FIFA Soccer 2003 – PS2 – Review

As a result of a brand new, highly refined game
engine, this year’s release of FIFA Soccer has received a total makeover from
the last edition.  For the most part, it has been a very positive one too,
especially in the visual department.  Physics are also more realistic and
as a result gameplay more closely resembles the game that the (rest of the)
world lives for.  Speaking of the rest of the world, EA Sports has put an
even larger focus on the worldwide audience for 2003 by including more
international teams than ever and placing a major emphasis on the European club
teams.  Additionally, a new control scheme has been put into place that
greatly affects how FIFA is played, but it doesn’t quite deliver.

FIFA 2003 offers hundreds of different teams to
play with, including MLS squads, national squads, and many teams that are less
known to the casual soccer fan.  If you want visual realism, FIFA has it.
The teams feature accurate player models, jerseys, and more.  The result
is soccer matches that closely resemble those on TV, especially with the
awesome in-game graphics and camera cuts.  When it comes to club teams the
realism is taken to another level and the outcome is scary-realistic soccer.
These 18 teams have received the most attention of the developers and it shows
during gameplay.  Think 18 perfectly modeled stadiums, team specific
chants, and commentary that highlights rivalries between the clubs as well as
general team history.  Simply awesome!

While both the friendly and season club
championship modes deliver big time, the other game modes found within the game
still are enjoyable to play; they just aren’t quite as unique.  It’s
possible to play a friendly match or start a season with any team in the game.
Additionally, there are a variety of tournaments that can be played from the get
go, including the European Champion’s Cup, EFA Trophy and more.  Not
surprisingly, no world cup mode has been included in the game as there will
probably be another release specifically for this tournament.

So what’s the scoop on the physics?  Well,
to begin with, the ball behaves more like we’d expect it to at all times.
Whether it contacts a player or any other object in the field environment, its
direction and velocity always change as they should.  This allows for more
realistic goals, such as deflections, and thus better gameplay in general.
Also, the players interact with the ball totally differently than before as they
are no longer connected to it.  Their feet actually have to touch the ball
for it to move – imagine that!  It sounds obvious, but in past games the
ball rolled on its own without regards to the players’ touch.

The AI has also been refined in FIFA 2003.
Players more often try to get open, make runs, apply pressure when it’s needed,
and generally respond more realistically to each particular game state.  So
instead of having a team that gives the same amount of effort no matter what,
their effort is dynamic and varies with the score, time left, etc.  The
crowd behaves in a similar fashion too, as their chants will make it obvious
what the game state is at any given time.

As mentioned, the player models are very
impressive in this game.  While some teams have received more attention
than others in this respect; all players seem, for the most part, unique.
Hairstyles, skin tones, and facial features all vary quite a bit, but all the
players seem to share a common body type.  However, this time around there
are no body-builders on the field, as the players are finally not too muscular
looking.  Key players within the game have noticeably different
skill-oriented attributes too; so different players can run faster, shoot
harder, or pull off dribbling moves that no defender can touch.  The player
animations are awesome and always fluid.  Replays especially exhibit their
quality as it’s possible to see, for example, a player’s feet getting tangled up
after being illegally tackled.  If a player gets hit by the ball when
they’re not ready, you’ll see them getting knocked over, instead of
automatically gathering the ball as they probably would have in the past.

This game looks great, it’s now physically
accurate, and the players are more realistic in ever, but what about the
controls?  The control setup itself is nothing short of ideal.  The x
button performs a ground pass to the nearest teammate, which is a maneuver
that’s used a great deal to work the ball up the field.  Pressing circle
shoots the ball and the amount of time it’s held down affects how hard and how
accurate the shot will be.  Unfortunately, this meter fills a little too
quickly to allow for optimal shot control.  The square button is for lob
passes, while triangle is used for through balls (open passes).  When used
in conjunction with L1, which triggers players to make a run, open passes are
very effective; specifically because they allow for a lot of breakaways and
other great opportunities.    However, there is no way to
actually call out plays on the field, which is disappointing.
Additionally, holding down (not tapping, for once) the R1 button sprints and the
right analog stick is used for the brand new freestyle ball control.  Using
either of these controls results in a decrease in the selected player’s energy
meter; the latter takes quite a bit more energy though.

