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Madden NFL 2003 for PlayStation 2 Videos >>
Madden NFL 2003 for PlayStation 2
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Madden NFL 2003 for PlayStation 2
127 reviews   4.39 of 5

Product Description

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Sound

the music is the best in any video game except for vice city. these new bands are great espescially when you are in mini camp. the announcers suck! Madden never knows what he is talking about in a real game anyways. michaels always says the same things over and over. sometimes they'll mess up the teams and say things completly wrong. i think they need new commantators for 2004. the crowd also needs to be tweaked to add more enthusiasm when the some team makes a big play and not when the visiting teams does. they also cheer for the home team in the super bowl which is supposed to be neutral.

Gameplay

the game could be more realistic. sometimes the computer will go no huddle, run the clock down, and then throw a pass. the play-actions don't work as well as they should but are still good. i do the same plays most of the time and the CPU never catches on. but the motions and hot routes are a nice touch. i don't like how faulk or james can break 17 tackles during one run and you can never break any. also the qurterbacks fumble way to often. all in all it is a fun game to play and it remains fun for many hours.
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Sound

The music overall is not to annoying, but the whole "Bon Jovi" thing is VERY annoying. Especially when you just lost a frustrating game, and you return to the main screen with that annoying song. Suprisingly for rock fans, the music is mostly rock and not rap. But overall it's cool to have some music playing while practicing or at mini camp. Hopefully with the PS2 internet thing getting more popular, they would let you add you own music in 2004.

Gameplay

I love the tackling in this game. The whole Defensive Back vs. Wide Reciever matchup was designed perfectly. dozens of different tackles that mirror the pros. Passing system is simple and realistic. An accurate tunover rate per game, and it lets you adjust the difficulty from Rookie, Pro, All Pro, and All Madden. Cool extra's like Mini Camp, which lets you compete in multiple events in which you can try to win bronze, silver, and gold trophies, while gaining practice at the same time. Buy packs of Madden cards, cool play editor. One of Madden 2003's best features is the ability to save in mid-game. Awesome.
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Sound

Great sound!

Gameplay

Many aspects of Madden 2003 have been discussed here, so I'll affirm the comments of several other users and add a couple of my own. First, as has been stated, QB's fumble way, way too much when you scramble with them. I play with the Redskins and over my first two franchise seasons I scrambled 5 times with Patrick Ramsey or Sage Rosenfels and they fumbled *every* time! This includes scrambles in the open field and goal-line QB sneaks. Needless to say, I haven't scrambled lately. There is a hook-slide option but who wants to risk the chance that a defender will suddenly pop off a block and hit your QB before you can slide? My second big grumble is the problem with the rapidly degrading skills of offensive linemen in Franchise mode. EA Sports are you listening? This makes the Franchise mode almost unplayable, since building a great offensive line is essential to building a great team. I have played 4 seasons with the Redskins and Jon Jansen and Chris Samuels, who each start out rated in the low or mid-90's have slipped to ratings of 69 and 70 respectively at ages 30 and 28. The same thing has happened with free agents and rookies--they lose 4-7 points each offseason and rarely gain any points back during the next preseason. The problem seems to exist with defensive linemen as well, but is not as bad. Other users have written elsewhere that they think this problem is related to the lack of stats that players accumulate in 5-minute games. Whatever the reason, it is quite annoying to have to keep repopulating your offensive line and still have the players average about 75 and get constantly run over by other teams moderately good defensive linemen.
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Sound

As good as I've ever heard, except for John Madden himself. I kinda miss Pat Summerall, but Al Michaels really sounds authentic.

Gameplay

Too much to talk about really. Anyone who hasn't mastered the game on All-Madden really never got into the heart of the game, multiple custom plays, multiple audibles, custom Defensive coverages, timing patterns. There are so many plays in the game that can be executed by reading the defense, picking up the blitzer and dumping to the hot read that the game can seem almost too easy if you know what you are doing. Now I'll admit, I have probably played 10 or 12 seasons on All-Madden level, but I think mastery was much sooner. Try creating a team that is about a 60 overall, or with a 54 rated offense. It puts the challenge back into Madden. Anybody who plays on Pro or All-Pro needs to wake up, because they're not really playing the game.
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Sound

Crowds chanting on their favorite sports to the announcers adds to the atmosphere of the game. The music for the game is pretty good too. Only suggestion I have is that they could have added some more tracks, and the announcers (Madden especially) can get quite repetative.

