Amazon.com: FIFA Soccer 2003: PC: Video Games

35 Reviews

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

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3.3 out of 5 stars (35 customer reviews)

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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Train Keeps going, October 25, 2002

By	"king_paulv" (Miami, Florida USA) - See all my reviews

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!.

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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Better than FIFA 2002, but..., January 25, 2003

By	Angela M. Healey "AngelaMHealey" (Hull) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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

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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An absolute classic!!!, November 11, 2002

By	Lucian J. Junto "lucianojj" (Chicagoland, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.