Conceptually, the freestyle ball control is
great, as its purpose is to provide a means of controlling the ball beyond what
the left analog stick allows for (changing directions).  This opens us many
new possibilities, such as crossover dribbles and knock-ons, which propel the
ball out in front of a player so he can essentially break away from the
defenseman guarding him.    It is similar to the dynamic deke
control in EA Sports’ NHL 2003, but it proves to be not nearly as worthy.
The problem is that the responsiveness of this control is not as good as it
could be.  Indeed, much of the time it’s used, nothing seems to happen, or
at least not when you want it to.  The result is a control that has a less
than favorable feel, which is in need of much refinement.

Another downside to the controls is the general
delay that too often occurs when doing simple things such as changing direction,
passing or shooting.  It’s understood that the ball must be at a player’s
feet to perform one of these actions, so a very short delay might be realistic,
but in FIFA 2003 the delay is far from realistic.  If, for example, you’re
headed toward the sideline and you press the left analog stick in the opposite
direction (so you don’t go out of bounds), the player frequently won’t turn in
time all you’ll lose the possession.  This makes the game a bit harder to
play, since you must adjust to the overall strange feel of the controls.

The ability to pull off bicycle / scissor kicks
has be drastically decreased in for FIFA 2003 and you’re lucky if you can get it
to happen at all.  In FIFA 2001, it was almost impossible to not to do
bicycle kicks after crossing the ball, while in FIFA 2002 it was noticeably more
difficult to pull off these advanced moves and now it’s virtually impossible.

FIFA 2003 has also introduced a new dead ball system used
for free kicks and corner kicks, which is based off of a circular meter that’s
similar to a punt/kickoff meter in football games.  It allows you to choose
where to shoot the ball as well as determine the spin on it.  It’s
effective, however, for some reason it’s not possible to put any spin on corner
kicks!  How are we supposed to bend these in goal with no spin?

Most of EA Sports’ games offer an incredible
amount of customization as well as the ability to create players and teams, but
this game is an exception.  It’s not possible to create your own players or
teams at all and there are noticeably less options for 2003.  Also, the
number of unlockable components within the game is disappointing, unless a
couple of new stadiums satisfies you.

The FIFA franchise is really on the right track
with this release, as the new engine brings a lot of great things to the game;
specifically in the way of physics and visuals.  However, there are still some issues that need to be worked out,
especially with the controls.  Even so, the
result is still one of the best soccer games to date and one that many soccer
fans won’t want to miss.

FIFA 2003 is rated E for everyone and requires
487 KB of memory.

Gameplay: 7
FIFA 2003’s physics are very impressive and
the overall quality of the game has greatly improved because of this.  The new
control setup is as logical as one could be, but the feel just isn’t there due
to the sluggish responsiveness of the various buttons/movements.  The freestyle ball
control is promising, but it needs to be radically tweaked in order to be effective.  Currently,
being context sensitive, it’s too limited as it cannot often enough be
effectively taken advantage of.

Graphics: 9.5
The graphics have been significantly improved in a variety
of ways for 2003.  A higher frame-rate keeps the game smooth at just about
all times, while increased detail makes FIFA 2003 look astoundingly realistic.
Player animations now look better too and the transitions between them are
completely seamless.  The stadiums all look incredible and make the
experience even more genuine.

Sound: 9
EA Sports did a great job
with the audio in this game.  The in-game sounds, from the general sound
effects to the dynamic crowd chants, are appropriate and realistic.
Additionally, the play-by-play and color commentary are thoughtful and free from
any delay.  Also, a great mix of songs (EA Sports Trax) greatly adds to the
excitement.

Difficulty: Medium

The learning curve is a little steeper than the average sports title, but the
basics of the game can be picked up by anyone.  Many of the more advanced
tactics and controls are somewhat more difficult to master though.  If the
control issue were fixed, the game would definitely be easier overall.

Concept: 8.5

The concept of FIFA 2003, while not incredibly innovative, does have a lot of
promise.  With realistic physics, players, and 24 different stadiums
(18 of which are team specific, 4 are generic, and 2 unlockable); these are the
makings of a great soccer title.  Additionally, the freestyle ball control
is a great idea…too bad it didn’t pan out as it could have.

Multiplayer: 8

In FIFA 2003 it’s possible to play customizable
competitions, leagues, etc, with up to eight players using a multi-tap, which
can be a lot of fun.  It’s disappointing that there’s no online support in
this PS2 version though.

Overall: 8.2