Gameplay

When it boils down to the gameplay, I and many of my friends who play this game don't really know what to say. Keeping the setting at either pro or all-pro while playing each other or the CPU can either be frustrating as hell or surprisingly enjoyable.

The main gripe I have with this game is the A.I. of the CPU. For example, it seems like during certain times that it's almost impossible to get a play by the CPU. For example, one time I was trying to run the ball on a 3rd & 3 and no matter what I did with audibles, the computer countered everytime with their own which was a perfect defense for my running play. This doesn't happen all the time of course, but it occurs enough to where it's a pain in the ass especially on crucial plays.

The passing games also seems a bit lopsided against the user. Most of the times you basically need to throw a perfect pass at exactly the right spot that your WR is at on his route in order to make a completion. This might not sound too bad at first until you see a FS run 2/3 the width of the field immediately after you release the ball to intercept a pass you threw to a WR on a slant route going to the outside. Having the CPU react accurately to your throws is one thing, but having them predict them before the ball even leaves your hand is totally another. Another thing that gets really frustrating is the fact that if your WR gets to the end of his route, they seem to get confused and not know what to do at all. This seems to happen a lot of curl routes where a WR or TE turns around after running a fly route in order to get infront of his cover to get a clear path to the ball. If you don't throw the ball just as they're nearing the end and hold out for too long, your WR will just stand there and let his defender get infront and pick the ball off. The passing game isn't completely hopeless though. If you can find the pattern on your pass plays and throw the ball durng the correct spot of your WR's routes when they don't have 3 to 4 defenders near him, it's easy to get a completion.

Defense isn't too bad. If you can read the CPU formations halfway decently and use coverage audibles you can really come out with an excellent defensive game most of the times. I find that staying back with a safety to read out running plays and then rushing in after the offense opens up a hole in the line or tosses it to one side can really shut down the CPU's running game.

The only other things I find to be extremely annoying is the challenge system and out of bounds stop clock. Basically if the computer challenges, it's almost guaranteed the call will be overturned. To be honest, I've had the computer challenge close to 10 plays so far and not a single one hasn't been overturned. The other thing is the clock when it comes to running or catching the ball out of bounds. It's not as bad with running but catching a near the side lines and then getting tackled clearly out of bounds will not stop the clock even half the times it's supposed to. I don't know if this is a glitch or if the side lines just work that way in the game, but this little problem could really cost you the game if you're short on time outs.

Besides what I've just said, Madden is a fairly good game when it comes down to the gameplay. With smart decisions and a good eye, a game in Madden 2003 can be as realistic as any game played in the NFL. This game just takes some getting used to and a lot of patience when you first start to play.
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Sound

Good soundtrack, featuring Bon Jovi, Good Charlotte, and others. The music will get you pumped up and ready to play. It does get very repetitive though, as there are only 11 menu songs. Madden 2000 for PS1 never got old, it had many songs. The crowd noise is the weak point. Yeah, they get loud at times, like they would in a real game, but at the end whistle they barely react (you may hear scattered cheering), and whenever they DO get loud, its late. An example- i am the home team and i complete a 20 yard pass. 5 seconds go by after my player has been tackled, and the crowd starts to cheer. However, they usually arent late to react on Field goals, touchdowns, interceptions or fumbles. Just big plays and tackles. This can be overlooked though, as the rest of the game is very solid.

Gameplay

It will take you a few days just to get tired of exhibitions. After that, you can try minicamp mode (Very fun but sometimes very nerve-racking), franchise mode, create a team, create a playbook, season, Football 101, and many others. It will take a really long time to get bored of this game (if you ever do). Internet play is a nice touch although Madden 2003 will only support internet play until August 2003. Until then you can compete online, chat, download rosters, etc.
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Sound

The best yet for the Madden Franchise. A good soundtrack includes Bon Jovi and Andrew W.K., while Mellisa Stark has her own sideline interviews to go along with the much improved commentary of John Madden and for the first time Al Micheals. Though the commentary does get old, it still made that of last years version look truly pathetic.


Overall, if you like sports games, this is a must get.

