nickclubman
Starting XI
Is the FIFA series getting better or worse? Why does EA even bother to try and compete with Pro Evolution Soccer and has the gap between the two games closed? Read on to find out!
GAMEPLAY:
Well, the last two FIFA games were a disaster, displaying arcade like gameplay and silly ball physics, with easy target shooting. I know I’m been a bit harsh here, but all these games had going was the graphics and licensing while games like ISS2 and Pro Evolution Soccer outshined them with no competition at all. Both these games are from Konami.
So, FIFA Football 2003 is expected to be the same rubbish right? Well, not entirely, but I’ll talk about that later. But, to be the same? NO! This game has been totally re-done from scratch, the game engine and even the graphics have been made all over and this is truly a step in the right direction. EA have gotten rid of the ball sticking to the players’ feet (at times) and ‘loopy’ ball physics and have designed a well-made passing game. No longer can a player just run all the way through the defence using a speedy player, or a particular skill move nope, it’s not all about pace now my friends, it’s all about skill, timing and knowing your players attributes. It’s all about football.
The dribbling now forces the player not to sprint everywhere otherwise they’ll loose control of the ball and get tackled. Players now kick the ball instead of it been magically bounced off their foot and the ball will slow down until it is kicked again when dribbling adding some good realism both physically and graphically.
The shooting has changed, you can now hit the ball over the crossbar without needing full power, this is what I as a FIFA player have been asking for god knows how long, but I think it could have been a little harder still. At times on World Class you can slam the ball from quite far out past the keeper and into the top corner. This is not a keeper issue, but a shooting one, as it’s just too easy to get to grips with the shooting system and master it.
The goalkeeper A.I has improved tremendously as they save more shots and dive more realistically. That to say, they could have been balanced a little bit better for close up shots, they just seem to be a little bit useless then…shame really. What I do like is their intentions to come out and help the defence stop the attacker on their own accord and it’s not like FIFA 2002, where the idiot would run out and get tricked, or get the ball literally passed under him, but he’ll actually stop the ball! This can’t be right for FIFA. I do think the keepers are very realistic now though; it’s just that their balancing between them and the strikers need more work.
The passing in the game is well built and though a little bit like pinball at times; it is a great improvement as now you can do two different types of ground passes. One with and one without a power bar. The one with will allow the player send the ball anywhere into space, while the one without is a direct pass to the players feet and if used correctly can really split open the A.I defence. This been fun at times on World Class it’s a bit too easy to get 70% of the possession…sigh. The lob ball is much better and realistic, which also comes with a power bar. I do like the strategy of the game, but I think to win more fans over, making them think more about their passing and to work on getting that defence to break would have been better, though to think the game was made in such a short time, it’s very well done.
The pitch has increased in length and width and the players aren’t super fast anymore. Players now act and look a lot more like their real life counter part and this is shown both physically and graphically, though maybe a little bit more depth on this would be welcome. To see some of the players like Beckham and Carlos’s Freekick taking models is fabulous and the key player celebrations and skills, even movements is so great, bringing more realism and excitement into the world of FIFA.
Calling players up for runs is fun, easy and allows you to send some wicked through balls to the forwards, though it’s a little to effective at times and doesn’t allow you to send them off on different angles, so most of the time calling a player up for a run will see them simply running forward.
The heading in the game is rock solid and to the header when the player isn’t marked by the opposition is impossible unless two players' are on the same side. This indeed, does need some serious work. The same thing goes for making the wall jump to defend a freekick, the Xbox version does it automatically and I am yet to see it happen a 3rd time.
The A.I is much more clever now and don’t own the game with their silly long balls and outrageous long shots/goals. The A.I build up their game the way they should, but to take the ball off them is a bit to easy and they never really get much possession as mentioned above. I think that’s a big letdown here, as even on World Class mode it isn’t that hard to build up your play and totally split open the defence. That reminds me. Difficulty settings. FIFA 2003 has 4 difficulty modes, Amateur, Semi-pro, Professional and World Class. World Class been much more realistic and balanced then the cheating of last years game, but still needs more work. I think World Class A.I could have done with been Semi-Pro, but the players would miss shots more. This would give a much longer learning curve to the game and would keep people playing for longer. The A.I do foul more and the referee hands out a lot more yellows cards then before. The injury system is also improved with more then 1 injury in the game and in a season can have your star players out for up to 8+ matches!
