If
you are new to the Madden NFL games, or even new to video game football, Madden
NFL 2003 has a nice way to help ease you into the game. There is a
training mode which allows you to practice any play in a playbook. Before
the play is run, John Madden will explain the play and how it is designed to
work. You'll then be given a few tries at the play, with tips from Madden
on your performance. After you finish practicing the play, you'll be
awarded tokens that you can use to purchase Madden Cards - the number of tokens
depending on how well you ran the play.
This year's version of Madden also includes a mini-camp mode set in each of
the home cities of the NFL team. Each city is tied to a particular drill -
field goal kicking, rushing, pass defending, etc., and you'll have a limited
amount of time or number of tries to score points in the drill. Score
enough points and you will unlock a game situation that will require you to put
your skills to the test in a game. For example, you might need to stop a
potential game-winning drive by controlling only the defensive linemen, or run
the rest of the time off the clock by calling only running plays. If you
succeed, you'll be awarded with a special Madden Card for your effort.
There are four levels of difficulty for each of the eight drills, and completing
one of them will unlock the same drill on a higher skill level and with a new
team. These drills are actually fun, and you'll find yourself spending
more time than you thought you would as you try to go for a gold rating in the
drill or complete the game situation.
As
for the football game modes, in addition to the standard instant action game, in
which you can choose any two teams and play, and a season mode where you can
play any or all of the games through a 17 week simulated NFL season, there are
several other modes of play. The first is a tournament mode in which you
can play a single or double elimination, or single or double round robin
tournament with a set number of teams. The next is a two minute drill in
which you have two minutes to score as many points as you can to earn points for
Madden Cards. There is also a situational game in which you can set any
game parameters you want - time left on clock, down and yards to go, score, etc.
Recreate a game situation from an actual game and see if you can do any better
than the pros.
The last mode is franchise, in which you can manage a team over the course of
years. You can start with the existing NFL rosters or begin with a
complete fantasy draft and try to build your team from scratch. In
franchise mode you are also your team's GM, and will need to manage trades,
player retirements, salary cap, and the yearly draft. You'll then see how
well you did as you try to take your team through the next season.
The game's graphics are quite good, with numerous and smooth player
animations. The player faces are expressive, and you can see their eyes
move as they look around. The helmets are a little too reflective, with
even white helmets reflecting the surrounding stadium. Also, the players'
faces look realistic, but they don't look all that much like the player's
themselves.
In The End, This Game Hath Been Rated:
90%. A lot of gameplay modes and some pretty darn good football to
boot; you can't go wrong with Madden NFL 2003.
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