The Magic World Of Football (FIFA Football 2003 (Xbox))

Member Name: vassilis73

Product:	FIFA Football 2003 (Xbox)
Date:	15/08/03 (149 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Perfect Graphics, Very good Sound, Realism

Disadvantages: Difficult to control at the beginning

?EA FIFA 2003'', was the title of the new game that friends brought me to try. I really do like football, to play, to watch and as the years are passing I enjoy even more when I play it on the computer, X-box or PS2.(so much less tiring!) So I was eager to see what different that game has to offer from the previous series.

In advance I knew that the game will be brilliant as the quality of the games from this particular company is top and always is giving you hours and hours of entertainment.

Imaging the following scene: you have friends around and you want to play this game with them. You are choosing the multiplayer option and start playing. Very soon you can find yourself arguing with the decisions that the referee made for an offside (?..Cooome on ..you need glasses of something?..? or on a penalty . Of course that can lead in a real major argument with the other player which can result to cut your relationship with the other person. Very dramatic and sad but it had happened to two of my friends! Of course my friends are ok now.

So I knew that this game will be fun but I wanted to see what kind of new features they
have add to make it different from the rest of the series. I was hoping not to be just a ?face lifting? of the 2002 edition with some new songs and renewed roster in the menu.

GAMEPLAY

The game is based on ?the total control of the ball?.
Surely it?s a tactic that makes it more realistic than ever before. Probably that?s why they have at the front players that are great controllers of the ball. Such as Edgar Davids (who knows how to keep the ball and how to pass it with mathematical preciseness)Ryan Giggs and Roberto Carlos.

That means that you have to forget the case that you hit the ball towards the opposite goalposts and always another player of your team was there to take it and proceed. Now it?s different, more realistic and you will be able to see many lost passes , fo
olish goals because of the goalkeeper who now has to actively do something either with his legs or hands(not just stand in frond of the ball and the ball rolls in his hands etc as before).

With few words, with FIFA 2003 we have situations that mirroring the true nature of football. Now you have to think how much power we are going to put before pass the ball, the angle etc. Things that can be controlled with less or more press of the buttons and good use of the arrows. Especially at the fouls or corners we can even choose a specific spot on the ball that we want to hit! (a small screen appears with a ball and we place the target on the spot that we want)

So as it concerns the game play the creators of Fifa 2003 have done great job as the football player is free to create personal fantastic goals and not goals that are pre-manufactured which were ok but this now is much more fun and gives you great satisfaction as your goals are unique!

BUT ?the total control of the ball? as you can imagine is not something easy to learn. Especially at the beginning its very very difficult.
We have to think though that everything in life is difficult at the beginning. As the time is passing you will feel more comfortable ,you will discover new tactics and these will make you shout very proudly ?I am fantastic player!!!?.

Something else that I liked very much is when I was in front in score with 4-1 in a case, I noticed that that other team changed its tactic and system.I scored once again and they changed it again and again.
The game is taking the initiative and makes changes for better results .That is really good feature!

Graphics

The graphics on 2002 were almost perfect. In this version I think they touch the perfect. Total realism and emphasis in details (especially for the moves of the players or for the crowd and grounds etc.) Twenty of the most famous European football grounds(why not a Greek one??) are inc
luded in the game, made to look like exactly the same with the real ones even in to the smallest details and 18 European football teams (where are the Greek ones??) they have made so perfect that you are able to see clearly the players at last! ( Veron with his earring, Beckham with the World cup haircut, Davids of course with his glasses etc.

You can see the crowd, the advertisements on the outfits of the players and so many other details and all that together with the very professionally TV cover of the game with the beautiful replays and highlights after the end of the first half and the game.

Sound

The sound is as perfect as the graphics. Very nice pieces of music carefully selected from artists like Kosheen, Safri Duo, Ms. Dynamite, Fat Boy Slim, Antiloop etc., which definitely sound very pleasant during the period that there is no action.

It?s very nice as well the fact that you can hear the authentic songs of the 18 teams during the game. What I liked very much was when I scored as a visitor, the crowd was frozen! And when the ?local? team did something good, then it started shouting again! That was really nice!

As narrators, the classics Ally McCoist and John Motson, who are giving us all the statistics and comments on players with incidents that have to do with them such as Beckham?s red card on the game with Argentina etc.

MENU

You can choose a game between the 18 European teams or a friendly game with many other teams from all over the world ( there are two Greek teams only! PAOK from Thessalonica and Olympiakos which probably pay for being there!-not fan of Olympiakos!) or you can choose to play with a nation team. You can also choose between 15 championships throughout the world to play for a season or to play in European Champion's Cup, World Tour etc.

If you choose championship you have the option to manage 8 different teams which in combination with the multiplayer , it
can give you and your friends really good fun as there is plenty of competition there and many surprises.

Small Problems that I noticed

First if after a pass you don?t move your player the opposite side players are not moving!! They stand and stare at you! That?s not very realistic to me!

Second, I found it amazingly difficult to push the ball in to the net with the head after a corner !One of my friends has done it once and he can?t remember how he did it. It shouldn?t be that difficult! (or Am I that hopeless??)


Overall Opinion

If you exclude this two small problems and the fact that they have Olympiakos as representative of the Greek football teams, FIFA 2003 is once again the best game for those who like football games
The fact that the graphics are perfect, the sound very good and the feeling from the game play is creating an unusual realism, gives answer to why the series EA Fifa is the top selection in that kind of games.

Reduce the lights in your room, turn on the volume and let yourself to be part of the magic world of football.

Thanks for reading?

Summary: