FIFA Football 2003

EA's footballing extravaganza returns, but can it slide-tackle Pro-Evo 2 successfully?

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Inevitably in this day and age, the football gaming market comes down to the two heavy-hitters of the business, FIFA and Pro-Evolution. FIFA has the presentation, the slick visuals, the real teams and players, whilst Pro-Evo enjoys the most sophisticated, and realistic game play model.

At least, this has traditionally been the stance on FIFA observed by most - but has anything changed with the 2003 edition. I donned boots and appropriately fashionable hair-cut to find out.

The first thing instantly noticeable about FIFA 2003 is that the visuals have come out none the worse from their annual overhaul, the player models, pitches, crowds and stadia, all appearing that much more detailed and ultimately very realistic. This detail has also been observed in the intricacies of goal celebrations, the TV-inspired plethora of camera angles, and the terrifying detail of motion-capture animation.

Annoyingly, however, it is still possible to slide-tackle the Goalie.

This is the area in which FIFA isn’t quite so hot – the game play. That’s not to say it isn’t very improved however, and very slick, etc., but it does still have a few niggling flaws and inconsistencies. Firstly, the ‘freestyle’ button does allow you some nice moments of flair and skill, a much need unpredictable streak, however, shots on goal still lack the variety of Pro-Evo, and more often than not you’ll always score if shooting from a certain distance and angle.

The passing too is much improved, and the crossing is excellent now – not to mention the balance between teams better reflecting their player’s abilities. All in all, whilst the game play has upped the ante from previous outings, it still doesn’t quite have the air of authenticity and diversity enjoyed by FIFA’s Konami-developed counterpart.

FIFA 2003 does still have all the player names and teams, however, which makes for far more realistic tournaments and leagues – the variety of teams available being quite exhaustive. The new theme tunes are also a pleasing addition, with the likes of Avril Levigne and Ms. Dynamite all adding to the mainstream fun of this FIFA outing.

This is a game your girlfriend won’t berate you for playing.

The audio used during matches is equally impressive, especially the immersive use of crowds chanting during play, which, if you’ve got a 5.1 surround speaker system is a real treat. The echoing throng proving very infectious and creating a believability – which is added to by the John Motson and Ally McCoist commentary, which is very diverse, and never wrong – a great improvement over several other efforts on this front.

Of course the commentary can grow a tad repetitive after time, but we’d be harsh to expect miracles of realism on this technical front.

On the longevity score, EA’s offering has certainly been made a lot trickier, at the request of fans who mastered previous outings a little too quickly no doubt. The settings now allow the experience to get very hard indeed, though this does sadly cut-down your options in my view – which is a shame as Pro-Evo 2 benefits from being difficult because it encourages flair and experimentation.

So the game play might not be quite as deep as Konami’s sequel, but this is a very fine effort indeed, presented in a far more user-friendly fashion, with greater options, and realistic teams and players. What’s more, the visuals are absolutely stunning, bringing the look of a real soccer match to vivid life. Slowly but surely, FIFA is certainly progressing. See you next year.

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By Luke Guttridge