I have to say, it’s nice to have highlights at the end of the half and full time, though some commentary to go with it, would’ve been superb. Still, this feature, I’m sure is from PES.
FIFA 2003 has a system which will tell you if you’re doing really bad and want to move down a difficulty and the opposite if you’re doing great. It’ll also tell you if you have an injured player, but not for fatigued players. Instead a player has a bar which decreases when they run, but goes back up when they’re not sprinting, so it seems that players don’t actually get fatigued and substitutions are all tactical now. That been, the A.I do make subs now and change their play depending on how you/they’re doing in the game. This adds much more depth and they’ll even change formations. Shame there’s not many formations and managing options available to the player.
There’s quite a few game modes and the one that’ll stand out from the rest been “Club Championship”. This is 18 of the top European clubs competing in total authentic play. Crowds will cheer specific club chants and let you know how you’re doing in the game. The players will be accurately re-created and their stadiums will be also. FIFA 2003 has 24 Stadiums.
The other modes are season and tournaments and the obvious friendly. FIFA 2003 will have you coming back for more!
The game isn’t as solid as ISS2 on the Xbox, it does contain to many flaws for that, but is a great step in the right direction.
GRAPHICS:
I have been bad, I have already mentioned some of the graphical sides to the game in the gameplay section, but never mind, I’m sure you know about the player likenesses.
FIFA 2003 has incredible graphics the best in any football game to date, but this happens whenever a FIFA game is released, it’s always the best graphically, but not gameplay wise. Bump mapping is on the grass to give the effect of more depth and the textures have been increased 4 times more then any other platform version of the game. This is great for us Xbox players, as we’ll get a great show of graphical magic along side the improved gameplay. The crowd look much better now and act accordingly to the game; so more animations have been used.
The players have many more animations. They’d have to, as the game has been built up from the bare bones. The new game engine has allowed for some great animations that will really have you wondering, “is this real”? I think to have players running through each other has REALLY been decreased, but still happens and I’ve scored a goal where the keeper should’ve saved the shot, but no…straight through his hands! Oh well, a game has to have its flaws, maybe just not that bad?
One thing you’ll notice is that the game looks so damn out of this world at times, you really can get distracted from the game and end up watching the graphics. Maybe this is why PES2 doesn’t look so attractive? Or maybe the decrease in graphics is made up in gameplay…I think so.
Player faces have been improved and many more players have had their faces accurately modelled, more so for the Club Championship teams.
I just have to say it, WHERE IS HOLLAND! I know it’s a licensing issue, but I really hope this gets sorted out and we need Ronaldo for the Brazil squad. We don’t have a creation centre in this version, only the PC users can download it off the official website.
SOUND:
The sound in FIFA 2003 is brilliant, specific crowd chants can be heard for important teams and the crowd will let you know how the game is going. The sound effects have been made much more realistic and you can hear the players shouting and screaming at each other (all in different languages for the team nationality)! The in-game music is from some of the top artists and the annoying music played through when scoring and cinematics is gone, bringing a much more realistic feel to the game. There’s not much to say about the sound, the sound effects improve in each FIFA game and me typing about sound gets boring, hahaha (joke).
OPTIONS:
Well, options aren’t many; we don’t get weather or day/night options, so already that’s randomised. The options to choose from are what you’d expect from a FIFA game: Difficulty settings, referee strictness, sound options, etc, it’s all in there, but we need more management and editing options. It seems EA took a step back from FIFA 2002 there!
I think EA have some work to do if they want to beat the PES games, but it just seems like a mountain to climb in some areas, but in others, it’ll be a walk in the park. Let me assure you when it comes down to it, FIFA 2003 has the most to offer any football fan, but realism is the key and it’s sad to say it, but PES2 is more realistic.