Gameplay

Near perfect. The minicamps are fun and can help improve your skill for the actual games, which are even better. The franchise mode is huge, from the draft to the in depth statistics that are kept in all seasons and games. There are endless plays, and you can even create your own. Along with playbooks, teams and players can also be created. So after spending hours with real teams why not make your own.

The controls are solid and the gameplay is great, but I have three complaints. The first is that Quarterbacks fumble virtually everytime you try to run with them, whether it be McNabb or Bledsoe or Vick, it always happens. My second complaint is that to make up for the efficiency of passing, the game feels the need to make recievers drop passes often and for no reason. I have often thrown the ball perfectly downfield to a pretty good reciever, wide open mind you, just to watch it bounce off his chest. My third complaint is about the difficulty levels. As you master the first two difficulty levels, which you will easily, after two weeks I could go 16-0 with the Bengals in a season, you naturally want to increase the difficulty level. However, rather than become harder, it really just becomes more annoying, as the main differences are increases in dropped passes (sometimes multiple in a row) and fumbles.

Despite that list of complaints, once you get into the game you wont notice them very much at all, and the advantages much outweigh the disadvantages.


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Sound

John Madden is back for another year of commentary. This year there’s something missing. Yes... No Pat Summerall. Since John jumped ship to ABC and Monday Night Football, John gave his new real life partner Al Michaels the play-by-play job in the game. Melissa Stark gets the job as the sideline reporter. This is her real life job on ABC. She does a great job giving reports at the start of the game, at half time, and when there’s an injury update. The sound has improved greatly although Madden has some stupid sayings.

Gameplay

Madden always offers countless modes and great gameplay. This year is no different.
Madden has many modes including: Play Now, Franchise, Tournament, Two Minute Drill, Football 101, Online, Practice, and Mini Camp mode.
EA Sports has made the popular Franchise mode even better this year. You can play up to 30 years and now in the off-season NFL Draft you can see scouting reports for the rookies. You can also export your Franchise to all the other game modes. If you want to you can also import you graduating class from NCAA Football 2003 to go into the NFL draft.
One new feature EA Sports has included this year is to be able to play Online. I never tried this mode out, but I was told it was very fun.
Another new mode Madden has included this year is the Mini Camp Mode. In this you travel all over the country with John Madden and compete in challenges.
Yet another new mode is Football 101. John Madden teaches you about all the plays and formations. He tells you how they can help you in the game. This will be helpful if you are really serious about this game.
The Two Minute Drill is also fun. This plays out like the last two minutes of a game. I believe that the score is 0-0 and you have to try to win the last two minutes, but I've never played this mode, so I could not tell you for sure.
There is one thing EA Sports has to change. The speed burst button. The problem is that when you’re on offence, the speed burst button is X. When you on defense, the speed burst button is O. This can get really annoying when you trying to speed burst on defense and you find yourself switching players instead. Otherwise the controls are fine with each button (except R3) having a purpose.
Another thing I had a problem with was the computers skill. I always play on Pro level and I've played the game ever since 95. Here's a little story: I was Denver and was in the last 20 seconds of the game. I was winning by 3 and I had not won a game in 9 tries. Yes I said 9. I really though I was going to win. I put up a Nickel defense and was ready for anything. They handed off to their HB and he started running. I thought I had him in the backfield, but he broke free. I though I had him at the First Down line, but he broke free. I though I had him at their 40, but he broke free. I though I had him at mid-field, but he broke free. I though I had him at my 30, but he broke free. I thought I had him at my 10, but yet again he broke free. He scored. I lost. I swear I almost broke my hand slamming it against the table. I don’t know how a HB can break six good tackles in one run. I found that when playing on Pro, the CPU broke too many tackles and it made the game frustrating.
EA lets you create players, teams, and a playbook.
The create-a-player mode is probably the best of the three. I had fun creating a huge 7-foot monster FB. You can customize almost anything from your face to your hair, to your turf tape or elbow pads. You can choose to place your player on a team or make him a free agent.
Madden added the create-a-team feature a few years ago. They still have it this year and its better then ever. You can choose the color and style of the teams pants, helmet, and uniform. After that you choose what type of stadium you want for your team. You also have to choose what the mid-field and the end zone looks like.
I will not go into detail about the create-a-playbook, because it's just creating plays for you to use in a game.

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