decided that it was way better than Madden for many reasons. The main reason was my ignorance. I hadnt even played Madden and thought it was terrible. Since that time, I have changed my mind. Both Madden and NCAA 2003 (another EA title) are dominant over the Fever series (or duo rather). EA sports is the clear dominant contendor in the XBOX football competition and I plan on buying Madden 2003 as well as NCAA 2003 now that I know how much better they are in terms of graphics, gameplay and commentating (Lee Corso is hilarious on NCAA). Overall, if you liked Fever 2002, save your money and keep playing it. If you didn't, don't expect this one to have anything the '02 version didn't. Stick to EA Sports if you're into realism. Microsoft knows how to create very arcade like, unrealistic games, which caters to a certain crowd, yet realism is my department, so I have to go with EA.

Finally a game that has the nice graphics WITH the realistic game speed. PLaying at the rookie level makes it easy, but if you just turn it up to Veteran level, then the computer opponents are significantly tougher. This game will also be great for online playing when Xbox Live goes live in November. Now I can't wait to see how Madden 2003 and Sega NFL 2K3 has responded to the challenge from NFL Fever 2003. Football on Xbox has never been this good, and I hope Madden and 2K3 also has taken advantage of Xbox's capabilities.

I bought NFL Fever 2003 for my Xbox because I wanted to be able to play it on Xbox Live, the new internet gaming service. I had played it a few times with my friends and I found it quite fun, so I got it. After playing it more and more, I have found certain flaws in the gameplay. These include interceptions and dropped passes when it seems impossible or an easy catch, certain plays that work every single time no matter what. I am not someone that is very interested in the stats and building a team from scratch. I think this game would be good for people like that, because of the Dynasty mode, where one can trade players, make their own plays and even make their own players. For someone not looking for a perfect or totally realistic football game, Nfl Fever is a great choice. Also, for online gamers, looking for a football game, this is one many people have and is good online. I would not reccomend it to anyone that gets frustrated easily when things happen that should not happen, or it seems like the computer always gets the call, or the pass caught or whatever it may be. Overall a fun game, but not perfect.

the only real difference in NFL Fever 2003 is the updated lineups, the addition of the Houston Texans, and the additions of new music and towels on the players, but other than that, not much else changed.

game play is still good, and Fever is the kind of game you should get if you want to just have some fun. if you want more serious NFL play, then go after Madden.

Fever is todays Tecmo Bowl. simple and easy to play. still a good game. can't wait for Fever 2004.

I hesitated to buy this game due to some poor reviews that I'd read online. In fact, I bought Madden and NFL 2K3, in that order, before finally buying NFL Fever at the great price. After playing for about an hour and getting used to pressing the NFL Fever specific buttons, I've determined that this is the most realistic football game that you're going to get. NFL Fever '02 was my favorite simply because of the way that they programmed the running game. You can't beat it. Madden's running game doesn't even really exist even though they've sped it up a tad - you CAN NOT get a running back around end without getting stuffed; NFL 2K3 is close but closer to Madden than it is to Fever. The graphics in Fever are unbeatable although 2K3 comes close. As a graphic artist by trade, this element is VERY important to me. While subjective, Fever still gets the nod in this category as well. Sure, there are small things that I would change but for a total package, buying Fever was a the best of the three. Final rating (in order): NFL Fever '03, NFL 2K3 and finally (I never thought I'd feel this way) Madden '03.

When you decide to plunk down your money on a football game for the XBox, give this one serious consideration. I have read some of the criticisms of this game and I will address that, but the bottom line is that this is an incredibly fun game that looks flat out amazing. Competing with "the franchise" (as I like to call Madden) is tough in that Madden has had more than a decade to evolve. Thus, little nuances like gang tackles and a wide variety of tackling graphics are missing from NFL Fever 2003. However, Madden is no where close when it comes to the look of the players and the overall beauty of the game. More over, NFL Fever 2003 has as extensive a dynasty option as I have seen. You can build a huge play book of your own plays. You have drafts, free agent negotiations, salary cap and roster management issues, etc. And the online gaming option is very cool as well. The other criticism I hear is in regard to the defense. It is true that you will get scored on in this game, if you use the stock defensive plays. But what game in the history of arcade football has had a strong defense??? This is always a problem for games, and part of that is the fun factor. It is no fun playing a 9 to 3 field goal fest. I personally want to throw the deep ball or bust through a stack of defenders for a big run. That is fun. This is a great game. Give it a shot.