OVERALL:
GAMEPLAY: 7.6
GRAPHICS: 9.5
SOUND: 9.8
OPTIONS: 6.5
OVERALL: 7.8
By Nick Clubman
GAMEPLAY:
Well, the last two FIFA games were a disaster, displaying arcade like gameplay and silly ball physics, with easy target shooting. I know I’m been a bit harsh here, but all these games had going was the graphics and licensing while games like ISS2 and Pro Evolution Soccer outshined them with no competition at all. Both these games are from Konami.
So, FIFA Football 2003 is expected to be the same rubbish right? Well, not entirely, but I’ll talk about that later. But, to be the same? NO! This game has been totally re-done from scratch, the game engine and even the graphics have been made all over and this is truly a step in the right direction. EA have gotten rid of the ball sticking to the players’ feet (at times) and ‘loopy’ ball physics and have designed a well-made passing game. No longer can a player just run all the way through the defence using a speedy player, or a particular skill move nope, it’s not all about pace now my friends, it’s all about skill, timing and knowing your players attributes. It’s all about football.
The dribbling now forces the player not to sprint everywhere otherwise they’ll loose control of the ball and get tackled. Players now kick the ball instead of it been magically bounced off their foot and the ball will slow down until it is kicked again when dribbling adding some good realism both physically and graphically.
The shooting has changed, you can now hit the ball over the crossbar without needing full power, this is what I as a FIFA player have been asking for god knows how long, but I think it could have been a little harder still. At times on World Class you can slam the ball from quite far out past the keeper and into the top corner. This is not a keeper issue, but a shooting one, as it’s just too easy to get to grips with the shooting system and master it.
The goalkeeper A.I has improved tremendously as they save more shots and dive more realistically. That to say, they could have been balanced a little bit better for close up shots, they just seem to be a little bit useless then…shame really. What I do like is their intentions to come out and help the defence stop the attacker on their own accord and it’s not like FIFA 2002, where the idiot would run out and get tricked, or get the ball literally passed under him, but he’ll actually stop the ball! This can’t be right for FIFA. I do think the keepers are very realistic now though; it’s just that their balancing between them and the strikers need more work.
The passing in the game is well built and though a little bit like pinball at times; it is a great improvement as now you can do two different types of ground passes. One with and one without a power bar. The one with will allow the player send the ball anywhere into space, while the one without is a direct pass to the players feet and if used correctly can really split open the A.I defence. This been fun at times on World Class it’s a bit too easy to get 70% of the possession…sigh. The lob ball is much better and realistic, which also comes with a power bar. I do like the strategy of the game, but I think to win more fans over, making them think more about their passing and to work on getting that defence to break would have been better, though to think the game was made in such a short time, it’s very well done.
The pitch has increased in length and width and the players aren’t super fast anymore. Players now act and look a lot more like their real life counter part and this is shown both physically and graphically, though maybe a little bit more depth on this would be welcome. To see some of the players like Beckham and Carlos’s Freekick taking models is fabulous and the key player celebrations and skills, even movements is so great, bringing more realism and excitement into the world of FIFA.
Calling players up for runs is fun, easy and allows you to send some wicked through balls to the forwards, though it’s a little to effective at times and doesn’t allow you to send them off on different angles, so most of the time calling a player up for a run will see them simply running forward.
The heading in the game is rock solid and to the header when the player isn’t marked by the opposition is impossible unless two players' are on the same side. This indeed, does need some serious work. The same thing goes for making the wall jump to defend a freekick, the Xbox version does it automatically and I am yet to see it happen a 3rd time.
The A.I is much more clever now and don’t own the game with their silly long balls and outrageous long shots/goals. The A.I build up their game the way they should, but to take the ball off them is a bit to easy and they never really get much possession as mentioned above. I think that’s a big letdown here, as even on World Class mode it isn’t that hard to build up your play and totally split open the defence. That reminds me. Difficulty settings. FIFA 2003 has 4 difficulty modes, Amateur, Semi-pro, Professional and World Class. World Class been much more realistic and balanced then the cheating of last years game, but still needs more work. I think World Class A.I could have done with been Semi-Pro, but the players would miss shots more. This would give a much longer learning curve to the game and would keep people playing for longer. The A.I do foul more and the referee hands out a lot more yellows cards then before. The injury system is also improved with more then 1 injury in the game and in a season can have your star players out for up to 8+ matches!
I have to say, it’s nice to have highlights at the end of the half and full time, though some commentary to go with it, would’ve been superb. Still, this feature, I’m sure is from PES.
FIFA 2003 has a system which will tell you if you’re doing really bad and want to move down a difficulty and the opposite if you’re doing great. It’ll also tell you if you have an injured player, but not for fatigued players. Instead a player has a bar which decreases when they run, but goes back up when they’re not sprinting, so it seems that players don’t actually get fatigued and substitutions are all tactical now. That been, the A.I do make subs now and change their play depending on how you/they’re doing in the game. This adds much more depth and they’ll even change formations. Shame there’s not many formations and managing options available to the player.
There’s quite a few game modes and the one that’ll stand out from the rest been “Club Championship”. This is 18 of the top European clubs competing in total authentic play. Crowds will cheer specific club chants and let you know how you’re doing in the game. The players will be accurately re-created and their stadiums will be also. FIFA 2003 has 24 Stadiums.
The other modes are season and tournaments and the obvious friendly. FIFA 2003 will have you coming back for more!
The game isn’t as solid as ISS2 on the Xbox, it does contain to many flaws for that, but is a great step in the right direction.
GRAPHICS:
I have been bad, I have already mentioned some of the graphical sides to the game in the gameplay section, but never mind, I’m sure you know about the player likenesses.
FIFA 2003 has incredible graphics the best in any football game to date, but this happens whenever a FIFA game is released, it’s always the best graphically, but not gameplay wise. Bump mapping is on the grass to give the effect of more depth and the textures have been increased 4 times more then any other platform version of the game. This is great for us Xbox players, as we’ll get a great show of graphical magic along side the improved gameplay. The crowd look much better now and act accordingly to the game; so more animations have been used.
The players have many more animations. They’d have to, as the game has been built up from the bare bones. The new game engine has allowed for some great animations that will really have you wondering, “is this real”? I think to have players running through each other has REALLY been decreased, but still happens and I’ve scored a goal where the keeper should’ve saved the shot, but no…straight through his hands! Oh well, a game has to have its flaws, maybe just not that bad?
One thing you’ll notice is that the game looks so damn out of this world at times, you really can get distracted from the game and end up watching the graphics. Maybe this is why PES2 doesn’t look so attractive? Or maybe the decrease in graphics is made up in gameplay…I think so.
Player faces have been improved and many more players have had their faces accurately modelled, more so for the Club Championship teams.
I just have to say it, WHERE IS HOLLAND! I know it’s a licensing issue, but I really hope this gets sorted out and we need Ronaldo for the Brazil squad. We don’t have a creation centre in this version, only the PC users can download it off the official website.
SOUND:
The sound in FIFA 2003 is brilliant, specific crowd chants can be heard for important teams and the crowd will let you know how the game is going. The sound effects have been made much more realistic and you can hear the players shouting and screaming at each other (all in different languages for the team nationality)! The in-game music is from some of the top artists and the annoying music played through when scoring and cinematics is gone, bringing a much more realistic feel to the game. There’s not much to say about the sound, the sound effects improve in each FIFA game and me typing about sound gets boring, hahaha (joke).
OPTIONS:
Well, options aren’t many; we don’t get weather or day/night options, so already that’s randomised. The options to choose from are what you’d expect from a FIFA game: Difficulty settings, referee strictness, sound options, etc, it’s all in there, but we need more management and editing options. It seems EA took a step back from FIFA 2002 there!
I think EA have some work to do if they want to beat the PES games, but it just seems like a mountain to climb in some areas, but in others, it’ll be a walk in the park. Let me assure you when it comes down to it, FIFA 2003 has the most to offer any football fan, but realism is the key and it’s sad to say it, but PES2 is more realistic.
OVERALL:
GAMEPLAY: 7.6
GRAPHICS: 9.5
SOUND: 9.8
OPTIONS: 6.5
OVERALL: 7.8
By Nick Clubman
nick don`t use RIGHT THUMBSTICK